The day was ending at Eclipse Academy.

Beyond the courtyard windows, the sky burned orange, bleeding slowly into dusk. The last of the students were still on the field — wooden swords striking against mana dummies, their voices faint through the wind.

Up in the faculty wing, away from the noise and chatter, the academy felt almost still.

The hum of mana circuits in the walls replaced the sound of students, and the faint aroma of coffee hung in the air like an old habit that never ...