Meera stood before the shiny gates of the university in her black and gold armor and somehow felt unworthy of stepping into the place. Its gold-plated door and shiny white marble building were like a temple to the gods. No, it was better than a temple to the gods. She hadn't even seen any temple in this world that could stand up to the splendor of this place.

It truly was a temple of learning. There was a golden statue of a woman wearing white marbled clothes and writing in a book with a feathered quill. She knew this statue must have been dedicated to the God of Learning or knowledge, as there were two birds perched on her shoulders. But they weren't ordinary birds. One had the head of a dragon, and the other had the head of a snake.

Meera wondered if they were real animals or mythological. She had a strange curiosity to learn of this god and her strange animals.

But that would be after she gained entry into this mesmerizing and cursed place.

"I've told you I'm a friend of the princess and the Champion's sister," Meera practically yelled, waving the piece of paper that the princess had given her.

"You know, how many people I have coming to me stating that they're the Savior's cousin or long-lost uncle," the university guard stated. "But someone posing as his sister. The Reverent Lady herself has to be the first."

Meera groaned and gritted her teeth. "The princess is not going to be happy when she hears of this."

Even to her ears, Meera sounded so petulant. It was as if she were saying, 'Do you know who my father is?' and the guard wasn't having any of it.

"Did you even read this thing, lady?" The guard asked. "Who did you buy this from? They clearly ripped you off, and you didn't even bother reading this thing."

"Well, no…because it had her seal on it," Meera replied.

The guard barked a laugh. "The princess has no seal. Now, I definitely know you were duped. There is only one royal seal. The seal of the God King, and this is not it." He waved the letter in Meera's face.

She could feel herself reddening from anger and embarrassment. She was about to turn and blast off towards the palace when she saw Garal coming out of a door from the university. He noticed her, waved, and came running towards her.

He was as impeccably dressed as the last time she had seen her. Dressed in an ivory white dress adorned with a couple of jade necklaces. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought him a prince, albeit a little underdressed one.

He immediately bowed. "Reverent Lady, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't know you were also academically inclined, or do you wish to continue the line of study that you started back at the palace."

"Unfortunately, the book that we found in the palace library did not provide much further insight. I had come here to see Professor Hiral Raka, but this one won't let me through, even when I gave her the letter from the princess."

He frowned. "Let me see the letter, my goodman."

The guard didn't give him any lip and handed the letter over. "You can examine it yourself, and you will know that it is a forgery, m—"

"It's not a forgery," Garal declared. "The letter is written by her hand. You don't know how to distinguish a fake from a real one. Besides, don't you know she is the Reverent Lady? One use of Identify would've been enough to inform you of such. Now, let her through."

He looked to Meera, and his eyes widened. "Y-Yes, right away, y—"

"Just hurry up."

The guard hurriedly opened the gate for her and bowed as she passed through, offering his apologies.

"Reverent Lady, forgive me. It is my mistake, and I will bear any punishment that you decree."

"No punishment is necessary. Just don't be so obnoxious next time when someone wishes to enter this place."

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"Yes, Reverent Lady," he replied. "I will follow your words as if they had fallen from the lips of the God King himself."

Garal motioned to her. "This way, Reverent Lady."

"You can call me Meera," she said. "I thought I had made that clear last night."

He smiled, and Meera was once again reminded of how dashing this young man was. "I will follow your command in private, Meera, but here, we must keep up appearances, and besides, we don't want to set a precedent that the Savior's sister is not to be respected."

"Fine," she sighed. "Now, if you would be so kind as to direct me to the professor. Hopefully, he isn't anything like what I've seen of this place so far."

"Oh, you'll find him to be quite different."

"The tone of your voice is not giving me any comfort, Garal."

He laughed and continued towards the door from which he had come. He explained what each faculty of the university was as they walked. The place was quite modern, considering the magical nature of the worlds. There were as many faculties for science as there were for studying the various forms of magic.

As always, people bowed to her as she walked by, students and professors alike, but no one bothered to stop and gawk or fall at the knee or any other such ridiculous things. A quick bow, and on they went. It was kind of refreshing.

There was an entire biology wing dedicated to studying various animals. But they didn't just study their physiology; they also examined what made them magical. What sort of magical skills did the creatures have, and how did they manifest them? Garal was particularly excited about that one. She couldn't help but draw a parallel between this wing and Edwyn's lab.

"I think we have the time," Garal said. "Why don't you let me show you around? Come on, Reverent Lady, it won't take up too much time at all."

"Maybe some other day," Meera replied with a smile. "I've seen other labs that experimented on animals while trying to figure out their skills, and I didn't care for it."

"Oh," He realized what the scorn in Meera's voice must've meant. "It's nothing like that. They're completely humane to the animals and don't try to cause them unneeded pain."

"Some other day, Garal," Meera said, walking past. "Maybe once I've figured out the true words of the prophecy."

He looked a little forlorn. "As you wish, Reverent Lady."

After the biology wing, they walked past the physics wing and then the geography wing, which held the maps to all the corners of the three worlds. Meera thought to pay them a visit later on and get a map of everywhere if they had one.

Garal also mentioned that this place would be her best bet if she wanted to figure out a way into the White Ember. And that they had been trying to climb the Pale Mantle for years. She didn't waste time in telling him that she had already conquered the Mantle. It was the monster in the White Ember that was giving her trouble.

They crossed more wings, and they finally stopped at the set of white, wooden double doors. The sign above the door read—Skills Wing.

"They study all the various skills in here," Garal said. "Inside is where we'll find Professor Hiral Raka."

Meera frowned. "Skills? I figured he would be in history."

Garal shook his head. "Oh no, Reverent Lady. Your query is a multi-talented man. Equally skilled in Skills, as he is in history, geography, and the arcane arts. They say he has gone half-mad from all that knowledge in his head."

"Is he actually, though?" Meera asked.

Garal smiled coyly. "I generally turn the other way when I see him coming. He tends to ask questions that I don't have the answers to. I believe he's especially tough on me since we're related. I doubt anyone would have the answers to his questions. He likes to test the intelligence of those around him to see if they're worth his time. I think he likes to mess with people, or he truly has gone mad." He shrugged. "Who can say? Well, good luck. His office is the sixth door on the right. I'll take your leave now. I don't wish to have my intelligence insulted in front of the Reverent Lady."

With a short bow and a flashy smile, he left, and Meera couldn't help but feel a little sad at his leaving. She was rather enjoying the company of this charming man. She watched him go until he turned the corner and was gone out of sight.

She sighed and turned towards the Skills Wing and headed for the professor's door, but before she had even taken two steps, she heard the unmistakable sound of someone grunting painfully, as if they were stabbed.

She rushed forward, and more similar sounds could be heard, and she had a suspicion about where they were coming from. Ignoring the first five doors, she dashed for Hiral's office. She threw her shoulder against the door, only to find it jammed shut, but she felt a chill permeating through the wooden door.

Meera frowned, but she didn't have time to ponder on the chill. She took a chakram in her hand, activated Druvis Might, and punched the door.

The door burst into splinters. A wave of destruction traveling outwards from the point of contact. She would've been impressed with her awe-inspiring strength if not for the bloody scene before her.

A big portion of the room was frozen in ice. Two University guards lay dead on the ground with icy spikes jutting out of their bodies. An older man with wiry hair was backed up into the corner, clutching at his side, which was pierced through with an ice sword. A lone guard fought valiantly with three white-robed assassins.

Meera used Identify, and her jaw dropped.

[Frostweaver – Level 467]

[Frostweaver – Level 446]

[Frostweaver – Level 482]

The guard got distracted by her entrance, and the Frostweavers cut the man's head off. He died before he even had a chance to make a sound.

"Well, well, well," said the only woman. "Isn't this a nice surprise? Looks like someone else just made the hitlist boys."

"Time for the Reverent Lady to take a nice long nap," said the man to her right.

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