152 L'Institut des Lumières Academy

{Rel's POV}

[Paris, L'Institut des Lumières Academy]

I froze, staring at the statue. Was he alive? Probably not. Most of Garrick's group died getting to the towers. But if they built a statue... he had to be dead. Right?

A voice startled me away from the statue.

"Excuse me? Are you an open Day visitor?"

I turned, surprised someone had actually spoken to me. It was just an instructor – middle-aged, with thinning hair, a neatly trimmed beard. Typical.

"Yeah," I said.

He followed my gaze to the statue, a slight smile on his face.

"Ah... Sir. Celeste, an iconic figure."

"I see."

My eyes drifted back to Vincent's likeness. They said he took down an Emperor, became a legend... if that was true, the praise was justified. Still, though... his popularity here felt unexpected.

"Enough of that statue, let's get going."

The instructor's words cut through my thoughts.