I Awakened The Shadow System

Chapter 6. The Whisper Beneath the Academy

The nightmare returned. Always the same, a dark hall filled with cold fire and whispering chains.

Liam stood at its center, the floor beneath him carved with unfamiliar runes. From the shadows, a deep voice murmured, “Free me… and I will make you limitless.”

He tried to move but his feet were rooted to the ground. The pendant around his neck glowed violently. “You carry my mark, Liam Cross. The world has forgotten me… but I remember you.”

He screamed, and woke with a start. Rain tapped softly against his window. His sheets were soaked with sweat. The System flickered before his eyes:

[Dream anomaly detected. Traces of external energy: 8%]

[Recommendation: Avoid deep sleep cycles.]

He wiped his face. “Great. Even my dreams are cursed.”

He got up, threw on his jacket, and walked outside into the cold dawn. The academy courtyard was empty except for the lingering fog.

For a long moment, he just stood there, trying to breathe, but the voice in his head wouldn’t stop. “Free me…I will make you strong enough to crush them all.”

He pressed his palms to his temples. “Shut up!”

“Liam?”

He turned, Rhea stood a few meters away, wrapped in her training cloak. Her eyes widened.“You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I haven’t,” he said simply.

“Still hearing things?”

He hesitated. “Sometimes.”

She walked closer, her tone soft but serious. “You should tell the Headmaster.”

“No.”

“Liam.”

“No one can help me,” he said, voice sharper now. “The last time someone tried, they died. I won’t make that mistake again.”

She studied him, searching for something in his face, then quietly, “You think you’re cursed.”

He gave a bitter smile. “Aren’t I?”

She didn’t answer. But her hand brushed the pendant hanging from his neck. It pulsed faintly under her touch, as if alive. “What is this?” she asked.

“My mother’s,” he said, stepping back. “She told me never to take it off.”

Rhea’s eyes softened. “Then maybe that’s where your answer lies.”

That night, the dreams returned, sharper, stronger. Chains rattled. The red-eyed figure leaned closer. “You’re growing stronger, child. The seal weakens because you’re ready.”

Liam shouted, “What are you?!”

The figure smiled faintly. “I am the beginning… and your end.”

He woke up gasping again. The room felt colder. His pendant burned like a brand against his chest.

He tore it off, and for the first time, noticed faint markings etched on the back. Strange symbols. The same runes he’d seen in his dream. His pulse quickened. He whispered, “System, scan this.”

[Analyzing…]

[Warning: Forbidden seal detected beneath Ravenhold grounds. Connection linked to host artifact.]

He froze. “There’s something under the academy?”

[Confirmed.] The words glowed bright and red: [Do not approach.]

Which, of course, only made him want to. 

The corridors below the academy hadn’t been walked in centuries. The air was damp, heavy with age. 

Liam’s lantern flickered as he descended the spiral stairs. “System,” he whispered, “locate the energy source.”

[Left corridor, 200 meters ahead.]

The deeper he went, the louder the whispers became. At first they were faint… then clearer. “Cross… bloodline…He carries it again…The seal trembles.”

He quickened his pace. The corridor opened into a vast stone chamber. The air shimmered. 

In the center stood a massive door carved from black stone, pulsing faintly with the same red glow as his pendant.

He stepped closer. The markings were identical. “This is it,” he whispered. “This is what’s been calling me.”

[Warning: Energy levels unstable. Do not touch.]

But his hand was already reaching out. The moment his fingers brushed the stone, the world shuddered. Dark energy burst through the room, throwing him backward.

He hit the ground, gasping. The voice roared through his skull, “At last, my heir has come home!”

Footsteps echoed behind him. Liam turned, and his heart sank. Kane Drayden. “Well, well,” Kane said, smirking. “The phantom finally unmasked.”

Liam struggled to stand. “What are you doing here?”

“I followed you,” Kane said. “You’ve been sneaking off every night. I thought maybe you were plotting something… and I was right.”

His eyes drifted to the glowing door. “So this is your secret? You’re consorting with Rift magic?”

“It’s not what it looks like.”

Kane’s expression hardened. “Then tell me what it is.”

Liam hesitated. “I can’t.”

Kane’s voice dropped. “You can’t, or you won’t?”

Liam said nothing. Kane’s light flared. “You think because you’ve got some forbidden trick that makes you better than me? You’re still the powerless boy from Lowtown!”

Liam’s patience snapped. “Maybe. But at least I’m not a coward hiding behind his family name!”

Kane’s jaw clenched. His golden aura blazed. “You dare!”

Before he could attack, the floor trembled violently. The seal on the stone door cracked, just a hairline, but enough for red light to spill out like blood.

The voice echoed again, louder, hungrier. “Fools. You awaken what you cannot contain.”

Kane stumbled back, pale. “What was that?”

Liam’s eyes were wide. “We have to go. Now!”

They ran up the stairs as the walls shook, dust raining from above. They burst into the courtyard, gasping. Kane grabbed Liam by the collar. “What did you do?” 

“I didn’t mean to.”

“You touched something that wasn’t meant for you!” Kane shouted. “If you’ve unleashed another Rift.”

“Enough!” Rhea’s voice cut through the rain. She ran toward them, cloak whipping in the wind. “What happened?”

Kane glared at Liam. “Ask him.”

She turned to Liam, eyes searching his. “Tell me the truth.”

He hesitated. “There’s something under the academy. A… seal. It’s breaking.”

Rhea’s face went white. “The Headmaster told me the Rift remnants were gone.”

“He lied,” Liam said quietly. “And now it’s waking up again.”

Thunder rolled. The ground trembled once more. Kane released him, stepping back. “You’re dangerous, Cross. Whatever you’ve awakened, you’ll answer for it.”

He turned and walked off into the storm. Rhea grabbed Liam’s arm. “You have to tell Varian.”

He shook his head. “No. If he knew, he’d lock me away like a weapon.”

“Then what will you do?”

Liam’s eyes darkened. “Find out what that voice wants.”

…

He sat on the floor, the pendant glowing faintly. The System flickered again.

[Host triggered ancient seal: 5% breach.]

[Entity link confirmed.]

Liam whispered, “Who is it?”

[Name: Shadow King. Origin: First System. Status: Sealed.]

His breath caught. “And it’s… connected to me?”

[Affirmative. Bloodline compatibility: 97%.]

The pendant pulsed. “We are bound, Liam Cross. Your power is mine… and my freedom is yours.”

He shouted, “Get out of my head!”

“You can’t silence what you are.”

The shadows in his room writhed, crawling up the walls like living smoke. His reflection in the mirror flickered, his eyes turning black, his veins darkening. “Soon,” the voice whispered, “you will open the door again. And when you do… we will be one.”

The System screamed warnings. [Host integrity failing. Energy surge detected. Sealing Emergency Mode: Activated.]