Chapter 78: The Weight of a Lie

The return to the Eldorian Spirit Master Academy was a stark contrast to their departure. The transport skiff was filled with a heavy, charged silence. Squad Chimera was no longer just a team; they were co-conspirators, bound by the secret of what had truly happened in that cavern.

Ren, the center of the storm, was an island of perfect calm. He had embraced the Raijin way. He had shown his might, and the world had bent to it.

Upon landing, Rostova dismissed them with a single, sharp command. "Report to your dormitories. Await your commendations. You will speak of the mission's details to no one until my official report is ratified by the Council." She was not just giving an order; she was enforcing the lie.

Ren returned to his room, but he didn't have to wait long. Elder Tian appeared by simply… being there. He stepped out of a shadow, a data slate in his hand.

"I have read Captain Rostova's preliminary report," the Elder said, his voice unreadable. "It is a masterful work of fiction. She praises your courage, your discipline, and your decisive use of a 'high-density Aetheric burst' to neutralize the Rift Core's guardians, all on her direct command."

He looked at Ren, his eyes holding a deep, penetrating curiosity. "She is a good soldier. For her to so flagrantly lie on an official GAMA report, to risk her career to cover for you… what did you do in that cavern, Ren?"

Ren met the Elder's gaze. The time for half-truths was over. He was a partner now. He told him everything: the symbiotic link, the three Royal Guards, and the hijacking of the Rift Core.

The Elder listened without interruption. When Ren finished, he was silent for a full minute.

"You have not just learned to create a storm," the Elder finally said, his voice a low whisper. "You have learned to become its conductor. This changes the scale of the game entirely." He paced the room. "Rostova's lie has bought us a crucial advantage. She has publicly claimed your power, placing it under her GAMA-sanctioned authority. They will now see your power not as a terrifying anomaly, but as a new, secret GAMA weapon being field-tested. They will focus on her, trying to understand how she developed such a technique."

He stopped and looked at Ren. "Anya Volkov's truce is more dangerous. She is not fooled by the lie. She seeks the truth. Her alliance is one of convenience. Do not trust it. But use it."

He tapped his own data slate. "Your path forward is now clear. The academy is no longer a hiding place; it is your forge. Your new rank as an Apprentice will grant you access to resources and training grounds previously unavailable. You will use them. You will grow your might under the guise of being Rostova's prized weapon."

"The old fool is finally seeing the truth," Zephyrion grumbled in Ren's mind. "Power is not a thing to be hidden. It is a thing to be honed."

"Your next step," the Elder continued, "is to truly understand what you are. You need a different kind of lesson."

He placed a small, intricately carved silver key on Ren's desk. "At the heart of this academy, beneath the Northern Spire, is a place few students ever see. The Vault of Echoes. It is a GAMA repository for dangerous and unstable artifacts recovered from Rifts across the centuries. Your new rank and my authority grant you access."

He looked Ren in the eye, his gaze holding a new, shared understanding. His voice was soft, but his words were sharp as glass.

"That bracer on your wrist… it has taught you how to fight. It has given you the 'what'. But it cannot give you the 'why'. The fragmented whispers of a bygone era are not a substitute for true understanding. The history of your bloodline, the cause of the Great Cataclysm, the reasons for the wars that time has forgotten… that knowledge is not in your arm. It is waiting for you in that vault."

The Elder's gaze was piercing, a silent acknowledgment of the secret he would not name aloud. He knew.

"Go, Ren. It is time you stopped listening to echoes and started finding the source."