The tower was breaking apart. Arcadia’s floating spire used to stand as a symbol of academy’s pride. It cracked right open from the Circle’s assault. Crystals broke off with huge thunder cracks. Each piece glowed like unstable energy, and they floated off into the storm. The tower that was left pointed up sharp, like a broken spear. Kai hit the ground hard on one of those bits. His boots slid on the smooth side. The slab tilted under him. It spun around in void, but he kept his feet. Dark chains shot out from his hands. They hooked him steady. He didnt fall into the dark pit. He wasn’t alone. Across the storm-churned sky, on another drifting shard, a figure stood waiting. Cloaked in crimson, armored in runes that shimmered like molten steel, the enemy commander raised one hand. Fire lanced outward, three burning spears spiraling through the air toward Kai. He didn’t flinch. The shadows moved before he even thought, rising in a wall of black. The fire hit, sizzled, and died

The courtyard was too quiet.Not the usual quiet of Arcadia’s dawn, where the breeze rattled the crystal lamps and students hurried through their routines. This was the kind of silence that pressed on lungs, heavy and choking, as if the world itself refused to breathe.The Inversion gathered in the ruins of Class E, their so-called “base.” The air smelled of charred stone and dried blood—scars of the ambush that had taken four of their own. No one had cleaned it yet. It felt wrong to scrub the walls when the bodies were still fresh in memory.Four simple cots had been laid out in a row, white sheets draped over them. No coffins. No flowers. Just fabric, some frayed at the edges. The academy hadn’t offered more.Kai stood at the far edge of the courtyard, arms crossed, face unreadable. His shadow stretched long behind him, sharp against the broken flagstones. He didn’t speak. He couldn’t.Lina sat near the cots, her hands folded tightly in her lap. She had tried to pray earlier but

The torch was sputtering in the ruins. It threw flickering shadows over those names that were freshly carved. The air hung heavy with Lina's confession. The echo of her kiss pressed against Kai’s lips.Neither one had said a word since then.Her head rested lightly against his chest. Her hand laid out where he'd put it, right over his heartbeat. The rhythm stayed steady. But it beat too fast. It gave away things his words never would.Then, from the doorway, a throat cleared.“You two planning on staying tangled up all night?” Lina pulled away quick. Her face went all red.Kai stood up straight. He slapped that blank look right back on.Cyrus stayed leaning on the stone. Arms folded over his chest. Smirk locked in but his eyes, sharp ones, always sizing things up. They hung on that wall full of names way longer than they should have.“Finished your little memorial service?” he said, though his voice was quieter now. “Good. "Because I've got this thing that'll really make your skin cra

The sky broke first. Not with thunder, not with lightning but with a scream. It wasn’t human.The academy’s northern wall cracked under the weight of something huge. Dust fell hard along with chunks of stone. Students rushed out from the training grounds in a panic. Shouts went up all around them.Something moved above. It crawled slow down the broken battlements. The creature looked stitched from shadows and bits of flesh.Its body throbbed in a weird way. Like molten veins pushed under the skin. Each pulse lit up with a dim red glow.Kai froze. His breath stuck tight in his chest.He knew that rhythm. That rage. That heat.It wasn’t a beast. Not really.It was him.Or rather, it was what he had been.The Circle had found a way to mold his old fury into a living weapon.The monster bared its teeth jagged, shifting, like the maw of a nightmare and roared. The sound ripped the air apart, rattling Kai’s bones. Students clamped their hands over their ears. Some fell to their knees.Cyrus

The serpent banners still hung from the towers by dawn.No professor had torn them down. No student had dared to climb up and cut them free. Their crimson threads bled in the morning light, casting long shadows across the courtyard.It was as if the academy itself hesitated. As if the stones were waiting to see which side would claim them.Kai stood in the training yard, the remnants of battle still littering the ground. His chains coiled loosely at his feet, restless. He hadn’t slept. Lina rested inside Class E, her wounds tended, but he had spent the night pacing, watching the serpent flutter in the wind.The Circle thought fear was enough to make the world kneel.Maybe it would be if no one stood against it.Cyrus stormed into the yard, tossing a rune stone from hand to hand, muttering curses under his breath. “Half the professors are cowards, the other half are fools. No one can agree whether to fight or beg for terms. It’s a joke. A rotten, pathetic joke.”Kai didn’t answer.Cyru