The Medical Annex felt smaller once the relief of Ryon's recovery had settled. Ryon was already restless, pushing aside the remains of his fruit bowl and swinging his legs over the side of the hospital bed. The "Conceptual Shock" had been a terrifying introduction to Aethelgard, but sitting there in the sterile light, he looked less like a victim of a supernatural event and more like a teenager offended by the lack of Wi-Fi.
"You're sure?" Ryon asked for the third time, his voice a low hiss as he looked at Julian. "A violet glow? Right on my forehead?".
"It's steady, Ryon. It looks... integrated," Julian murmured, keeping his voice low to avoid the medical droids.
Yuri stood by the window, her arms crossed tightly. "Stage 0," she muttered, repeating the term the SIT doctors had used. "They say we're 'Sighted' enough to be here, but we're still blind to our own potential. It's like being given a book we aren't allowed to open yet."
"Well, at least your label sounds cool," Ryon muttered, hopping off the bed with a slap of bare feet on the cold floor. "'Eternal' sounds like a high-end perfume. 'Unknown' just sounds like the SIT ran out of ink when they were processing me."
"The SIT is just doing their job, Ryon. They're the ones who got us out of that cafe and brought us here," Julian said, standing up. "It's Sunday. No classes, no professors. If we want to understand what these symbols actually are, we need to find the source".
Ryon stood up, testing his balance. "Then let's go. If I have to stay in this room for another hour listening to the hum of those droids, I'll have another shock just from boredom".
...
They bypassed the Gilded Lily, the sun-drenched cafeteria now quiet in the Sunday afternoon. With Ryon cleared for release, the trio made their way toward the Alexandria Archive. If Aethelgard was the King's personal project, its library was his treasury—a crushing display of soaring glass arches and white stone that seemed to dwarf anyone who entered. Since it was Sunday, the halls were filled with a respectful, heavy silence.
"Okay," Ryon whispered, his eyes scanning the directory. "Anything that explains why my shadow tried to murder me. Where is it?"
They split up, moving through the aisles with a shared sense of curiosity. Julian moved toward the section for Advanced Physics, hoping for a scientific breakdown of the "Aurelian" light. But as he ran his fingers over the spines of the books, his heart sank.
"Find anything?" Yuri asked, appearing from behind a shelf of Classical Philosophy.
"Nothing on symbols," Julian replied, frustrated. "It's all standard university fare. Quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, atmospheric chemistry..."
"I found something," Ryon called out, waving them over to a heavy, leather-bound tome. "Though it's just the same stuff we learned in primary school."
The three of them huddled over a mahogany table. Ryon cleared his throat, adopting a mock-scholarly tone as he flipped through the familiar pages of The Global Accord. "Behold, the Five Kingdoms. Everyone's favorite bedtime story."
He pointed to the illuminated maps. "The UKA—the Kingdom of Technology and Science, our lovely hosts. Zantria, the Kingdom of Wealth, where the banks are probably made of solid gold. Sanxia, the Kingdom of Warriors, Atlantis, the Kingdom of Strength, and Shiveria, the Kingdom of Justice."
"We've known the Pentarchy since we were six, Ryon," Yuri sighed, leaning in. "What's your point?"
"My point," Ryon said, tapping a finger on a chapter regarding the UKA's industrial revolution, "is that even in these 'high-level' college books, the Sky-Script is treated like a weather pattern. It says the King 'harnessed the atmosphere.' It doesn't explain the how. It's all history and philosophy, no mechanics."
Julian looked at the diagrams of the UKA's technological advancements. "It's strange. We're here to learn, but they've kept the most important information out of the library. It's like they want us to have the context of the world before they give us the tools to change it."
"Someone's watching us," Yuri whispered, her voice cutting through the silence of the wing.
Julian looked up. Standing several aisles away was a girl with hair the color of spun glass and a smirk that suggested she found their research adorable. Julian's "Observer" instinct flared. Unlike the other students they had passed, this girl had a symbol shimmering above her shoulder—a kaleidoscopic light that bent the rays of the library windows like a prism.
"Refraction," Julian breathed, the name surfacing in his mind automatically.
The girl didn't wait for an invitation. She sauntered over, leaning against their table with a practiced air of boredom. "You three look like you're trying to solve a multi-dimensional puzzle with a kindergarten coloring book," she said, her voice dripping with dry amusement.
"We're just trying to get a head start on the curriculum," Yuri said defensively.
Celine rolled her eyes, her 'Refraction' symbol rippling with a faint, rainbow-like shimmer. "Please. Why are you even searching about the symbols in the library? You'll learn about the symbols soon enough—once the King's instructors decide you're 'stable' enough to handle the actual curriculum. They aren't going to leave the secrets of the universe lying around for a bunch of Stage 0s to trip over on a Sunday."
We were hoping for something more detailed than what we've heard so far, Julian admitted. "The SIT agents were a bit vague."
Celine let out a short, sharp laugh. "The SIT? You think they run this place? You're misinformed. The SIT isn't in charge of Aethelgard. Their job is simple: they're scouts. They find 'Stride-users,' collect data, and manage the mess when someone's resonance goes haywire. But inside these walls? You're under the Crown. The SIT just holds the clipboard; the King holds the leash."
She leaned over the table, tapping the book Ryon had been reading. "If you really want to understand the world you've been dragged into, stop looking for 'Symbol Mechanics.' Try reading the history books again. Not the children's version—the real ones. Look at how the Five Kingdoms actually formed.' If you understand the past, you might actually survive the future they have planned for you."
"That sounds... ominous," Ryon noted.
"It's just the way it is," Celine replied, pushing off the table and flashing a brief, enigmatic smile. "Enjoy your history lesson. Tomorrow, the real world starts."