First light of dawn seeped between the stained-glass windows of the Observatory Ruins, color bathing the floor in prismatic cracks. Dust motes suspended in the stagnant air like minuscule lanterns. Otoku and Noctis walked over shattered mosaics revealing constellations long since altered, their paws reverberating off shattered marble.
Otoku knelt before a carved pedestal, examining the sigil etched onto its surface: a star surrounded by a loop of flame and shadow. He outlined its lines with shaking fingers. "This is where the loop started," he murmured. "And where it may stop."
A gust blew through the shattered dome, bringing with it a voice that sounded like wind in reeds: "Heed the whisper, or be lost to the glow."
Noctis's ears pricked. He moved ahead, pushing his muzzle against the sigil. The stone beneath his paws grew warm. Then the mark flared gold and violet—lighting up concealed runes along the chamber walls.
Otoku rose, staring. The frescoes on the walls' faded surfaces sprang to life: battlefields in flames, skies shattering, and a solitary child standing over a throne of wreckage. Every vision throbbed in harmony with the sigil's radiance.
"Otoku," the wind whispered. "Heed… or fall."
He gulped, his heart thumping. "I hear you," he breathed. "I will not fall."
He laid the Companion upon the pedestal. Silver ink spilled across its pages, yielding a single sentence:
> "Where shadow meets flame, the way is shaped by the soul."
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Otoku snapped the book shut with determination. "Then our souls will guide us."
The runes on the walls dissolved. The golden light receded. Noctis breathed softly, the room falling back into silent destruction.
Outside, the Academy came to life with the vibrancy of a new day. Inside, Otoku bowed his head. Every discovery was a step closer to shattering—or re-making—the loop whole.
He stood, slinging the Companion over his back. "Come," he told Noctis, "the Academy awaits—and with it, our fate."
They walked together into the dawn, leaving behind whispers and sigils to await those who were daring enough to hear them out.