CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 265: NO ONE MUST KNOW

Liora could hear everything that echoed in Aeris’s mind—her thoughts, her panic, her fears—as clearly as if they were her own. She was beside her, but not just observing, but feeling everything like it ran in her blood.

And she knew... Aeris had already awakened her shadow-summoning ability by now.

But unlike Liora’s present self, Aeris had always believed this ability was a curse.

She had never told anyone. Aside from her brother.

Only he knew. And he had tried, gently and consistently, to persuade her that the ability wasn’t evil. That it could be good. That it could save her.

But Aeris never believed it.

Because the first time—when she had accidentally devoured someone’s soul—it had left behind a horror she couldn’t forget. That moment had etched itself into her like an open wound, and since then, she had never used the ability again.

The fear... the guilt... It haunted her like a shadow that never left.

So Atas—her brother—had given her advice. Quietly, patiently. He told her she should try using her ability on mutated or space-born monsters. At least then, she wouldn’t be hurting people. She could still train and learn to control it. Purge the fear with practice.

But civilians couldn’t just walk into space hunting zones. And they definitely didn’t have access to restricted fields or alien nest zones.

That was one of the reasons she had chosen the military in the first place.

So she could control her ability.

Learn it.

Master it.

But now...

Was she losing control?

Was she unconsciously using her ability when asleep? Devouring people without knowing?

Aeris thought this fearfully, her breaths sharp and shallow. The possibility wasn’t zero.

Not for her.

She had never trusted this ability. Never accepted it as a gift. In her eyes, it was a curse—one only she carried. No one else in the Spire had anything like it. No one at all—that was what made it all the more dangerous.

The sudden whirring of mechanical joints cut through the silence like a knife.

Aeris froze.

Somewhere behind the tall, crumbled remnants of an old observation tower, she heard the distinct sound, the steady buzz that grew louder with each passing second. Her breath caught in her throat as recognition flooded her.

The patrol drone.

Her entire body went still. She didn’t even dare to breathe.

It was the automated surveillance bot that patrolled the military planet’s restricted zones, equipped with infrared scans and audio sensors—designed to catch unauthorized intrusions and respond with swift detainment.

Her face turned white as snow.

Shit.

The drone’s sound grew sharper, slicing through the wind as it drifted closer. The sound of shifting gears pulsed against her skull. She didn’t think—she ran.

Her legs pushed her toward the brush without a plan. A massive thorn-covered bush lay ahead, dense enough to hide her, and she dove into it without hesitation, ignoring the sharp sting that tore into her arms.

Leaves rustled violently as she pressed herself down, curling tight, her heart thundering against her ribs. Every breath felt too loud.

Just a second later, the drone hovered down, gently lowering to the cracked surface. Its sensor eye blinked in a lazy red pattern, rotating as it scanned the terrain. A low tone vibrated through the ground as it began its cycle—monitoring everything within range. The air shimmered faintly with the static haze of its surveillance field.

Aeris’s jaw clenched.

She didn’t dare to move. Didn’t dare to blink.

If it detected her, she’d be hauled in for interrogation—and she didn’t even have an explanation for how she ended up here, let alone the blood on her hands.

Liora’s presence tensed alongside her, holding the same breath, watching through like it was her own body crouched there.

Just leave. Just leave...

The drone lingered.

Its round frame floated just above the bush line, lights flickering across its chassis as it replayed a sound loop—had it heard her?

A tiny mechanical voice clicked out of its speaker:

"Unidentified audio signature. Recalibrating scan."

Aeris’s heart dropped to her stomach.

No. No, no, no.

It moved slowly now, tilting toward the bush, lens scanning through the thick leaves. The faint sound of her body might give her away any second. The drone whirred again—then a small mechanical claw extended from its body and gently pushed into the foliage.

Liora could feel Aeris’s panic spike.

Please don’t find me.

But then—

The drone retracted its claw.

Another moment passed. The blinking eye dimmed, then flicked back to blue.

"False positive. No target found."

And just like that, it rose.

Slowly, weightless, the drone lifted into the air once more, spinning once in place as though giving the valley a final glance.

Then it soared away, vanishing into the gray clouds above.

Aeris collapsed into the dirt with a silent gasp, her hands trembling, skin slick with sweat. The thorns still clung to her sleeves, and blood now mixed with mud on her palms.

She stared up at the sky, jaw clenched, breath shaking.

"Damn it..." she whispered, voice hoarse. "Just my luck."

It wasn’t just the patrol bot that frightened her.

It was the implication of everything. She wasn’t just trespassing.

The wind had begun to pick up as Aeris crawled from the thorny brush, her limbs aching, skin raw with scratches, and palms caked in dried blood and dirt.

Her breath was still ragged, but the patrol drone had vanished into the sky, nothing more than a distant hum now. She didn’t waste time—she had to get out. Before another bot picked up on her.

And she remembered Xu Kai’s words.

"If you’re ever in a place you’re not supposed to be... use the blindspot trails. They move in patterns—loops. There’s always a six-minute window between Sector Four and the outer ridge before the next drone cycles in."

She had rolled her eyes back then, teasing him for being too paranoid. But now? Now she was thankful.

Sixteen breathless minutes later, the edge of the restricted zone was crossed and nearly wept.

But she didn’t head toward her dorm. There would be many people there, and if she got caught like this, how would she explain them?

Instead, she went to Xu Kai’s house, one of the private residences assigned to higher-level cadets for their exceptional performance. She knew the door code. He had made sure she did, even though she’d never used it before. "Just in case," he had said.

The moment the door clicked open, she stepped inside, shivering.

Soon she was heading toward the bathroom to clean the mess with a pounding heart when...

"Aeris?" His voice.

Her whole body flinched.