Professor Lazuardi hadn't just called them about the Dawnoro situation. The conversation had been longer, heavier, layered with implications that Arkai was still struggling to fully grasp.
He had talked about what would happen after the conference incident. About Cecilia's status in the eyes of the magic world now. About her power. About how her entanglement with the Edengold and the Dawnoro would complicate that even further.
She had become an asset. Someone valuable. Someone to be courted, protected, or targeted depending on who you asked. And thanks to her friendship with the princess, she was also seen as someone close to the Empire.
Then there was Oathran. The boy Lazuardi spoke of with a weight that suggested far more than a simple transfer student. The boy who was supposed to be the world's sacrifice. The boy she had saved, along with the world itself, in some process Arkai couldn't fully comprehend.
