Xavier sensed the tension building up in the room and shifted closer to Aegon, his eyes darting nervously between his twin sisters. He couldn't quite understand what had happened, but he felt a little fearful for them.

He glanced at his friend and saw the faint smile on Aegon's face, which made him heave a sigh of relief. Whatever had happened and whatever was about to happen was at least something good.

On the other hand, Luna was the most nervous of them all. She couldn't help but fidget in her spot. For months, she had hoped that her sister would look her in the eyes again, but now that it finally happened, she was scared, afraid of what might follow.

She couldn't even speak, terrified that a single wrong word might ruin the chance of Cali saying something nice to her. Her heart pounded violently against her chest despite her efforts to calm it down.

Slowly lifting her head, she met Cali's gaze and realized something she had somehow forgotten all this time. Cali was her sister, her twin sister.

'How did I forget such a thing?'

It seemed so silly, yet she had forgotten it completely. What was she so afraid of? She was her sister, her blood, the one who shared her face, her heartbeat, and her childhood.

They might be different in personality, completely opposite in temperament even, but they were still twins, two halves who understood each other better than anyone else ever could.

Yet, she had failed to act on that bond, simply because of her fears.

'Cali didn't say anything, but I also didn't ask her out of fear. Would she have told me her problems if I had insisted more? I didn't try harder to understand my own sister.'

Tears welled up in her eyes as she finally looked into the eyes most familiar to her. Yet, at this moment, she felt ashamed...ashamed that she hadn't looked into them sooner.

She slowly took a step forward, still trembling, still afraid to reach out, but she didn't want to leave Cali in whatever problem she was going through. Her sister might not need her, but she wanted to be there for her regardless.

Cali stood there like a statue, yet dozens of complicated emotions swirled in her eyes. Her lips quivered as if she wanted to say something, but no words would come out.

Finally, when she noticed Luna taking a step toward her, those tearful eyes shattered the walls she had built within. Her hand visibly trembled, and her legs instinctively moved backward.

But they didn't land. She didn't want them to. She didn't want to run anymore. Not anymore.

So, she gritted her teeth and instead forced that leg forward.

Finally, both sisters took a step toward each other, closing the distance that had opened between them for such silly, meaningless reasons. Neither had wanted that distance, yet it had existed for months, eating away at them both.

Then, Cali took out a small moon encased in a glass box, surprising everyone. Snowflakes danced around the beautiful blue moon inside, enhancing its ethereal beauty even more.

She threw the moon toward Luna, who caught it as carefully as if her life depended on it. Then, she hugged it tightly, her eyes filled with confusion but also a glimmer of understanding.

"I will take it back after coming back from Hollow Mountains."

Saying that, Cali stormed toward the door, unable to control her emotions any longer. She knew that if she stayed a moment longer, she would break and her sister deserved a better apology than that.

Just as she put her hand on the doorknob, she heard a sweet, love-filled voice that melted every ounce of defense she had left in her heart.

As she hurried to catch those falling fragments of her crumbling wall, her heart screamed at her not to turn around yet every fiber of her being made her do just that. And when she did, she realized her heart had been right.

She shouldn't have seen this scene. She didn't deserve to.

In the middle of the hall, Luna sat there hugging the moon as if it were her very life, a silly, radiant smile plastered on her face. It was as if that single smile could brighten the entire world.

"I'll be waiting!"

Such simple words caused so much pain to Cali's heart that she couldn't even pick up the fragments left behind. All she could do was stare at that face, those tearful yet happy eyes, her own eyes burning, desperate to cry.

Then, she stormed out of the house, slamming the door loudly behind her, as if she wanted to hide her breaking heart behind the sound.

The hall returned to silence once again, save for the soft sniffles coming from Luna as she shed tears of joy. Her head lowered, her hands gently caressing the moon she held so dearly.

Aegon and Xavier, who had stayed silent throughout, exchanged a glance before standing up. Xavier quietly went to his room, fetched a blanket, and gently wrapped it around Luna's shoulders before kissing her head.

"I'm happy for you."

...

Aegon knew Luna needed some time alone, so he and Xavier soon left the house after changing into their Academy uniforms. Someone had delivered the items they needed last night.

The set included an imperial white jacket, a gray inner tunic, and black trousers paired with knee-high leather boots.

Apparently, the uniforms were specially designed and embedded with micro runes that performed several minor functions like fitting perfectly to the wearer's size, absorbing sweat, and enhancing flexibility. There was even a self-repair rune formation, meaning that even if it got damaged during battle, it would return to normal in a matter of time.

It also provided decent defense, so it wasn't wrong to say that it was a combat-ready body suit disguised as a stylish outfit.

Since they had left early, they decided to walk to the Academy while enjoying some street food, finally giving Aegon the chance to taste the dishes he had been eyeing earlier.

"Hmm, what is this? So spicy!" Aegon licked his lips, tasting a strange yet addictive combination of meat rolled in a stick with bits of roasted potatoes.

"It's called Crimson Meatroll," Xavier explained between bites, eating something sweet alongside it. "Damn, it's spicy!"

"Why the hell are you eating it if it's too spicy for you?" Aegon asked, dumbfounded. He couldn't understand why this idiot was eating sweets and spice together, didn't it sounded like a recipe for disaster?

"Because I wanna eat it. What's that got to do with you?" Xavier shot back.

"Nothing! I'm just wondering if you finally accepted that you're a masochist."

"Keep talking like that, and you'll feel the spice when you shit. I won't heal you," Xavier growled.

"Heh! I'm sure you'd like to be in my place."

"I'll kill you!"

"Make a better comeback. I've already died thousands of times by now."

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