"Move!" Gregor shouted, shoving Akiya forward as a wave of corruption surged through the trees behind them.The team ran, hearts pounding, lungs burning. The forest blurred around them as they sprinted toward the Peregrine."This isn't working!" Liam yelled, glancing over his shoulder. The corruption was gaining, consuming everything it touched. "We can't outrun it!"Gregor cursed under his breath. "Form up! Defensive circle!"The scattered group pulled together, taking positions back-to-back in a small clearing. Elena's fire created a perimeter of flames while Anna's healing light hovered protectively over the most exhausted cadets."Where's Damien?" Lyra asked, wind element whipping her hair around her face."Here," came the earth user's voice as he stumbled from the treeline. His uniform was torn, face streaked with dirt. "That thing nearly got me."Akiya helped him into the circle. "Any sign of Miko?"Damien shook his head, gasping for breath. "Nothing."The corruption reached the

Sylas charged forward, corruption forming a spear around his arm as he aimed for Miko's heart. At the last possible second, Miko's concentration broke. "Too weak," Sylas taunted, his momentum carrying him past as Miko dodged. "You lack the resolve to sacrifice yourself." Miko stumbled, clearly exhausted from the attempt. Sweat poured down his face, his breathing ragged as he struggled to maintain his dual elements. "Maybe," he admitted. "Or maybe I just realized there are people worth living for." His gaze flicked briefly to his friends at the edge of the clearing. Anna stood supported by Liam, her healing light pulsing weakly as she tried to reach Miko with her power. Akiya watched with fire dancing around her fingers, desperate to help but held back by Gregor's firm grip. "Sentiment," Sylas spat, corruption swirling into new configurations around him. "The eternal weakness of your kind." "Our strength," Miko countered, straightening despite his obvious fatigue. "Something you'll

“Run!" Miko shouted, his voice carrying across the clearing with unexpected strength. "All of you, now!" The Ash Lantern was taking shape between his palms once more, black flames dancing within its golden frame. This time, the forbidden technique formed faster, more stable, as if Miko had finally unlocked its secrets. "We can't leave you," Akiya protested, fire flaring around her hands. "You have to," Miko replied, never taking his eyes off Sylas. "Get Anna clear. She's given too much already." Liam didn't hesitate. He scooped Anna's unconscious form into his arms, her body limp after the strain of the regeneration technique. "He's right," he said grimly. "We can't help him now." "Miko—" Akiya began, but Gregor cut her off with a firm hand on her shoulder. "This is his choice," the senior mage said, his own face etched with reluctant respect. "Honor it." Sylas laughed, watching their hesitation with obvious amusement. "Yes, run," he taunted. "It makes no difference. When I'm fi

Deep in the Abyss, far beyond where humans dared to venture.No sun warmed this place, no true stars lit its sky. Only the strange glow of corruption energy provided illumination, casting everything in sickly purple and black.This was the heart of corruption, the breeding ground of wraiths.They moved like shadows through the twisted landscape, corruption patterns pulsing beneath translucent skin as they hunted, fed, and grew. Most were little more than animals—mindless parasites drawn to elemental energy like moths to flame.But not all.At the center of this realm stood a structure that shouldn't exist in such a place—a perfect black tower rising impossibly high, its surface unmarred by windows or decorations. It simply was, defying logic and physics with its very presence.Inside, at the very top of this impossible tower, four figures gathered around a table of polished obsidian. They appeared almost human at first glance, but no human moved with such fluid grace, no human skin co

"We need a plan," Gregor announced as sunlight filled the cave the next morning. "Not just 'head for the Peregrine,' but actual strategy. Routes, formation, emergency protocols."The team gathered around the small fire they'd rekindled for breakfast. Everyone looked better after a full night's rest, though Miko still moved stiffly, the ash lines visible at his collar and wrists."I'll draw up what I remember of the terrain," Damien offered, already sketching in the dirt with a stick. "There's a valley between us and the Peregrine. Two ways around it, the highland route or the lowland path.""Highlands are more exposed," Elena pointed out. "But lowlands might have more wraiths.""Highlands," Miko said definitively. "Better to see danger coming than be ambushed."Gregor's jaw tightened. "This isn't your decision to make.""Then whose is it?" Akiya challenged, fire flickering briefly around her fingers. "You made it clear yesterday you don't even want to go this direction.""I'm still th