False heroes

The gathering storm

Two days until the ranking battles, and the Academy buzzed with nervous energy.

Gabriel sat alone at his usual table in the dining hall, eating his breakfast while chaos spinned around him. Students clustered in excited groups, placing final bets and making predictions. The odds against him had risen by ten fifty to one that he'd land a single hit, a hundred to one that he'd last more than thirty seconds.

They have no idea what's coming, Soulrender purred with vicious satisfaction.

Neither do you, Umbrix replied grimly. We've barely had four days to integrate. Using our power in combat this soon is dangerous.

Dangerous for whom? Echo asked with dark amusement. The boy, or everyone else? 

That was the question keeping Gabriel awake at night. The dreams were more vivid, more overwhelming. Last night he'd 

dreamed he was Echo himself, standing on a mountain of crystalized souls while dimensions burned around him. He'd women up with frost covering his window and shadow writing on his bedroom walls.

Marcus had asked if he was feeling sick

 Gabriel had lied and said yes.

“ Mind if I sit?

Gabriel looked up to see Emma standing beside his table, with her lunch tray in her hands. Her silver hair caught the morning light, and her violet eyes held that same puzzled expression they'd worn for the past few days. 

“It's a free country.” Gabriel said, then immediately regretted it. The old Gabriel would never sounded so casual, almost confident. 

Emma sat down gracefully and studied his face. “ You look different today.”

“Different how?Gabriel kept his voice carefully neutral, but inside, all three entities went on high alert. 

She sees too much, Umbrix warned.

Elves have prophetic gifts. Echo observed. She may be sensing our presence.

Should I just cut her sight away? Soulrender asked eagerly

 It would be simple. A small slice through her magical perception, and she'd only see what we want her to see.

No, Gabriel thought firmly. No cutting. No hurting. 

“I'm not sure,” Emma said slowly. “Your eyes are …. sharper, I guess. And you're sitting straighter. Usually you try to make yourself invisible.” 

Gabriel consciously slumped his shoulders. “Just nervous about the battles. Can't seem to relax.”

“Are you really going through with it?” Emma, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Gabriel, Thane isn't a fair trade. Everyone knows you can't win.”

Everyone is wrong, all three entities said in unison.

“Maybe that's the point,” 

Everyone is wrong, all three entities said in unison.

"Maybe that's the point," Gabriel said quietly. "Maybe it's time to stop being the person everyone expects me to be.”

Emma’s eyes widened slightly.

Gabriel met her gaze directly for the first time in months. “I guess we'll find out in two days.” 

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Gabriel could see Emma's magical aura with his void sight, silver and purple thread of power, beautiful and complex. Under the surface beauty, he sensed something else. Concern, yes, but also… fear? 

She's had visions of you, Umbrix realized. That's why she's been watching so carefully. 

What kind of visions? Gabriel thought.

Ask her, Echo suggested. It might be ….. illuminating.

“Emma,” Gabriel said carefully, “ you mentioned having dreams before, About me. What did you see?” 

Emma's face went pale. She looked around quickly, making sure no one was listening, then leaned even closer. 

Darkness,” she whispered. “So much darkness”

Gabriel’s blood turned to ice. She's seen the fusion. Maybe not clearly, but she'd seen something. She knows, Soulrender stated flatly.

Not knowing, Umbrix corrected. Suspects. But she doesn't understand what it is.

And there was something else,” Emma continued “three voices speaking as one. I couldn't really see it but they consumed you whole” 

Gabriel’s hands trembled slightly. He gripped his fork tighter to hide it. 

She knows too much, maybe we should.. take her sight” Echo said coldly. “She is nothing but a living daydreamer”

Emma reached across the table and touched his hand briefly. “Gabriel I don't know what's happening to you, and I can see it's something big. And whatever it is, you don't have to face it alone”

What a liability, Soulrender mused

More like love, Echo countered 

Or merely a friend, Umbrix said simply.

Before Gabriel could respond, a shadow fell across their table. Thane Morrison stood there with his usual smirk, flanked by Derek and the two other high ranking students 

“Well,well,”Thane said loudly enough for the dining hall to hear. “Look at this. The failure finally found someone willing to eat with him. How sweet.”

Emma's expression hardened. “Go away, Thane.”

“Oh, relax Nightwhisper,I'm not here for you. Though I must say your taste in guys is questionable.” Thane's attention fixed on Gabriel. “I'm here to discuss strategy with my upcoming opponent.”

"Strategy?" Gabriel kept his voice flat and uninterested.

“Thay right. See, I've been thinking about our little wager,and I realized I might have been too generous. One hit to earn a year of peace? That's practically charity.” Thane leaned down his face inches from Gabriel's. “So I'm adding a condition. You have to hit me hard enough to actually hurt. A love to won't count.”

Murmurs rippled through the dining hall as other students turned to watch. Gabriel could feel dozens of eyes on him, waiting for his reaction.

He's trying to humiliate you publicly, Umbrix observed. Make you back down in front of witnesses. 

Let me show him what pain really means, Soulrender hissed 

Patience, brothers let him dig his grave a little bit deeper. 

Gabriel stood slowly, meeting Thane's confident stare. Around them, the dining hall had gone almost silent.

“Hard enough to hurt,” Gabriel repeated quietly. “Are you sure about that,” Thane?

Something flickered in Thane's eye, surprised, maybe, at Gabriel's calm tone. “Absolutely sure. Unless you're too scared to….

“I accept your condition, " Gabriel interrupted. His voice carried clearly though the silent hall. “ One hit that actually hurts you. In return for a year of complete peace.”

Thane’s grin widened. “Excellent. This is going to be even more entertaining than I thought.”

He walked away with his friends, already discussing the upcoming event. Gradually, conversation resumed around the dining hall, but Gabriel could still feel people watching him. 

Emma was staring at him with wide eyes. “Gabriel, what just happened? You looked.. different”

Gabriel sat back down, his heart hammering. He'd let too much show, been too bold. The old him would never have accepted additional conditions so calmly.

You're learning, Echo said approving. Power without confidence is meaningless 

But confidence without control is dangerous, Umbrix warned. Be careful not to reveal too much before the battles. 

“I'm going to wash that smile off his face” He said 

Emma took a glance, she knew something was different about him. The question was: what would she do about it?

As Gabriel finished his breakfast, he became aware of someone else watching him. Zara Chen sat three tables away, that same mysterious smile on her face. When their eyes met, she raised her cup of juice in a small salute. 

What's up with her smile? Don't tell me that information broker knows something?,” Umbrix observed 

Everyone knows something, Gabriel thought. The question is whether they know enough to be dangerous.

Two more days. Two more days of pretending to be powerless while ancient forces stirred within him. Two more days until he stepped into the arena and showed the Academy what he had really become. 

He could hardly wait.

But as he left the dining hall, Gabriel caught sight of his reflection in a window and paused. For just a moment, his eyes had flickered with the Void- black

energy, and his shadow was no longer with him. It had a mind of its own now 

The mask was slipping. Soon, there would be no hiding what he'd become.