The summoning bell tolled through the academy grounds, deep and resonant, carrying on the autumn wind. Each peal set a strange vibration through Kael’s chest, as if the world itself were preparing to judge him.Selene walked at his side as guards escorted them from the infirmary. The hallways bustled with apprentices whispering in corners, their eyes following Kael with a mix of awe and unease. He caught fragments of words, Stone breaker… unstable… dangerous… chosen?The whispers crawled under his skin, but he forced his jaw steady. He would not give them the satisfaction of seeing him falter.The Grand Hall of Verdicts was already crowded when they arrived. It was a cavernous chamber carved into the heart of the academy, lit by tall braziers that painted the high arches in shifting gold and shadow. Stone benches formed concentric rings around the central dais, where the council sat robed in black and silver.At the far end, above them all, the Headmaster’s seat loomed beneath a banne

The academy at night felt like another world.No chants, no drills, no orders barked from the training yards. Just silence… a heavy, breathing silence that pressed against Kael’s ears as he sat on his narrow bed.The single candle by the window guttered low, its flame shivering whenever the wind slipped through the cracked frame. Beyond the glass, moonlight painted the dormitory walls in pale silver streaks, catching on the scattered scrolls and a half-finished flask of water.Kael hadn’t slept a minute. He couldn’t.His body was exhausted, muscles trembling faintly, joints aching from overuse but his mind was too alive. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt that whisper again. That faint vibration deep under his skin, threading through bone and pulse.The chains are not to hold you…He rubbed his face, breathing out hard. “Great,” he muttered to the empty room, “now I’m hearing voices.”Still, the memory of that sound clung to him. It hadn’t felt like imagination. It had felt inside

The council chamber was a hollow heart buried beneath the academy, a place few ever saw, and even fewer left unchanged.The walls were old stone, veined with ancient runes that shimmered faintly in the torchlight. The air smelled of wax, ink, and something colder like forgotten promises.Elder Marrick stood before the long obsidian table, his expression drawn tight. Six others sat around it, each cloaked in layered robes of rank and age. At the head of the table, a single figure leaned forward, his fingers steepled beneath his chin.Elder Veylan.The man’s silver hair glowed faintly in the firelight, his eyes sharp as the edge of a blade. When he finally spoke, his voice cut through the silence.“So… you’re saying the boy’s aura acted without command?”Marrick nodded stiffly. “Not entirely without control but independent. It responded to threat before he even moved. It struck down another student with precision, not rage.”Veylan’s gaze darkened, unreadable. “And you’re certain it was

The academy bells rang three times, deep, resonant, ancient.Each toll rolled through the valley, stirring crows from the spires and sending ripples of unease across the courtyard below.Kael stood at the edge of the great stone steps, his cloak tugging softly in the morning wind. The air was too cold for summer, carrying the metallic tang of aura residue. It wasn’t natural weather. The Elders were already manipulating the field.He inhaled slowly, his breath clouding in front of him.So it begins.The plaza was crowded. Hundreds of students filled the tiers around the central ring, a circular platform carved from white spiritstone, lined with intricate runes that pulsed faintly with silver light.Selene was among them, her arms crossed, jaw tight.She hadn’t spoken much since last night, only told him quietly. Don’t fight the way they want you to.He hadn’t answered then. He still couldn’t.The elders stood on a raised dais opposite the ring. Veylan was at the center, robed in gray a

The council chamber of the Academy of Auras was not made for warmth.It was a circle of stone and silver, cold and too vast for comfort. Every word spoken there echoed as if whispered into eternity.Kael had never liked it. Even now, sitting quietly at the edge as the Council gathered, he could feel the weight of judgment in the air.Seven elders sat around the half moon table, their faces ghostly in the torchlight. Elder Veylan, of course, occupied the center, robes of deep violet, the faint shimmer of his personal aura coiling like mist around his chair.“Let us begin,” Veylan said, his voice smooth as oil.The attendants fell silent. Kael’s heart thumped once, twice, before he forced himself still.He wasn’t supposed to be here at all, technically, only high ranked students and sponsors were allowed to attend Council hearings. But after the Trial of Dominion, his name had become unavoidable. His presence was “requested,” though he could tell from the glances that it was closer to