After leaving that lifeless hall, Thora and the others were assigned to a temporary rest area to recover for a day. The following day, all freshmen who had passed the assessment would be transported to the military academy headquarters to officially complete their enrollment procedures. The Wolffang Unit waited for Thora, then returned to the rest area together. Thora went back to her room and threw herself straight onto the bed, but her eyes were surprisingly bright as she stared up at the ceiling. After the assessment ended, her first thought had been planning to tell Darius the news. Her fingertips traced the silver bracelet on her wrist as Darius's face surfaced in her mind. The corners of her lips curled up involuntarily."Thora! "I'll wait for you to come back. When you return, we'll hold our bonding ceremony." Darius's voice seemed to echo in her ears once again. "You're looking forward to it." Amie's voice suddenly rang out in her mind, carrying a hint of lazy certainty. Thora didn't deny it. She turned her head to look at Amie's phantom reflection in the mirror and smiled as she replied, "Yeah." Looking forward to seeing him, and looking forward to their bonding ceremony. Only now did she begin to understand the intense bond between fated mates in this world. Unfortunately, having come from the apocalypse, she had lost the ability to identify her fated mate. But it didn't matter. Her mate would only ever be Darius. And his mate could only be her.Amie let out a soft laugh, her white tail swaying side to side. "This is the first time I've ever seen you look forward to something other than battle." "I didn't expect it either," Thora replied. This anticipation intensified her desire to graduate from the military academy as quickly as possible—even though she hadn't officially enrolled yet. Thora curled her fingers and lightly tapped against the bed, then suddenly rose and walked to the window. Blue Star Military Academy... Her instincts told her that this journey to the military academy might bring many unexpected events. But she would still complete her studies and graduate as quickly as possible. Not just for herself, but for Darius who was waiting for her, and for the promise she'd made to her grandfather. Thora's gaze remained as resolute as ever, fixed solemnly on the distance.... Meanwhile, on a rooftop corner diagonally below her window, hidden by the building's architecture, Ryan had finally found the person he'd been searching for. "Darius! What the hell is going on with you?" Ryan shouted at him. He'd tried to talk to him several times but kept getting ignored. Even someone with the best temper would snap eventually. In the past, Ryan had always reined in his temper around Darius. But this time he'd reached his limit—Darius was acting like a completely different person. Even though Darius had his cunning side and possessed unfathomable strength, he'd never made Ryan feel uneasy. And he'd certainly never acted like he didn't even recognize him. Unless the person in front of him was an imposter. The silver-masked Draven slowly turned around to face Ryan, then gradually removed his mask, revealing that handsome face Ryan knew so well. "Ryan, it's been a while." He smiled faintly, his profile bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun, warm and gentle. Ryan froze for a moment before finally speaking, "It really is you... Dude, I thought you'd been possessed or something!" Darius chuckled, a teasing note in his voice. "What, you don't recognize me anymore?" Hearing the familiar way Darius addressed him, Ryan stood rooted to the spot for a long moment before fully accepting that the person before him was indeed Darius. He broke into a grin. "Damn, you jerk. That act you were putting on earlier scared the crap out of me!" Darius smiled but said nothing, a dark glint flickering quickly through his eyes. Ryan walked over and leaned against the rooftop railing beside him, cutting straight to the point. "So what are you doing here?"