The morning sun casted long, golden shafts of light through the narrow corridors of the Serene Mountain Library. Dust motes floated lazily in the light beams as if time itself was holding its breath and was hesitating to move here.

Ryker once again stood before the heavy wooden door of the quiet chamber that he was thrown out yesterday. His breath was steady, his heart calm but beneath the surface a quiet tension rumbled like the first notes of a storm.

He knocked and then a pause.

Then, the door creaked open and inside she was sitting there.

Eleanor Nightingale

She was sitting in the same place as before. Her white hair cascading like a waterfall of moonlight. Her eyes, those deep ruby eyes, lifted to meet his.

For a moment, the world narrowed down just to that gaze. The kind of gaze that could burn or heal any wound in the world. Ryker swallowed the butterflies in his chest.

"Good morning. Miss Eleanor," he said with a soft smile as he stepped inside the chamber.

She didn't raise her head. She didn't smile. Only raised an eyebrow.

"Back so soon?" Her voice was low, edged with amusement and something else, something sharper.

Ryker bowed his head slightly in a mock apology, "I promised to return, didn't I"

"About that" She closed her book slowly, the silence stretching between them like a drawn bow, "I assume you are here to discuss the charming little trick you pulled yesterday"

Ryker chuckled, the sound was light but genuine, "Ah, you mean the Chancellor's order?"

She smirked hearing him, "That…Tell me, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or is this some new strategy? Because using the Chancellor's authority to strong arm me into being your mentor isn't exactly subtle"

"Subtlety isn't always effective," Ryker said with a shrug. "Besides, I asked for forgiveness"

Eleanor's smirk deepened, "Did you? Or was it more of a Sorry but I really need this kind of thing?"

"A bit of both." Ryker stepped forward as he sat into a seat opposite her. "Look, Miss Eleanor, I didn't come here to play games or waste your time. I want to understand you, I want to work with you. I think we both know why this… mentorship is necessary"

She folded her arms, studying him with those piercing ruby eyes, "You speak as if you have already decided what this is. As if you know me."

"Maybe I do," Ryker said softly. "But I am willing to learn more. Starting with something simple, what do you think this mentorship should be?"

Eleanor let out a slow breath. "You want me as your mentor but do you even know what that means? To be tied to me? To walk the line I walk?"

Ryker leaned forward.,"I know and I want to walk with you. Because no one else can do what you can. No one else see the world as you do."

Her gaze flickered for a moment as an unspoken thought buried deep in those crimson eyes started rising.

She finally spoke, her voice was low, "You want to know who I am."

He nodded.

Eleanor's lips curled into a faint bitter smile, "Ask"

Ryker held up a hand, stopping her. "I will answer if you ask first"

She narrowed her eyes then asked him quietly, "Do you know what I am, Ryker?"

The weight of her question settled between them like a shroud.

"I do," he said without hesitation. "And I don't."

Eleanor blinked.

"Let me explain," Ryker said, his voice calm but mysterious. "You are a force of nature. Something beyond ordinary. People fear you because of what you might become and because of what they think you are. They whisper legends, rumors, fears…"

Her eyes sharpened as she stopped Ryker, "Everyone says the same thing"

"Until the monster inside awakens," Ryker finished the sentence for her.

She looked away, her voice becoming colder now, "And until the monster takes over."

"But," Ryker said, softer this time, "I believe there is still hope. I believe that 'monster' is just part of a story. It's not the whole story."

Eleanor's eyes returned to his eyes, searching for something, "And you?"

"I believe I can help you write a different ending," he said in a steady voice.

For some moment, silence reigned.

Then Eleanor exhaled a breath that seemed to carry years of pain.

"Fine," she said at last, her voice clipped, "But don't make me regret this"

Ryker's smile was small but victorious, "I won't."

She stood up. Her movements are fluid and graceful yet guarded.

"I have a mission outside the academy," she said as she walked toward the door. "If you want to be my squire, come to the Warp Gate at sunset. That's where we begin."

Ryker nodded, standing as well.

"One more thing," Eleanor said over her shoulder, voice teasing but firm, "Call me Eleanor. Not Miss Eleanor. It makes me sound like I am older and giving orders."

Ryker laughed, a warm sound. "Alright, Eleanor."

She didn't look back. As the door shut behind her. Ryker felt a strange mix of hope and challenge rising in his chest.

******

The library's silence felt different now.

It was now charged with possibility.

Ryker stepped outside, the golden light of afternoon casting long shadows.

He thought about Eleanor. Her power, her mystery, the rumors circling around her like a storm.

In the novel, she was the Apostle of Gluttony. A terrifying force who almost tore the world apart.

Right now, she was a woman who is walking on the edge of a cliff, caught between what she was and what she could become.

Ryker smiled to himself and thought,

'I don't need her to love me immediately. I just need her to believe I am the only one who ever could love her.'

And the thought didn't frighten him, it thrilled him.

******

The sun dipped lower as Ryker approached the academy's Warp Gate later.

The place buzzed with energy, a portal to worlds beyond. Hee looked around, his heart steady.

He saw Eleanor was already waiting in front of the gate. Her eyes met Ryker's eyes. It was steady and unreadable.

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