I Awakened The Shadow System

Chapter 7. The Tournament of Blades

The Tournament of Blades, Ravenhold’s grandest event, had arrived. The courtyard buzzed with noise, banners fluttering in the cold morning wind.

But Liam Cross didn’t feel ready. Not after the whisper. Not after the voice that called him heir.

He stood at the edge of the training field, gripping his pendant so tightly that the edges dug into his skin.

[Warning: Host emotional instability at 46%.]

[Recommendation: Maintain composure to prevent Shadow Core leakage.]

“Composure…” he muttered. “Right.”

A familiar voice cut through the crowd. “Still talking to yourself, Cross?”

He turned. Kane Drayden stood a few feet away, gold uniform immaculate, smirk sharp as ever.

“Try not to vanish in front of the nobles today,” Kane said. “Wouldn’t want your little ‘tricks’ exposed too soon.”

Liam met his gaze evenly. “You sound nervous.”

Kane’s smile faltered for half a heartbeat. “I don’t get nervous. Especially not over someone like you.”

“Then prove it in the arena,” Liam said, voice low.

Rhea approached, stepping between them. “Enough. The matches haven’t even started.”

Kane’s eyes lingered on her, something unreadable flashing there. “You should stand further from him, Rhea. His shadows stain everything they touch.”

Her expression hardened. “And your light blinds everyone around you.”

The words hit harder than a blow. Kane’s smile vanished. He turned and walked away, cape flaring behind him.

The academy’s great arena was packed. Nobles filled the stands, murmuring excitedly. Even the King’s envoys had come to watch.

Headmaster Varian stood at the center platform, voice steady. “Today we test not power, but control. Not bloodline, but heart.”

Liam watched him quietly from the participants’ line. His heart thudded like a drum.

Rhea caught his glance and mouthed, “Be careful.”

The matches began. Students clashed, sparks flying, magic lighting up the sky. Liam watched each round, feeling the shadow within him stir at the sight of battle.

When his name was finally called, the noise of the crowd faded. It was as if the world itself held its breath. “Liam Cross versus Venn Torran!”

Venn, a massive student from the upper houses, smirked as they stepped into the ring. “I’ll make this quick, Null.”

Liam said nothing. The whistle blew. Venn lunged, his blade glowing red-hot with fire magic. Liam sidestepped, calm. One blink, and he was gone.

Gasps erupted. He reappeared behind Venn, landing a light tap against the back of his neck with the blunt side of his blade. Venn crumpled. Silence, then an explosion of cheers. “Winner, Liam Cross!”

Rhea exhaled in relief. Varian’s eyes, however, narrowed. “Too fast,” the headmaster murmured. “Too familiar.”

By the semi-finals, only four competitors remained. Kane. Rhea. Liam, and one senior from the elite division.

Kane’s match ended in under a minute, a blinding spear of light sending his opponent sprawling.

When he looked up into the crowd, his eyes found Liam’s. He didn’t smile. He just raised a hand and drew a line across his throat.

…

Later, Rhea finds Liam in the prep hall. “You shouldn’t fight him,” she said.

Liam looked up. “I don’t have a choice.”

“You do,” she snapped. “Forfeit. Walk away. The System is unstable, if you lose control again.”

“I won’t.”

“Liam?”

He cut her off, voice low, trembling slightly. “You saw what happened last time I ran. No more running.”

She stared at him, torn between fear and admiration. “He’ll come at you with everything. And if he exposes your power, ”

Liam met her eyes. “Then I’ll stop pretending.”

The crowd roared as the final match was announced: “Final Round, Liam Cross versus Kane Drayden!”

Lightning crackled above the arena. The air itself seemed to tighten. Varian watched from his seat, eyes unreadable. “So fate insists.”

Rhea stood at the edge of the stands, fists clenched. “Please… don’t lose yourself.”

Kane entered first, golden aura flaring, light dancing off his armor. Liam followed, silent, calm, his black uniform fluttering in the wind. 

The crowd erupted with excitement. “The Null versus the Noble!”

Kane smirked. “Let’s make this interesting. When I win, you tell everyone what you really are.”

“And when I win?” Liam asked.

“You won’t.”

The whistle blew. Kane attacked first, a blinding arc of light that seared across the ground. Liam dodged, shadows rippling beneath him. Kane’s movements were furious, desperate. “Stop running!”

“I’m not running,” Liam said. Then vanished.

He reappeared behind Kane, blade drawn. Kane barely blocked, sparks flying. For a moment, their eyes locked, light against shadow, pride against pain.

“Why do you hate me so much?” Liam hissed.

Kane snarled. “Because you shouldn’t exist! Because people like you, from the gutter, don’t get to surpass me!”

Liam’s blade met his, the impact ringing like thunder. “Then maybe it’s time someone did.”

The battle intensified. Light spears rained from above. Liam’s shadows danced, weaving between them like smoke.

The crowd gasped as their powers collided, light clashing with darkness, both refusing to yield.

Kane roared, unleashing his strongest attack, Solar Burst, a massive explosion of golden fire that swallowed the arena.

Students screamed. Even Varian rose to his feet. When the light cleared, the arena floor was cracked and smoking. Kane stood in the center, panting. “It’s over.”

But then… a voice echoed softly through the haze: [Emergency activation. Shadow Core, 10% release.]

Black smoke coiled from the rubble. Liam stepped out, unharmed, eyes glowing violet. Kane’s face drained of color. “What are you?”

Liam’s voice was calm. “You wanted to see what I am. Watch closely.”

The shadows rose around him like wings. Rhea’s voice echoed from the stands. “Liam, stop!”

But it was too late. He moved, faster than sight, striking Kane’s blade aside, sending him sprawling to the ground. The crowd fell silent.

The pendant on Liam’s chest burned, and that deep voice whispered again: “Yes… show them. Show them who commands the night.”

He froze. His hand trembled. The urge to strike, to finish it, burned in his veins. Kane looked up at him, blood on his lip. “Do it, then. Prove you’re nothing but a monster.”

The words cut deeper than any sword. Liam lowered his blade slowly. “No.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

“I’m not you,” he said quietly. “I don’t fight to destroy.”

The shadows around him began to fade,  Until the voice roared inside his skull: [Warning: Core instability. Seal breach accelerating.]

Pain lanced through his head. He fell to one knee, clutching the pendant. Kane staggered to his feet, eyes wide. “What’s happening to you?”

Liam’s breath came in ragged gasps. The pendant pulsed like a heartbeat. Rhea pushed through the barrier, shouting, “Liam!”

Varian rose from his seat, face grim. “The seal,  it’s reacting!”

The ground trembled. Dark light flared from the cracks in the arena floor. Shadows spilled upward, coiling toward the sky like living smoke.

Students screamed as the black aura enveloped the ring. At the center, Liam stood trembling, eyes blazing violet, hair whipping in the wind.

The voice within him laughed. “They wanted to see your power. Give it to them.”

He clenched his fists. “No… I’m not your puppet.”

“You are my heir!”

A blinding surge of energy erupted, darkness swallowing the light, and then… silence.

When the smoke cleared, Kane lay unconscious, the arena in ruins. Liam stood alone amid the wreckage, panting, eyes dimming back to grey.

Headmaster Varian stepped forward slowly, cane tapping the stone. “Liam Cross…” he said softly. “You’ve just changed the fate of this academy.”

The crowd watched in stunned silence as lightning flashed behind him, illuminating the symbol of the Shadow System glowing faintly on his chest.

And far beneath the academy, the black door cracked wider, the voice whispering, “The awakening has begun.”