2025-09-04 06:39:01The courtyard was alive with noise. Students sparred in pairs, blades flashing, elements crackling through the air. Fire whips scorched the stone tiles, water surged into shields, wind gusts sent opponents stumbling.
Kael stayed at the edge, hands tucked into his sleeves, watching quietly. He hated these sessions. Not because of the fighting — he wanted nothing more than to test himself — but because everyone knew he didn’t belong here. “Hey, failure.” The voice cut through the crowd. Kael stiffened before he even turned. Darius Veylan stood across the courtyard, arms folded, a smirk tugging at his lips. His crimson-embroidered uniform gleamed as though it had been stitched with fire itself. “You planning to just watch forever?” Darius said loudly, drawing the eyes of half the class. “Or are you going to embarrass yourself again?” Laughter rippled. Kael’s stomach tightened. He forced his voice to stay even. “I don’t need to prove anything to you.” “Oh, but you do.” Darius stepped closer, his presence suffocating. “Because right now, everyone here is asking the same thing: why are you allowed to stand among us?” Kael’s fists clenched. He said nothing. The instructor barked from the sidelines, “Veylan, Ardyn. Duel, now. Let the crowd decide.” The courtyard erupted with cheers. They faced each other on the stone tiles, a wide circle forming around them. Kael’s heart hammered. He had no weapon, no element to summon that wouldn’t expose Shadowfire. But walking away would mean surrendering to the laughter. Darius summoned flame with a snap of his fingers. A ribbon of fire curled along his arm, burning bright, feeding on his arrogance. “Try not to cry this time.” Kael shifted his stance. The crowd faded from his mind. All he felt was the familiar coil of Shadowfire deep inside, waiting like a beast in chains. The fight began. Darius struck first — a burst of fire rushing straight toward Kael. Kael dodged, the heat grazing his skin. He stumbled, recovered, and forced himself forward. He couldn’t summon power, so he relied on speed, instincts, desperation. The crowd jeered. “He’s just running!” “Pathetic!” Kael’s chest burned with shame. Darius’s grin widened as flame after flame chased him across the circle. Finally, Kael snapped. His body moved before his mind caught up — he raised his hand, and for an instant, a dark spark flared at his fingertips. Shadowfire, hungry, eager. Gasps rippled through the air. Darius froze, eyes narrowing. But Kael crushed it down, forcing his hand into a fist. No. Not here. Not yet. Darius didn’t miss the hesitation. His smirk turned sharp. “Interesting.” He lunged, flame surging, and Kael barely twisted aside. The strike singed his sleeve, searing heat biting into his arm. Pain flared. He staggered but stayed on his feet. Breathing hard, sweating, heart racing — but unbroken. The instructor called it. “Enough! Veylan wins.” Cheers rose, drowning out Kael’s ragged breaths. Darius leaned close as the crowd dispersed, his whisper low and dangerous. “Whatever that spark was, Ardyn… I’ll drag it out of you. And when I do, you’ll wish you’d stayed a nobody.” Kael didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His throat was tight, his arm throbbed with pain, and his chest ached from swallowing the Shadowfire. But inside, a spark of defiance burned hotter than any flame Darius could conjure. I’ll prove you wrong. All of you.
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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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