2025-09-04 06:04:43The academy always felt colder after dawn.
Not because of the weather, but because of the stares. Kael walked through the long corridor of stone and steel, his footsteps echoing far louder than they should have. Students leaned against the walls, their uniforms neat, their eyes sharp. They whispered behind their hands, voices dripping with mockery. “Isn’t that the failure?” “He barely passed the entry trial.” “I heard he survived against Darius only because the examiners pitied him.” Kael kept his head down. He had learned long ago that silence was safer than lashing out. But even so, his chest tightened, each word like a pebble thrown into an old wound. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to fight back—it was that he couldn’t. Not yet. He adjusted the strap of his worn satchel and quickened his pace. A group of seniors brushed past, one shoulder deliberately slamming into his. Kael stumbled but caught himself. He heard their laughter trailing behind him. “Pathetic.” His jaw clenched, but he said nothing. The day’s lesson was in the Combat Theory Hall. Rows of young elites sat at polished desks while an instructor in a flowing crimson robe lectured about elemental combat strategies. Kael tried to focus. Words about fire-path resonance and thunder-strikes filled the air. He scribbled notes, but the letters blurred as exhaustion pulled at him—last night’s training with Riven had left him raw, both body and spirit. Then came the test. The instructor summoned a training dummy, its surface etched with glowing runes. “Demonstrate your affinity. Strike it. Let us see your progress.” One by one, students rose and unleashed their powers. Flames burst, water coiled like whips, lightning cracked through the hall. Applause followed the strongest displays. Pride shone in their eyes. Then it was Kael’s turn. The room went still. Dozens of eyes locked on him, hungry for another failure to laugh at. Kael walked to the front, palms slick with sweat. He placed his hand against the dummy. Nothing came. No spark, no glow, not even a flicker of energy. His stomach twisted. He thought of the Shadowfire, deep inside, waiting. But he couldn’t show it. Not here. Not yet. He pulled back his hand. The dummy remained untouched. The silence stretched. A laugh broke the air. Darius , seated at the back, smirked with cruel delight. “Still empty, I see. Some of us are born to shine. Others—well—maybe you should be a janitor instead.” Laughter rippled through the room. Kael’s ears burned. He wanted to shout, to prove them wrong, to unleash the storm inside him. But the thought of Shadowfire consuming the hall, burning everything without control… it froze him in place. The instructor sighed, shaking his head. “Ardyn, sit down. You have no place here if you cannot even awaken a Path.” Kael returned to his seat, heart pounding, vision blurring. He heard the whispers again. He felt the weight of every stare. For a moment, it felt as if the walls were closing in and yet, beneath the shame, beneath the suffocating doubt, something else stirred. A voice—his own—quiet but unyielding: Not yet. But soon. He gripped the edge of his desk until his knuckles turned white. The laughter didn’t fade, but it no longer pierced as deep. If Shadowfire was truly his curse, then he would turn it into his weapon. One day, the same voices mocking him would choke on their own disbelief. That night, as the halls emptied and Kael walked alone, he caught sight of a shadow leaning against the wall. Riven. His eyes glimmered with amusement, though his expression stayed unreadable. “Painful, wasn’t it?” Kael flinched. “You were watching?” “Of course. Every master watches their weapon being forged.” Riven’s voice was calm, almost cruel. “Do you know what I saw today?” Kael shook his head. “A boy who is hated, shamed, and yet… refuses to break. Riven’s lips curved in the faintest smile. “Good. Let them laugh. Iron only hardens in fire.” Kael said nothing. But for the first time that day, the weight on his chest eased.
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When The Veil Trembles
The tremor didn’t stop at one. It came again — stronger. Windows rattled. The ground beneath the academy split with faint, glowing lines, spiderwebbing across the courtyard stones. Students poured out of the dorms in panic, shouting, clutching each other as alarms blared through the air. Kael stumbled, catching Lyra before she fell. “What’s happening?” she shouted over the noise. He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. The same pulse that had come from the gate was now inside his chest, syncing with his heartbeat. It felt like the world itself was breathing with him — and he hated it. The academy’s wards flickered. For a brief, terrifying second, the protective barrier that shimmered above the walls went completely dark. Then it came — a sound that wasn’t thunder. A deep, echoing roar that seemed to rise from under the ground. Lyra’s hand tightened on his arm. “Kael, we need to get to Riven—” But Kael was already moving. In the council chamber, chaos reigned. Books and crystal lense
The Echo of the Gate
Morning never really came. The sky over the academy was the color of ash, clouds pressed low and heavy. The air carried a strange tension—like the world was holding its breath. Kael hadn’t slept. He sat on the edge of his bed, the pendant clutched in his hand. The events of the night felt like a fever dream, but the ache in his body said otherwise. Every pulse of his heart still echoed faintly with that deep hum from the gate. He turned the pendant over in his palm. It was dark now, lifeless metal, but when he held it up to the light, a faint violet shimmer ran through its core. He whispered, “What did I do?” No answer came. Just the soft drip of rain outside his window. By noon, whispers were already spreading through the academy. Students said they’d felt a tremor in the night—that some kind of energy had surged through the wards protecting the grounds. Professors were tense, patrols doubled. No one knew why. Kael tried to move through the day as if nothing had happened, bu
The Dark Storm
The storm arrived by nightfall.It began as a low growl of thunder, rolling over the academy rooftops, and by the time darkness settled, rain poured in steady sheets across the stone courtyards. Lanterns flickered in the hallways. Most students had retreated indoors — training was canceled, classes postponed.But Kael couldn’t sit still.He stood by his dorm window, watching the rain streak down the glass. The conversation with Riven replayed in his mind over and over. The first gate. The way Riven had said it — quiet, deliberate, like he already knew Kael would go searching for it.He tried to ignore it, but the thought gnawed at him. Each crash of thunder only made it louder.It wasn’t just curiosity — it was something else. Something pulling at him.When the rain finally began to ease, Kael grabbed his cloak and left.The academy grounds were almost empty. Only the sound of dripping water filled the air, punctuated by the occasional crack of lightning in the distance. The torchligh
The Weight of Ash
Kael didn’t go to morning drills.He couldn’t.His body might have obeyed if his mind weren’t still tangled in the smoke of that dream — in her voice.Because they were coming for you.The words had burned deeper than any flame.He’d tried to shake them off, splash cold water on his face, convince himself it was only his imagination. But every time he blinked, he saw the faint outline of those runes beneath his skin, still pulsing like they remembered something he didn’t.By the time the academy bell rang, Kael was already standing outside Riven’s door.The hall was quiet. Too quiet. He hesitated, hand hovering near the wood. Riven didn’t like unannounced visits. The man had a way of appearing both patient and dangerous, like a storm waiting behind still clouds.But Kael couldn’t wait anymore.He knocked once.“Enter,” came the calm voice from within.Kael stepped inside. Riven sat near the window, a book open on his lap. The morning light cut across his sharp features, catching faint
The Voice In The Fire
Kael didn’t remember falling asleep.One moment he was staring at the ceiling of his dorm, the faint glow of the moon spilling through the window, and the next—he was back in the fire.The same fire.The same screams.The same night that had carved itself into his soul.The air burned as the temple walls cracked and fell. Shadows twisted, swallowing the stars. He could smell the smoke, taste the ash on his tongue.But this time… something was different.He wasn’t the child cowering beneath the altar anymore. He stood tall, his hands blazing with black flame, and the fire didn’t hurt. It wrapped around him like an old memory, familiar and alive.“Kael.”His heart froze.That voice—soft, low, and filled with warmth that didn’t belong in this place.He turned, searching through the smoke. Shapes flickered at the edge of sight—faces, whispers—but none clear enough to grasp.“Who’s there?” he called, his voice trembling.The fire stirred. It moved, almost like it breathed. From within it,
The First Lesson
The night came quiet and heavy.Kael followed Riven through the empty halls of the academy, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone. The lamps had long since burned low, leaving only the faint silver of moonlight to guide them.Riven didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. His presence was enough — calm, controlled, and sharp as the edge of a blade. Kael could feel the man’s power, even when it was hidden beneath that still surface.They stopped before an old door at the far end of the training wing. Riven pressed his hand against it, and strange markings flickered across the wood — faint runes that glowed for a heartbeat before vanishing. The lock clicked open.Inside was no ordinary room.The air was thick, almost alive. The walls shimmered faintly, as if shadows themselves were breathing. A ring of black stone stood at the center, carved with symbols that pulsed with quiet energy.Kael hesitated at the threshold. “What is this place?”Riven stepped inside. “A place the academy fo
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