Days passed, but the scroll never left Aston's satchel. He never saw either Elder Erin or Cyr during the time.

He had reread Elder Erin's parting words too many times to count. They repeated in his mind not as a threat, nor even a promise—but a pull. A question that refused to die.

"To read a room faster than it empties. To hold onto your truth even while wearing ten others."

Most nights, he fell asleep with the scroll having the coiled serpent sigil inside of his bag.

Aston finally opened it at dawn—before class, before chatter, before anyone could look over his shoulder.

The moment the seal broke, the ink shimmered with faint spirit-light.

He read the content twice. Then a third time.

And exhaled slowly.

—

[CONFIDENTIAL TASK – Shadow Operations Strand]

[Assignment ID: XVC003]

[Operative Candidate: Aston Rhyner]

[Tier: Entry / Adaptive Deployment]

[Task Objective:]

[Location: Outer Zone 3 – Westridge Hollow Settlement] [Mission Type: Discreet Observation and Interception] [Target: [NAME WITHHELD – Will be revealed upon arrival]]

[Parameters:]

[Arrive under false identity (provided below)] [Collect evidence of illicit spirit-core trade via covert observation] [Tag the shipment cache with a relay marker for retrieval ops] [Do not engage. Remain unseen. Escape without being traced]

[Time Window: 72 hours from initial contact]

[Failure Conditions:]

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[Being identified] [Causing public disruption] [Leaving magical traces linked to Dawn Crest]

[Expected Difficulties:]

[Mixed civilian and rogue cultivator presence] [Core masking countermeasures in effect] [Terrain fog and mana interference expected] [No backup permitted]

[Code Phrase for exfil contact: "The moth only lands when no one watches."]

—

At the bottom was a line of symbols that shimmered briefly, then translated into a temporary spirit ID and forged license bearing Aston's temporary alias: "Narec Vale, independent beast tamer from East Reaches."

Aston stared at the scroll for a long time.

Then, softly, "This isn't a student exercise."

Nova chimed faintly from his lens:

[Confirmed: This assignment matches criteria reserved for high-tier upper-year practical rotations.]

"Then why give it to me?" he muttered. "No support, no ID trace, no room for error…"

And yet—

Something stirred in his chest. Not fear. Not pride.

Resolve.

This wasn't just a test of ability. It was a test of identity. Of whether he could vanish and still leave behind a thread that mattered.

He leaned back on his bed, scroll still open across his lap.

"This is what she meant. A mask… not to hide, but to see without being seen."

The challenge wasn't in the location. It was in the silence. No one would know what he was doing. No acclaim. No score. No validation.

Only success or failure.

Aston closed the scroll, sealed it, and slid it back into its case.

He stood, slinging his pack over one shoulder. Gray stirred and stretched beside him, letting out a small, inquiring meow.

"We're going," Aston said softly.

Gray didn't need clarification. His body shimmered and vanished into the shadows as Mirage dropped silently from the windowsill, wings folding inward like glass curtains.

—

By the time he exited the gates of the academy, a whistle sounded from one of the alleys of Halcyon Reach.

With his acute hearing, Aston looked towards the darkness of the alley. An unfamiliar figure emerged—an old man with a walking stick and a creepy smile.

"So, you decided to accept the trial, huh?"

Aston found the voice both creepy and weird, yet familiar. The voice did not match the face—the sultry voice of a woman on the face of an old man.

"...Elder Erin?"

The 'old man' smirked and 'his' figure transformed back to the one Aston saw during the events of Shale City—the pale-skinned woman with silver streaks in her hair—but still wearing the robes of the old man. The 'walking stick' twisted and changed to a pink ribbon—her spirit beast— and went inside the robes.

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