cierup

Price of Knowledge: Part 5

The Promise That Was Never Granted

A few months passed. It was Zandik's fifth year in the Akademiya and months deep into his relationship with her. Then, rumours began to spread again. A few days ago, Zandik and another female student named Sohreh, went on a field expedition. Only one came back. When teachers asked him where is she, he didn't know. The other students started speculating even before the rescue team found her. When she was found, it was only her lifeless body. Sohreh was found dead during the expedition with severe injuries and mechanical asphyxia caused by a fractured hyoid bone.

As the months passed from their "confession", she started spending more time in his lab. Sometimes, when he would've skipped sleep for too long, she would bring two blankets and a pillow, to craft a makeshift bed on the floor to keep him company.

One afternoon, after lecture, she entered his lab without knocking. He knew it was her because no one else would dare to step inside without knocking. The door wasn't locked, he knew she would come.

"So... What happened with that girl?" She asked after she locked the door.

"Who?"

"Sohreh. From Amurta. You went on field work with her?"

"Irrelevant. I don't pay attention to people."

She walked closer and sat down next to him.

"So... How did she end up like that?"

"I am not aware of the circumstances in which she died and I'm not interested."

She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So, you are saying you don't know. That a very weird thing for you to say, Zandik. You never don't know. I'm worried."

"Why are you assuming that I know the details only because we worked together?"

"Whatever you say..."

For a few minutes, the room was quiet, except for the sound of his writing. Then, she remembered something.

"I've been thinking of nicknames for you!"

"I am already opposed."

"I have two options. Zanie?"

"No"

"Zandie?"

"No."

"Hmm...How about...Dickie?"

"Absolutely not."

"...Fine."

With that, the topic about Sohreh was long forgotten, as far as she was concerned. She knew something was up, but she couldn't care less about the girl. Her death held little to no meaning for her.

Days passed. The students' and also the teachers' attention was set on Zandik. Everyone suspects him. Despite everything that was haplenjng, she was heading towards his lab. Again.

She bursted into his lab, like she usually does, but this time she locked the door quickly.

"I'm here with news!"

She walks towards his desk and leans on his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"You'll love them as much as I did."

He already got used to her proximity. Or at least he's trying to. He doesn't tense like before. Several months ago, he would have immediately told her to move. This time, he merely paused.

"...You're obstructing my field of vision."

She leaned a little farther over his shoulder on purpose.

"Am I?"

"...Yes."

"...Yet you're still writing."

He let out the faintest sigh. "...Unfortunately."

She grinned. "I'll interpret that as permission."

"...Interpret it however you wish."

A pause.

"...Considering the current circumstances, I sincerely doubt your news concerns anything pleasant."

"You're wrong this time."

"...Then you've successfully made yourself an anomaly."

She took the pen from his hand and set it aside.

"Would it hurt to pay some attention to me?"

He looked first at the pen.

Then at her. Silence.

"...Yes."

"...Excuse me?"

"...Potentially."

He gestured toward the unfinished page.

"I was in the middle of recording an observation."

She smiled. "It can wait."

"...Knowledge generally does not."

"It will survive five minutes. And I guarantee I have better knowledge than this."

"It is statistically more likely that you will continue speaking for considerably longer than five minutes."

She laughed. "I knew you were listening."

"...I never claimed otherwise."

Another brief silence. Finally, he turned fully toward her.

"...Very well. What is so important that it justified interrupting my work?"

"...You know I've been on field work. In the desert. Tunigi Hollow."

"I am aware."

"I've found something interesting. Underground."

A pause. She leans closer and whispers against his ear.

"A possible gate to Khaenri'ah."

His expression didn't change. But something in his eyes did. The irritation disappeared instantly. He turned toward her completely.

"...Repeat that."

She smiled faintly.

"I knew that would get your attention."

"...Repeat it."

There wasn't impatience in his voice, only absolute focus. She repetead exactly what she said.

"...what evidence?"

"The design. The symbols. An eight-pointed star. The layout."

His mind was already moving several steps ahead. Who had built it? When? Why conceal an entrance instead of destroying it? Had the Akademiya documented it? If so...

Why had no one published anything?

"...Who else knows?"

"No one."

"...No proffesors?"

"Do you really think I would tell proffesors?"

For the first time since she'd entered the laboratory, he forgot entirely about the unfinished notes on his desk.

"...Take me there."

She laughed. "I thought you'd say that."

They prepared everything they needed. But when they were about to leave, a teacher came after Zandik and gave him an assignment, due the next day.

Weeks passed and she never got the chance to show him that place. The Sages wouldn't let Zandik leave the Akademiya without permission anymore. Following Sohreh's death, every request submitted under his name was examined more carefully. His actions no longer went unnoticed. He was under their surveillance. His action caught their attention. Even if he submitted a request to leave, they would never let him go to some mysterious ruins. He could have fabricated a research proposal. But if they discovered he deliberately misled the Akademiya while already under suspicion... Expulsion would likely be the least of his concerns.

Late into the night, the laboratory had finally fallen quiet. She had spread two blankets on the floor as usual, insisting that if he refused to sleep properly, she would at least make sure he collapsed somewhere comfortable. He continued writing. She watched him for a while. Then, with complete seriousness, she said,

"...You've always been interested in the human body."

"...Yes."

"You've spent hours studying anatomy textbooks."

"...Correct."

She rested her chin on one hand. "...Then come study me."

He looked up. For the first time in several minutes.

"...Explain."

Instead of answering immediately, she undid the top button of her Akademiya uniform. Then another. Just enough to expose the line of her collarbone. She smiled.

"...I'm offering."

Silence. He looked at her. Not with embarrassment. Not with excitement. With concentration.

"...Why?"

She laughed. "Because I wanted to see your reaction."

"...You interrupted my work for an experiment."

"...Exactly."

Another pause.

"...And?"

He reached forward. Not toward the open collar. Instead, he calmly took the loose edge of her uniform and fastened the button she had undone.

"...If your objective is to determine whether I find you physically attractive..."

He met her eyes. "...The answer was already affirmative."

She stared at him. "...That's all?"

"...It answers your question."

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "...No, Zandik."

She reached out, gently taking his hand before he could return to his notes. "...Listen to me for a moment."

He didn't interrupt.

"You spend every waking hour chasing knowledge. Every expedition. Every manuscript. Every experiment."

She smiled faintly. "...One day, you'll be old."

He raised an eyebrow. "...Statistically probable."

"And when that day comes..."

She looked directly at him.

"...What memories will you have?"

Silence settled between them.

"You'll remember translating inscriptions. You'll remember dissecting specimens."

Another pause.

"...But will you remember ever allowing yourself to simply... live?"

For once, he had no immediate answer. His gaze drifted toward the pages still covering his desk. The calculations waiting to be finished.

The unfinished observations. They would still be there tomorrow. The realization felt... unfamiliar. Almost uncomfortable. Slowly, he looked back at her. She smiled again.

"...Knowledge isn't going anywhere...Neither am I."

For months, he had analyzed every change in their relationship as though it were another problem waiting to be solved. That night, he stopped searching for explanations. For once, curiosity gave way to something quieter. He reached for her, not because another mystery demanded an answer, nor because he wished to understand the mechanics of human affection, but simply because he wanted to. His movements retained the same precision that defined everything he did. Measured. Unhurried. Deliberate. Yet there was no trace of clinical detachment in them. He had spent years handling ancient mechanisms, fragile manuscripts, and intricate experiments with extraordinary care.

This time, he wasn't preserving an artifact. He was touching the person who had quietly become the most important part of his life.

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"You're in the wind, I'm in the water

Nobody's son, nobody's daughter"

Price of Knowledge: Part 4

Starry Night

A couple of months passed. The expedition had ended hours earlier. Neither of them had made any attempt to return to the Akademiya. The afternoon sun had begun sinking toward the horizon, washing the hills in gold. For once... There were no notebooks open between them. No arguments over translations. No sketches of machines. Just silence.

She was laying on the grass with her hands folded beneath her head. Watching the clouds drift lazily across the sky.

"...There are many secrets the people of Teyvat don't know."

Several steps away, Zandik sat against a weathered stone, absentmindedly turning a strange metallic fragment over in his hands. Without looking up, he answered,

"That is hardly a remarkable observation."

She smiled.

"Come here."

"...Why?"

"I'll tell you a secret."

"You can do so from there."

"I could." She grinned. "...But this one shouldn't be spoken loudly."

He stared at her for several seconds. It was inefficient. Entirely unnecessary. Then, with visible reluctance, he stood and walked over. He stopped beside her.

"Closer."

"...This distance is sufficient."

"It isn't."

He sighed almost imperceptibly. Then crouched beside her.

"Closer."

"...Your standards are unreasonable."

"They're very reasonable."

Another moment of reluctant calculation. Then he leaned in until she could have whispered directly into his ear. She sat up, leaned slightly closer and whispered.

"...The sky is fake."

Silence. Zandik didn't move. At first, he assumed he had misheard.

"...Explain."

"I can't."

"...Can't...or won't?"

She looked back at the sky. He followed her gaze upward.

The same sky he had observed his entire life. The same stars scholars charted. Fake.

"...Impossible."

"I thought so too."

"...What evidence?"

"I'll show you...One day."

He remained perfectly still.Not because he doubted her. Because, for the first time in years...Someone had presented him with a question he genuinely could not answer. His thoughts raced. If the sky were artificial...Then...No. He needed evidence. Before the chain of thoughts could continue... He felt something unexpectedly soft against his cheek. A kiss. Brief. Gone almost instantly. He turned. She was already standing. She smiled with unmistakable satisfaction.

"...You looked too serious."

Then she turned and ran down the hillside. Laughing. Zandik remained exactly where he was. Still crouching. Still looking in the direction she'd disappeared. He slowly lifted one hand to the place she'd kissed him.

Not because he was embarrassed. Because the sequence of events made absolutely no sense. He tried, with complete sincerity, to determine which one had surprised him more. He failed. Far down the hill, she looked back. He was still standing there. Motionless. Exactly where she'd left him. She couldn't help laughing again.

"I think I broke him..."

Several long moments later,Zandik finally began walking. Not toward the Akademiya. Toward the place where she'd disappeared. His pace was calm.

Measured. As though nothing unusual had happened. Yet one thought repeated itself with irritating persistence. Not the kiss. Not entirely. But the realization that she had managed to do something almost no one else ever could. She had caught him completely off guard. And, much to his annoyance... He didn't dislike it.

The kiss was never mentioned. Not the following day. Not the day after that. Not even a week later. She wondered if he had simply ignored it. It wouldn't have surprised her.

One evening, they sat in the House of Daena. Most students had already left. Several lanterns had been extinguished, leaving only the pool of warm light over their table. Ancient texts lay scattered between them. For nearly twenty minutes, the only sounds were turning pages and scratching pens.

Without warning, Zandik spoke. Still looking down at the manuscript.

"...Why did you kiss me?"

She stopped writing. A slow smile appeared on her face.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to ask."

"I intended to."

"When?"

"I required sufficient time to analyze the situation."

She laughed quietly. "You analyzed a kiss?"

"...Yes."

"...For how long?"

"...Eight days."

She put her quill down.

"Only you would spend more than a week thinking about something like that."

"...It produced several unexpected variables."

"And?"

He finally looked at her. "...Why?"

She held his gaze. For once, there wasn't a joke waiting.

"...Because I wanted to."

A brief pause.

"...Because I like you."

Silence.

He didn't seem surprised. Only thoughtful. As though comparing her answer against something he'd already suspected.

"...I arrived at the same conclusion."

She blinked.

"...Conclusion?"

"...Regarding you."

"You make everything sound like a research paper."

"...It is the most precise way to communicate."

She rested her chin on one hand. Watching him.

"...Then explain your conclusion."

He considered the request. As he always did. Carefully.

"...I have observed that I voluntarily seek your company."

She smiled.

"...When you are absent..." He frowned slightly. "...my work becomes less efficient."

"You almost made that sound romantic."

"...No." He corrected himself immediately. "...Efficiency is only one consequence."

He searched for the proper wording. Finding it considerably more difficult than translating an ancient inscription.

"...Conversations become..."

Another pause.

"...Less stimulating."

She remained silent. Waiting.

"...Expeditions become unnecessarily quiet."

He looked down at the open manuscript.

"...When I discover something of significance ...my first thought is that you should examine it."

"...And..." His voice grew quieter. "...I no longer find solitude preferable."

That sentence surprised even him. He hadn't intended to say it aloud. She reached across the table. Slowly. Giving him every opportunity to move away. She placed her hand over his. He stiffened immediately. Not because it was her. Because physical contact was still unfamiliar. She didn't let go. She simply waited.

After several long seconds, the tension in his hand eased. Only slightly. But it was enough.

"...So...What does that mean?" She asked softly.

He answered without hesitation.

"...It means I have no objection to continuing exactly as we have been."

She stared at him. Then laughed. Not mockingly. Genuinely.

"...Zandik."

"...Yes?"

"...Normal people call that being together."

He thought about it.

"...Then..." He nodded once. "...That appears to be an accurate description."

"...That's your answer?"

"...It is."

She squeezed his hand once.

"...You really are hopeless."

"...Possibly."

"...Good." She smiled. "...I happen to like hopeless geniuses."

He looked at her for a moment. The corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

"...That," he said quietly, "...is an unusual preference."

She smiled even wider. "...I know."

When the House of Daena closed, they packed their books as they always had. The only difference was that, as they walked back through the quiet corridors of the Akademiya, She slipped her hand into his. He instinctively glanced down at it. Then at her. For the briefest moment, he looked as though he were about to tell her to move. Instead, he simply intertwined his fingers with hers and continued walking. That tiny, almost reluctant gesture meant more than any elaborate confession could have.

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The Price of Knowledge: Part 3

The One Who Stayed

Another year passed. It was Zandik's fourth year in the Akademiya. They had become even closer. He had always hated physical contact, so when she'd lean against him, he would shoot her a disgusted look. He wasn't disgusted by her, but by the actions. Despite all that, he wouldn't react impulsively. It wouldn't be like him. He'd mutter a quiet "Move."

It wasn't long until the rumours started.

"Did you hear? He dissected a living fungus!"

"I've heard he rebuilt its whole nervous system afterwards. From memory!"

Every detail was worse than the last. The students started avoiding one laboratory, then one dorm. Whenever Zandik reserved a room, the others would quietly choose another. The teachers began to supervise him more and be stricter with him. They would check his experiment requests more carefully.

Zandik never cared. He knew he had the greatest mind in the whole Akademiya. It didn't matter that the people around him quietly walked away whenever he showed up. Their minds couldn't comprehend his intelligence. That's why they thought he was weird and cruel.

She heard all the rumours. Eventually she entered his lab without knocking. He was dissecting another specimen. A stench hit her.

"This smell is foul. Don't you think it's rather cruel, what you are doing?"

"Sacrifices are a must for knowledge. And you're still here. If it were that disturbing to you, you would've left within seconds."

"Well, I'm here with a purpose and I won't abandon it. I have a proposal. Would you give up on your dissected specimen for a lesson about Khaenri'ah?"

He didn't answer right away. He glanced from the specimen to her, considering the exchange.

"...How extensive a lesson?"

At that, a slightly unsettling smile appeared on her face.

"It depends on how long you're willing to listen."

"Specifics."

"I guarantee that you won't be disappointed."

"You assume I value your knowledge more than my experiment."

"I know you do. I have information directly from the source."

That made him pause. He thought about it analytically. The specimen wasn't unique. The process could be redone the following day. But a firsthand source of Khaenri'ah knowledge is almost impossible to obtain. After several quiet seconds, he set his scalpel down.

"Very well."

"That's what I thought. But we are not doing this here. It stinks. Let's go to my dorm, there's where I'm hiding all my materials."

With that, he stood up, opened the door of his lab and headed toward her dorm. All this before she could even move.

She reached her dorm several minutes later, Zandik was already waiting in front of the door, visibly impatient. He ignored any person he encountered on the way there.

"...You walk slowly. We wasted approximately two minutes and twenty-eight seconds during which I could have already learned about Khaenri'ah."

"I walk normally. I simply don't care about time, unlike you."

She unlocked the door and stepped aside to let him enter. The room wasn't messy. It was ...full. She stepped inside after him and locked the door.

"I'm not trying to lock you up here. I just don't want any unannounced visitor while talking about this."

Zandik said nothing about it. His eyes swept across the room once. Books occupied every shelf, stacked both vertically and horizontally. Wooden crates were pushed beneath the bed. More were piled against the walls, each neatly labeled in careful handwriting. Scroll cases stood bundled in one corner. A wardrobe strained to close around more clothes than it was meant to hold. Every object had its place. There was simply no empty space left.

"I expected worse."

"I feel insulted."

Without another word, she knelt beside one of the crates and lifted its lid. Inside were dozens of notebooks. Another contained maps. Another held carefully wrapped stone fragments covered in faded symbols. Meanwhile, Zandik continued examining the room. No decorative objects. No family portraits. Nothing displayed for sentiment. Only things with practical value.

His gaze settled on the crates.

Every one bore the same worn travel marks. Not recently purchased.

"You brought all this here. You couldn't have accumulated this after enrolling."

"No. Before I enrolled, I was renting a house. I gave it up when I came here."

His eyes wandered again. Still no family photographs. No letters. No indication that anyone else had ever lived with her.

"Where are your parents?"

That finally made her look up from the crate, to him.

"This might be the first time I hate how observant you are."

A pause.

"I assume you know what my eyes mean. I'm Khaenri'ahn. Or at least my parents were Khaenri'ahn. I've never been there. I was born after it was destroyed. I am the same age as you. I am not immortal like them. They disappeared when I was little. I don't know where they are."

There was no bitterness or sadness in her voice. Only acceptance. Zandik watched her for several seconds. He recognized the pattern. Not grief. Adaptation. People usually expect sympathy after statements like that. He had none to offer. Instead, he asked the question that naturally followed.

"So every possession you own is in this room."

"Exactly. Now, let's see whether you're actually as intelligent as you think you are."

She pulled out dozens of documents, sketches, journals. Everything was authentic. Sketches of Khaenri'ahn machinery. Sketches of the original designs of the Ruin Guards. Notes about Gods, elemental energy, the Crimson Moon dynasty and the Eclipse Dynasty.

He picked up one of the sketches.

Ancient mechanisms. The proportions were precise. The annotations were detailed. Not the work of someone who had simply copied what they saw.

"You drew them yourself."

"Yes, though I drew them using my parents' notes."

His eyes moved to another page.

A diagram of a Ruin Guard's internal structure. Another showing possible energy systems. Another comparing Khaenri'ahn technology with Sumeru's current engineering.

"You weren't trained by the Akademiya."

"No, I've been doing this since I was 6 years old. Well, of course, I couldn't understand most of it back then."

"And yet your understanding of these mechanisms exceeds most students in Kshahrewar."

A smile appeared on her face.

"Was that a compliment?"

"No."

A pause.

"An observation."

She laughed quietly. The sound was unexpected. He wasn't accustomed to people laughing around him without mockery.

A silence followed. Not uncomfortable. Just unusual. Then Zandik looked back at the papers.

"Why show me these?"

"...I'm not interested in machines themselves. I'm more interested in the secrets of this world. And what happened in Khaenri'ahn. I showed you these because I think someone must bring them back."

"You realize the Akademiya would confiscate all of this."

"I know."

"And possibly imprison you."

"That's why you're the person who sees all this. I know you won't tell anyone. Because you believe no one is capable to understand any of this. And because you'd do anything for knowledge."

For the first time in their conversation, Zandik looked genuinely thoughtful. Not because he'd been praised, but because she reached that conclusion through observation alone.

"Your powers of observation are... adequate."

She laughed.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

He looked back at the documents.

"Don't..."

"Don't what?"

"...Take it as one."

But the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly before he returned to reading.

With that, the strange Akademiya student who avoided everyone had started spending time with the mysterious girl who studied forbidden history. The interesting part was that she never tried to make Zandik kinder. She didn't tell him to be less arrogant. She didn't ask him to change. She simply treated him as someone worth speaking to. And Zandik, who was used to people either fearing him or trying to correct him... Found that he preferred someone who could challenge him.

The meetings did not stop after that afternoon. If anything, they became increasingly frequent. At first, they were excuses.

"I found another inscription."

"I require your opinion on this mechanism."

"I translated another page."

"You mistranslated line twelve."

"I did not."

"You did."

"...Show me."

Hours disappeared into arguments.

Not hostile ones. Neither raised their voice. Instead, they would spend an entire evening debating the meaning of a single sentence carved into a piece of stone.

Gradually, the conversations stopped requiring a reason. Sometimes Zandik would simply appear outside her dorm. Knock once. Wait. When she opened the door...

"...What happened?"

"I finished today's research."

"...Congratulations?"

"I wished to continue yesterday's discussion."

"...You walked across the entire Akademiya..."

"...Yes."

"...Just for that?"

He looked at her as though the answer were obvious.

"...Naturally."

She stepped aside without another question. Eventually she stopped asking why he had come. He stopped explaining. It became routine. The library staff noticed first. If one was present...the other would arrive shortly afterward. Rumours spread almost as quickly as those surrounding Zandik's experiments. Some students would be scared for her, wondering why would she spend time with him. He was dangerous in their eyes. But they didn't know she was like that too, but unlike Zandik, she hid it better.

The first real sign that something had changed would probably not be a confession. It would be something small. A few months later, she gets injured during an exploration. Some defensive mechanism struck her. It wasn't fatal. But enough that she couldn't continue and had to wait for the rescue team.

Zandik became unusually irritated. Not because the expedition failed.

Because she was careless.

"You should have informed me."

"Why? So we can play doctor and patient together?" she said jokingly.

He looked at the gash across her arm before answering.

"No." His voice was flat.

"So the injury could have been treated immediately instead of after unnecessary blood loss."

The Price of Knowledge: Part 2

A Curious Mind

A year passed. It's Zandik's third year in the Akademiya. A few days earlier, the Sages had announced that new students of various ages would be joining the Akademiya. There was a rumor going around about one of the new students. They had only just begun their studies, yet one of them had already qualified for the third year.

Days passed. The halls were full of students showing the newcomers around. Some were already making friends, while others were on their own. Nothing shocking. He was always on his own. Ever since they all chased him out of his own hometown with pitchforks and torches. He hated everyone. Even his own parents named him "heretic". Now, this name would follow him all his life.

He was walking through the crowded halls, absentmindedly, but he suddenly stopped. He spotted the new third year. It was her. The strange girl from the cave. He never saw her since then. She was surrounded by students. They were admiring and praising her eyes.

What was so special about her eyes, anyway? They simply thought her eyes are beautiful and unique. So naïve. They didn't know what her star shaped pupils mean. They didn't know that star shaped pupils are specific to Khaenri'ah. He didn't even notice them when he first saw her in that cave. At that time, he couldn't get over the fact that she could understand all those inscriptions.

"Ah, yes. Now I understand. That strange language was Khaenri'ahn. Now this is becoming even more interesting." Zandik thought, a faint smile appearing on his face.

To everyone else, he simply looked like a creep smiling to himself. They didn't know he discovered the topic that will occupy his mind for a very long time now.

She looked past everyone else and saw him.

"Oh." Without another word, she stepped away from the crowd surrounding her and walked straight toward him, leaving the other students confused. She stopped at an appropriate distance.

"...You're that weird handsome guy from the cave."

The hallway fell silent. The chatter around them died instantly. Several students blinked in shock and confusion. How did she know him? They never saw him talk to anyone.

Zandik simply stared at her. "...Handsome?"

"I have functioning eyes."

That answer silenced everyone. Everyone knew that Zandik was handsome but no one ever dared to tell him that.

First stage: Curiosity

After that hallway encounter, Zandik started to seek her out. He memorized her schedule, even before she did. Not because he wanted to be friends, but because she had answers. She knew things he didn't. He finds her in the House of Daena.

"You still haven't told me how you learnt Khaenri'ahn."

She looks up at him with an unimpressed look. "And you still haven't learnt to greet people."

He sighs. "...Hello. Will you tell me now?"

She pretends to think for a moment. They exchanged information, but neither gave complete answers.

Second stage: Academic rivalry

They started correcting each other's work. He finds a flaw in her biology assignment and she notices a mistake in his astronomy notes. Instead of feeling offended, they argued for an hour. Eventually they realized that the other is right. Neither says "good job" or "thank you", they simply continue working.

Third stage: Working together

One day, they were assigned to the same ruins, that neither could decipher alone. Zandik understands the machinery, she understands the inscriptions. After several minutes, they eventually agreed to work together. They spend the following hours working in complete silence, except for occasional observations.

Fourth stage: Respect

One day, they are interrupted by other students.

"Why are you always with him? He's creepy."

She looks up. "He's not."

"He barely talks."

"And maybe I like quiet people? I don't see any problem with that."

"He scares people!"

"Well he doesn't scare me. So I don't see what you point is."

With that, the students left and she returned to reading. Zandik says nothing. It wasn't anything new. He would always hear whispers about him but he never cared. But now...he will remember this. Not because she defended him, but because she judged him based on what she saw with her own eyes instead of rumors or someone else's opinion.

Fifth stage: Friendship

One day, someone asked. "Are you two friends?"

"Yes!" She answered enthusiastically.

It was true, they got closer and now they are friends. Or at least that's what she thinks. But Zandik never denied, nor agreed.

Elsewhere, someone asked Zandik.

"Why is she always with you?"

"She's not."

"You ate lunch together!"

"... Coincidence."

"You've been in the House of Daena together, every day this week!"

"... Efficient scheduling."

The Price of Knowledge: Part 1

The Girl in the Ruins

The morning classes ended. Zandik left in a hurry to return to his personal lab to continue his research. Much to his annoyance, one of his teachers stopped him:

"I have an assignment for you. Go into the rainforest and observe local fauna and flora. Document notable adaptations and collect samples."

"A first-year exercise." He thought, sighing, but he still accepted it.

The teacher noticed but didn't ask about it.

Everyone knew what Zandik was like. He would quietly complain but still get the work done. He walked in the opposite direction from his lab, his much-loved destination. Instead, he was heading to the main exit, navigating through the halls of the Akademiya with an already bored look on his face. "Such a waste of time."

Outside, Sumeru City buzzed with activity. The streets were full of merchants trying to earn their living and scholars looking for supplies. Such different, yet similar destinies. But it's not like Zandik cares about stupid things like destiny.

His satchel was already full of samples he had collected years ago. The akademiya simply hadn't bothered to ask.

Later that afternoon, he finally arrived near the Devantaka Mountain. It has been such a long walk, he wanted so much time he could spent continuing his research. It was more interesting than this child's play. He started recording every species he could see. He wrote everything down from memory. A plant, an insect, a flower, a fish. Boring stuff. After a very short while, his handwriting became increasingly impatient. He closed the notebook with a quiet snap.

"This is data collection. Not research. They should ask the first years to do this."

He looked towards the Ruin Golem looming over his surroundings. Then something caught his eye. A narrow opening, not marked on his map. And that's the end of the assignment as much as he's concerned. It disappeared from his thoughts in less than a second and he changed directions without a hint of hesitation.

It was darker inside the cave and the air was cooler. He stopped just beyond the entrance and allowed his eyes to adjust. Silence... The cave was silent. But it wasn't unsettling for him. It was more...silent as in alive. Lots of mechanisms and abandoned machinery were around the cave. This was his heaven. His pulse quickened, not from fear but from excitement and curiosity. He walked deeper into the cave. Scattered across the ground are laying fragments of mechanisms, unlike anything he saw in the Akademiya workshops. Metal, iron and materials he didn't even know, surprisingly even for him. Some were buried beneath decades of dust. He crouched beside a component and ran his fingers across the metal.

"No oxidation? ...Impossible. The moisture of this cave is horrible."

He quickly opened his notebook to note this down. He drew sketches, noted down proportions, the spacing between components. Everything.

Several minutes passed. Or maybe hours. He has completely lost track of time. Then- a faint sound. Not metal. Not wind. But something alive. His pencil stopped. Someone else was there. He looked toward the other side of the chamber. There was nothing. At first he saw nothing. Only broken mechanisms, collapsed rocks and ancient machinery. Then...Movement. A girl, around his age, kneeling between huge components that could fall and crush her anytime. One hand rested against an inscription and the other noting down symbols into a notebook. She wasn't wearing an Akademiya uniform, not even expedition gear. Zandik frowned and moved closer. Now he could hear her pronouncing strange words. Was she reading the inscriptions? She didn't appear lost. Quite the opposite. She behaved like someone who knew what they were doing. Interesting.

He continued watching and listening. She quietly muttered to herself. Not in the common languages. His ears caught unfamiliar sounds. Harsh consonants and strange vowels. Yet, she spoke it naturally. That...finally pulled him away from the machines. He closed his notebook and walked closer, carefully. Not trying to hide. If she hadn't noticed him already, she would now. She finished writing one final symbol and closed her own notebook, then spoke without turning.

"You've been watching for quite a while. Did you enjoy the language lesson?"

He stopped. "You knew."

She finally turned. Calm eyes met his. There wasn't any hint of surprise on her face.

"Your steps are rather loud when you're curious."

That wasn't the response he expected. Her gaze fixed him. She looked him over from head to toe.

"...Student?" She asked him, her expression neutral.

He nodded once. "...The Akademiya."

She smiled. "Of course."

A pause.

"You're neglecting your assignment." She pointed at his satchel.

He frowns and becomes increasingly on guard. "How do you know that I have an assignment?"

"I've seen you outside the cave, in the forest collecting samples before you walked in the cave. You collected exactly enough specimens to satisfy the teacher, didn't you? Before getting distracted..."

For the first time in a long while, Zandik almost smiled, not because she had told a joke. Because she reached the correct conclusion without him telling her anything.

Interesting.

Time passes. They spent the last hour asking questions and receiving answers that weren't of their liking. Zandik closes his notebook yet again.

"You're not from the Akademiya. How did you learn that language?"

She smiles. "It's a secret."

For a second, they're both quiet. Then Zandik frowned. He hated answers like that.

"That's bullshit."

She glanced towards the entrance of the cave and stood up.

"It's getting late, I must leave."

He doesn't move. "What? Are mommy and daddy going to come after you?"

She starts gathering her things. "No, but I'm scared of the dark and I prefer not walking outside during the night."

She packs all her things and started walking away. Not towards the main entrance, but to a secret one. She stops and turns to him.

"Don't follow me if you don't want to get lost. I don't have the time to be your guide."

"How many times have you been here?"

"... Enough. Maybe next time I'll show you! Good luck on your way back. Goodbye!"

After she disappeared from sight, he pulls out his notebook and notes down "Unknown female. Approximately my age. Not affiliated with the Akademiya. Fluent in an unidentified language. Possesses prior knowledge of this ruin." He paused. Then added another sentence. "Must investigate further".

Outside the cave he remembered the samples in his satchel and checks on them before looking back at the cave.