He fell to his knees, the world around him fading into the color of ash and silence. The sky didn't weep, the earth didn't mourn only the wind moved, whispering through the ruins like it had somewhere better to be. His hands, blood-slick and trembling, reached for something that wasn't there companions who'd long fled, a promise no one kept. The light in his eyes dimmed, not from pain but from realization the kind that cuts deeper than any blade. Alone, forgotten, he exhaled one last breath into the indifferent dusk. "I wish I knew," he whispered, and the world kept turning without him…"Utterly pathetic ," I said aloud, soft enough that only the row in front of me heard. A girl smirked. A boy snorted. Someone scoffed at the amount of effort the hero "put in" before falling. That was the thing about stories ,people wanted drama, not logic.Mr. Hargrove glanced over the rim of his glasses. "Lucas. Keep your….""My phone, I know. Honestly Mr. Hargrove I see this school as a waste of my

Silence so absolute it felt like the world had swallowed its own lungs.No pulse. No heat. Not even the small, comforting thud of a heart to tell me I existed. Just an aquarium of nothing ,black water and my thoughts bumping against the glass.I tried to move. My hands were suggestions. My voice was a memory. Even my shadow had quit on me. There was only thought, replayed like a cheap clip: the smell of smoke, the wrong angle of light on a broken floorboard, the sound of small lungs gone quiet.Then the pain arrived not flesh pain, not a cut that smarted; a slow, surgical tearing of the inside. It pulled regret out of me like rotten teeth.They're gone.Lyra's lifeless body falling . It kept playing on repeat in my head . My mother face-down on the tile, eyes open at the wrong angle. The image slammed through me harder than any actual blow.Something inside me split and slid away.You should have done something!! I thought to myself. It didn't feel real , it didn't make any sense.

I stared at the floating runes shimmering above his palm. They pulsed faintly, forming words he could almost hear if he focused hard enough. Not a voice just an echo of thought. I need to understand this architect system better. [System Points: 50 Remaining][New Access Unlocked — "Architect Information."][Cost: 30 Points.]I blinked slowly. "You've got to be kidding me."The symbols hung there, impassive. Silent.I rubbed his temple. "Fifty points for world history, and now thirty to learn what you are? You really do run on extortion."The interface didn't argue it just waited, pulsing faintly in a patient rhythm that made me grit my teeth.I sighed, muttering under his breath. "Fine. Let's see what you're hiding."A flick of thought confirmed the purchase. The world lurched.Light poured into his mind — not bright, but heavy, like molten glass filling every crevice of memory. His vision fractured into patterns, equations, and symbols that twisted like living geometry. It felt les

I swear I could hear my bones begging for mercy.Every step echoed through the Valencrest halls like a reminder that I still had bones left to break.This training hurts like hell.Back on Earth, I'd been poor, not suicidal.The worst I'd gotten was a slap from life ,not a right hook laced with aura.Now, every breath felt like someone had replaced my ribs with glass shards. I was holding the wall for support as I made my way to my room....god this hurt like hell.No one met my eyes as I passed maids, guards, even the old steward by the stairs.Of course they didn't.Around here, pity was just another form of insult.And I didn't need more of those tonight.The rule of House Valencrest was simple:If you can walk, you can train.And healing potions? Those were for victors, not disappointments.I pushed open my door and blinked.There they were — my loving siblings.Darius, lounging on my bed like it was his personal throne, tossing a dagger in lazy arcs.And Aria, sitting by the windo

I woke to voices muffled, low, the kind that argues without wanting the patient to hear everything. Pain still lived in me, but it had retreated from screaming to a steady, angry thrum. The world was a soft edged painting; light bled at the corners."....he needs a healer," Darius said, voice tight. Not the teasing baritone from the training yard. This had teeth."No potions for weakness and certainly no healers." Father answered. The words were flat, measured. Even half-conscious, I knew the timbre: Aureon Valencrest, always the damper of pleas. The air behind his voice was colder than the room.Darius didn't back down. "He's D-ranked. You can't forget that. You forget that we were Master-A, that his body isn't built like ours. A broken rib doesn't close with pride. Why are you even going this hard on him ? You've been treating him like this since we left for the military, it's not his fault Mother....."A silence. Something metallic clicked in the background a guard shifting, boo