Chapter 59: The Day the Sun went Out
The academy felt wrong.
Too still. Too silent.
Days had passed since the siege — days that should have been filled with rebuilding, tending to the wounded, and celebrating our survival. And yet, as the sun sank behind the spires of Astaria and shadows stretched long across the marble halls, it felt as though we were trapped in the moment before a storm, rather than after one.
But this time, it wasn’t Nightwalkers or corrupted beasts we feared.
It was something far worse.
Someone among us.
“We’ve swept the lower floors twice,” Ruby reported as we regrouped near the sealed vault chamber beneath the academy. “No breach. No signs of forced entry. Nothing.”
“Which makes it worse,” Santina murmured. “Because it means whoever did this… had access.”
Th
