Nadan Opened His Eyes
Nadan opened his eyes. What he saw was the landscape of a city gradually being destroyed by erosion beasts.
"This place..."
He fell silent at the horrific sight. What was this place? As he looked around, his eyes widened. There stood a half-collapsed massive tower. Nadan knew that tower all too well. It was an iconic structure no one living in Solemnute could fail to recognize.
The Sun Tower.
That meant this was Solemnute, the heart of the empire.
"What in the world...?"
He muttered in bewilderment, but the words didn't last long. In that instant, something lunged at him, piercing his body. His mind went blank for a moment, and then Nadan opened his eyes again.
A familiar sight. His own room.
"...A dream? No, it's different. This isn't just a dream. It's..."
A vision. He was certain. The sensation etched into his retinas was identical to when he first met Ludenberg.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine. The farthest future he'd glimpsed upon meeting Ludenberg last time had been about a week away. But this felt ominous somehow. With a premonition that time was running critically short, Nadan headed straight for Professor Nah's research lab.
"Sis! Sis!"
"Nadan? What's wrong?"
"A vision! A vision!"
"What? What did you see?"
"Solemnute. Solemnute was being destroyed. It's definitely not far off. We have to go right now!"
Gone was his usual frivolity; he spoke to Professor Nah with utmost seriousness. Realizing Nadan wasn't joking, she immediately began packing her bags. His visions had never been wrong.
"We're leaving right away?"
"We have to. I'll handle the excuses. Get yourself ready too."
"Got it."
"We'll use a Setra gate, so come to the church. I'll talk to the dean."
With that, Professor Nah hurried off to the dean's office, and Nadan, as instructed, started packing his own gear. He stuffed every type of sacred artifact he had for emergencies into his bag, then dashed toward the Setra church.
The greatsword and longsword clashed fiercely. Logically, the overwhelming size of the greatsword should dominate the longsword, but it was being pushed back instead.
Their breaths mingled as their eyes locked, searching for openings in each other.
Ludenberg and Ashytara's sparring session was turning quite brutal. When Ashytara pressed the attack, Ludenberg deflected and parried, blocking every strike before exploiting the briefest gap she revealed.
But Ashytara hadn't been slacking either. She twisted away from his sharp counters and followed up with a barrage of greatsword swings.
Lavante greatsword style lost its power the moment momentum faltered. One could never yield the advantage. But Ludenberg knew this well. He began disrupting Ashytara's rhythm, intercepting her swings before they gained force. His longsword was always in the path of her greatsword, choking its power mid-flow. Soon, he overpowered it, turning the tables and driving her back.
Ashytara desperately tried to block the onslaught, but for some reason, even parrying his strikes proved difficult. The pressure from his blade hammering her greatsword was indescribable.
Clang!
With a sharp ring, her hands went numb, and Ashytara finally dropped her greatsword.
"Ugh, I lost."
"Good work. You've improved a ton. Regular opponents won't even be a challenge now."
"Still can't beat you, though."
"Who knows? If you used your divine power, you might win. Yours unleashes overwhelming firepower on anyone who gets close."
Ashytara shook her head at Ludenberg's words, replying flatly.
"Nah, I'd still lose. You were holding back just now anyway. Compared to how you fence with Sir Martin, I'm nowhere near your level."
Since it was true, Ludenberg just scratched his head.
"That obvious?"
"Super obvious. Lately, your style keeps pressuring opponents relentlessly. The sheer momentum from your sword gives it away."
"...Sorry."
"Why apologize all of a sudden?"
"Didn't mean to look down on you."
"It's fine. I already know I'm no match for you. Anyway, it's getting late. Wanna grab dinner? It's about evening time."
"Sure."
"Wash up, then meet at the main gate."
"Got it."
Back in his room, Ludenberg washed off the grime from training. Then, out of nowhere, he smiled.
It had been fun. Nothing special had happened—just sparring and crossing swords with Ashytara. Yet it felt this good.
That's what trust was. Simply being with someone you trusted could bring profound peace to the heart at times.
That was Ludenberg's state of mind now, a feeling he hadn't experienced in ages. Chatting idly with Ashytara, syncing up for swordplay—ordinary things to others, but special to him.
He forcibly calmed his unusually goofy grin. Friends were supposed to be fun just to hang out with, and here he was, the perfect example.
As Ludenberg prepared to step out, his gaze fell on Liberra. The plain black longsword. Looking at it brought Raha's warning to mind, along with a prickling unease down his spine.
Torn by instinctual anxiety, he debated taking Liberra or not.
She said the Salvation Cult would move. No telling when. Could be tonight, or never. Might be overkill just for dinner, but... something feels off. Better bring it.
He decided to take it. No matter how he thought about it, the vibe was bad. In truth, Ludenberg trusted his instincts quite a bit. Whenever he felt uneasy, trouble usually followed. So he had a habit of preparing when things felt off. Grabbing Liberra, he headed straight for the knight faculty's main gate.
No one was there yet. He leaned against the gate, waiting for Ashytara.
Glancing outside, the streets were in full festival frenzy. People strolled with smiles, enjoying Terra's prayer festival. Knight faculty students munched on snacks, groups chatted animatedly. Different ways, but all savoring the moment.
How much time passed? A soft hand tapped his shoulder. Turning, Ludenberg saw Ashytara poking his cheek with her finger, grinning mischievously.
"You're here."
"Yeah. Wait long?"
"Nah, not really."
She wore the knight faculty uniform like him, but her natural beauty shone through, almost brightening the surroundings.
Ashytara took his hand, pulling him along.
"Let's go. What should we eat? Moon Garden's great, but going too often feels rude. Let's try somewhere new."
"Whatever you want. I don't know Solemnute well. Pick what you're craving."
"What do you want?"
"I'm not picky... I'll eat anything, so choose yours. You're the picky eater."
Indeed, raised on gourmet chefs' dishes, Ashytara had refined tastes. Ludenberg was nobility too, but his father's influence had taught him never to be choosy, exposing him to all foods young. Anything edible was fine for him.
"Hmm... Fair enough. C'mon, we'll browse on the way and check out fun stuff."
"Sure."
"Hey, Ludenberg."
"Yeah?"
"What's that white bundle on your back?"
"Oh, this?"
"Yeah."
"My sword."
"Sword? Why bring it suddenly?"
"Planning to train right after dinner."
Ludenberg couldn't say the Salvation Cult might show, so he fudged with something plausible. Ashytara gave him a weary look, of course.
"Ludenberg."
"Yeah?"
"Everything else is fine, but... take a break sometimes. You're pushing yourself too hard."
She scolded him with a worried face.
"It's not that bad..."
"People overdoing it never realize it. You'll waste more time collapsing someday. We trained hours already, even during festival. Rest tonight."
"Alright, got it."
Ashytara eyed him suspiciously but said nothing more, tugging him along to scout dinner spots.
Rushing to secure the dean's permission for Solemnute, Professor Nah bumped into Sione in the hallway.
"Oh, Professor Sione."
"Hello, Professor Nah. In such a hurry?"
"Yeah, urgent business in Solemnute..."
"Solemnute? Isn't that where our knight faculty students are? If it's not too much, mind sharing what it's about?"
"Sorry, it's... hard to explain."
"Hard? What could it be?"
Professor Nah couldn't just blurt out an invasion was coming. But in her haste, she'd overlooked one thing: Sione, inheritor of Solem's Eye, stood before her.
"Sorry first, Professor Nah."
Sensing something amiss, Sione's golden eyes gleamed as she activated Solem's Eye.
"Huh? What the—"
"I just read your thoughts. You seemed really anxious... And rightly so. An invasion on Solemnute..."
"Ah."
Professor Nah's face fell awkwardly.
"Care to share details? No need to hide from me. I know Nadan Tes, your first-year theology student, is Setra's saint. Heard it from Archbishop Atan by chance before joining the faculty."
"Sigh."
She already knew everything. With a small sigh, Professor Nah explained: Nadan could foresee the future, and he'd seen Solemnute destroyed.
Sione's expression hardened, her tone grave.
"That's serious. Especially involving Solemnute—I can't sit idle. With knight faculty students there, classes are light anyway. Come with me. This trumps lessons. I'll get other professors' cooperation and contact the palace separately."
"...Understood, Professor Sione."