We didn't find Aldo away.
After walking through that iron gate I thought things would be easy. I thought we could just ask for Aldos name and someone would point to his office.. It wasn't that simple.
The Academy grounds were huge. There was green grass, big trees with thick shade and white stone buildings with tall windows. In the distance there was a tower with a statue on top. The statue looked even bigger close. It was a figure with its arms outstretched like it was offering something or asking for something.
Lina walked beside me. Her hand wasn't cold anymore. Not as warm as before. Not as cold as yesterday. She looked around carefully.
"We need to find the administration building " I said.
"We don't have ID, no introduction letter, nothing " Lina said. "They won't just let us in."
She was right. I didn't have another plan.
We walked past students sitting on garden benches. They looked at us with curiosity. Our clothes were shabby. Our bags were small. We didn't have badges or uniforms.
No one asked us anything. They just. Went back to their conversations.
We were almost at the entrance of the biggest building when a shadow fell in front of us.
"Stop " a voice said.
The voice was deep and heavy. It sounded like someone used to giving orders.
I looked up. The man was tall over 180 centimeters. He had long black hair tied back and a few loose strands covered his face. His eyes were yellow like embers glowing beneath ash.
In his eyes something moved. Small sparks, like electricity crawling across glass.
"You're not students " the man said. He looked me up and down. Then he stopped at my hand. At the scar that spiraled there.
Those yellow eyes froze.
For a fraction of a second.. Lina saw it. I saw it.
"We're looking for Professor Aldo " I said. My voice was flat.
The man didn't answer. His eyes were still fixed on my scar.
"You're injured " he said finally. Not a question. A statement.
"Accident " I replied.
The man stared at me for a moment. Then he looked at Lina. At her jacket pocket, which bulged slightly.
"Accident " the man repeated. His voice didn't change.. There was something there. Something I couldn't identify.
He stepped back. Gave way.
"Aldo is on the floor. Room 3B.. If you're not students you're not allowed to leave the public areas. Understood?"
I nodded.
The man walked away. His strides were long and quick. Just before he disappeared through the door he stopped.
"Bayu " he said without turning. "My name is Bayu. Commander Bayu."
I felt cold run down my spine.
That name. The name on the envelope. The name my grandfather told me to run from if it came.
This man hadn't come. He had been here along.
The administration building was inside than the grounds.
There were white marble floors, dark wood paneled walls and tall pots with plants I didn't recognize. Several students sat on benches waiting their turn. A receptionist with hair and thick glasses looked at us from behind her desk.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"We're looking for Professor Aldo " Lina said.
The receptionist shook her head quickly. "Aldo doesn't see visitors without an appointment. Especially non-students."
Lina stepped forward. "We have a message from Kaels grandfather. It's very important. Aldo will want to see him."
The receptionist hesitated. I could see the doubt in her eyes.. In the end she shook her head again.
"I can't. Rules."
We stood there not knowing what to do. I felt something move in my chest. Not a voice. A push.
"We'll wait " I said.
We sat on a bench near the entrance. No one paid us any attention.
Lina sat beside me her warm hand gripping my arm.
"Kael " she whispered. "That man earlier. His name was Bayu."
"I know " I said.
"Your grandfather said if someone with that name comes you should run " Lina said.
"I remember " I said.
"But you didn't run " Lina said.
I looked at the glass door in front of us. Beyond it the Academy grounds looked empty. No sign of Bayu.
"My grandfather wrote that envelope twenty years ago " I said. "Maybe things have changed. Maybe Bayu isn't the person."
". If he is—"
"We can't run now. We haven't found Aldo yet " I said.
Lina fell silent. Her warm hand didn't let go of my arm.
Day turned to night.
We weren't allowed to sleep in the student dorms. The receptionist—her name was Mrs. Sari—gave us the visitors waiting room on the ground floor.
It was a room. There were two sofas with fraying fabric. A wooden table that wobbled if touched. One small window facing the backyard but it was dark outside.
Lina was already asleep on one of the sofas. Her body was curled small under her jacket. Her hand still held her jacket pocket, where the baby photo was kept.
I sat on the edge of the sofa. Staring at the ceiling.
My thoughts spun. Bayu. Aldo. The envelopes. The map. Grandfather. Everything connected.. I didn't know how.
"He's here " a voice said.
The Ember Cores voice. I clenched my fist. The scar on my hand pulsed faintly.
"Aldo. He's on the floor. You need to see him " the voice said.
"Why are you helping me?" I whispered. Not loud. Didn't want to wake Lina.
"Because I want you to know the truth. Before it's too late " the voice said.
I looked at Lina. She was still asleep. Her breathing was steady. Her warm hand lay open beside her face.
I stood. Walked to the door. Opened it slowly.
Night wind came in. Cold. Carrying the smell of grass from the grounds.
I stepped out.
The administration building at night felt different.
Silent. Too silent. My footsteps echoed on the marble floor like something was following from behind. Every time I stopped the echo stopped too.
I found the stairs to the floor. Then the third floor.
The hallway on the third floor wasn't like the ones below.
It was longer. More winding. Like it wasn't designed by people. The walls were no longer white—they had turned to gray stone.. On their surface symbols. The same ones I had seen at my grandfathers house.
I walked past doors with names I didn't recognize. 3A. 3C. 3D.
3B wasn't there.
I walked further. The hallway kept winding. Like it had no end. At some points I felt like I had passed the door twice.. I wasn't sure.
Then I found a door.
No name. Only a number. Carved into the wood not attached. Deep. Deep like the letters had been pressed hard so they would never fade.
13.
I stopped.
Something in my chest vibrated. Not a voice. Not a whisper. A vibration. Like something was calling from behind that door.
The scar on my hand felt warm. Warmer than before.
The door was half open.
I pushed it slowly.
Inside was not an office. Not a classroom. Not a library.
One chair in the center of the room.
An old wooden chair. A high back almost as tall as me. Its legs were iron rusted in some places. Its color was dark gray like it hadn't been touched by anyone in a long time.
On the chairs there were carvings. The same as the symbols in my grandfathers basement. Circles, lines, patterns I didn't understand.
One carving was different.
In the center, where a head would rest a name was carved.
Kael Ember.
The letters had yellowed. Their edges were worn. Like they had been carved decades ago.
I stood in front of that chair. My hands trembled.
Twenty years. This chair had been here for twenty years. Since before I was born.. My name had been here all along.
"That chair was for a student who never came " a voice said.
I turned.
An old man stood at the doorway. Thin white hair, barely covering his scalp. Round glasses with metal frames slightly dented on the side. A black robe long, for his thin body its hem almost touching the floor.
His eyes were a blue, like the sky right before it rains.. There was something in those eyes that caught my attention. Fatigue. Like someone who had been waiting for a long time for something that never showed up.
"Professor Aldo?" I asked.
The old man smiled,. It was a tired smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I've been waiting for you, Kael. Twenty years " he said.
I felt a chill run down my spine. "You knew I would come?" I asked.
Aldo stepped inside. His steps were slow like he was trying not to disturb the dust on the floor.
"I knew someone with your name would come " he said. He stopped beside a chair. His thin hand touched the carving of my name on the back of the chair. His fingers traced the letters. Slowly. Like he was remembering.
"This chair was made for your grandfather. Thirty years ago. He was offered a teaching job here at this Academy.. He turned it down."
"My grandfather?" I asked.
"He chose to hide the Ember Core " Aldo said. He looked at me. His pale blue eyes looked into mine. "He chose you, Kael. Before you were even born he had already chosen you."
I took a step back. "You know about the Ember Core?" I asked.
Aldo didn't answer. He walked to a window on the side of the room. He opened it. The night wind came in bringing air that made me shiver.
"Your grandfather and I were friends once Kael. We explored the places. We searched for the artifacts " he said. He turned around. His face was half lit by the window half in shadow. "Until he found something that no one should have found."
"What did he find?" I asked.
Aldo looked at me for a time. His pale blue eyes looked older. More tired. Like he had been carrying a burden for decades.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you " he said.
"Try " I said.
Aldo smiled. Again. The same tired smile.
"He found a way to kill something that couldn't die.. When he did he cursed himself.. His family " he said.
I felt the scar on my hand start to pulse. Harder than before.
"What curse?" I asked.
"The curse you now carry Kael " Aldo said. He looked at my hand. At the Ouroboros scar that spiralled from my wrist to my elbow. "The Ember Core is not an artifact. It is a chain.. You—you are the final link."
"The link " I repeated. "What does that mean?" I asked.
Aldo stepped closer. His steps were slow.. Each step felt heavy. Like he was approaching something he didn't want to approach.
"It means if you die this curse ends.. If you live—"
He stopped. His pale blue eyes looked at me with something like pity.
"You will become what your grandfather refused to become " he said.
I clenched my fist. "Become what?" I asked.
Aldo opened his mouth.
No sound came out.
Because behind me the door opened.. The deep voice I had heard earlier said:
"A monster, Kael. Like me."
I turned around.
Bayu stood in the doorway. His yellow eyes glowed faintly in the darkness of the hallway behind him. Small sparks of electricity crawled across the surface of his eyes like something was burning
In his hand—
Linas photo. The baby photo, from Linas jacket pocket.