No one expected anyone to come by that road tonight.
Not after what had happened.
Yet… the sound of hooves drew nearer.
Unnaturally quiet. Heavy, as if bearing more than just a rider.
The first guard raised his lantern with a trembling hand.
The shadow of the horse stretched against the high gate, and atop it, the silhouette of a hunched figure.
But as it drew closer, the rider revealed himself to be a lean young man, dismounting in silence, clutching something in his arms.
Blood dripped from the white cloak, seeping into the mud.
He spoke no words.
Only lifted his gaze to the guard and uttered, in a voice both frail and unshaken:
— "The Light has fallen."
The guard froze, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword.
There was something in those words—neither a threat nor a plea.
It was a declaration.
As the young man passed him, the guard noticed how his shoulders sagged slightly under the weight of his burden.
He knew her. And she had known him.
But now she was silent, as secrets ought to be when they die.
No one followed.
Only the fading echo of his footsteps in the dark passage beyond the walls.
And his words lingered in the air…
"The Light has fallen."
From that night onward, nothing was the same.
The Academy sealed its doors.
The city began whispering names too dangerous to write.
Even the rain… now fell softly, as if watching.
And no one knew…
That this moment was only the beginning of a far slower fading.
The beginning of a story that would shatter a century of silence.