The academy's training field had returned to silence, but my mind hadn't. The shadow from earlier still lingered in my thoughts like smoke that refused to disperse. Caspian Arvell. Phantom Duelist. Watching.
Who the hell left a book in the library with just a name written in it… only for that name to vanish and be replaced with "The Phantom Duelist is watching"?
That wasn't something normal. Not even by Noctis Ardentis standards, and we've got students who light themselves on fire just to prove a point.
Back in my quarters, I unrolled a worn parchment on my desk, the one I kept for tracking rune theory and skill interactions. I wasn't sure what I was looking for—just that this felt like a pattern. The Grimoire of Patterns skill hadn't reacted to the encounter directly, but there was this subtle... tickle. Like it wanted to. That didn't sit right with me.
