Sovereign of The Abyss

Chapter 6

“But why was one here?” Miko asked, his voice filled with frustration. “Why was there no guard? Why didn’t anyone help me?”

The principal let out a long sigh, then sat down. “That’s a question we don’t have an easy answer to. The Abyss—well, the wraiths—first appeared seventy years ago. Back then, the world was normal, peaceful. But one day, portals started opening. Mirrors, windows, random reflective surfaces. And with them, came the Eidolon wraiths.”

Miko frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion. “The wraiths?”

“Yes,” the principal continued, nodding. “They’re not just monsters—they’re the result of a strange occurrence. The moment the Abyss started to leak mana into our world, it birthed elemental powers. Fire, water, air, earth, all of it became possible, but at a cost. The wraiths, these creatures you saw, are the products of that very leak. They are elemental beings, born from the Abyss’s influence.”

“So... the wraiths are made from elemental magic?” Miko asked, piecing it together. “But why was there no one to stop me?”

“We’ve never encountered a portal like the one you passed through,” Miss Rose answered, her voice laced with worry. “This is a new development. Mirrors—sometimes they act as conduits, opening the way between worlds but they only occur in places with high density of mana, not until now, we haven’t seen anything like it in decades because the density of mana in this school is far from high. We didn’t expect any of the students to accidentally walk into it.”

Miko took a deep breath, still in disbelief that he was back in the real world. His head throbbed with questions, but he chose to keep his thoughts to himself for the moment.

“There’s no need to tell them any info about the pendant,” he thought too himself.

Instead, he glanced around the principal’s office, his eyes settling on Miss Rose and the other teacher standing quietly by the wall.

“Well?” Miss Rose said, breaking the silence. “How did you survive in there?”

Miko hesitated, not wanting to reveal too much. He could feel the weight of their gazes on him, but he didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing everything. He had his own secrets.

“There’s no need to explain everything,” Miko said, shrugging. “I just… I figured it out. Kept my head down, kept moving forward.” He could feel his hands itching

Miko looked at the floor, his thoughts moving quickly. The pendant had something to do with it, but he wasn’t ready to mention that just yet.

“Actually, there’s something else I need to show you,” Miko said, standing up. He wiped his hands on his pants, feeling the ash starting to coat his fingers once again.

“Miss Rose, can you shoot a small magic blast at me,” He didn’t need to explain it fully.

Miss Rose looked at him curiously, “I heard you’re having a hard time in classes and I wouldn’t really want to put you in any da—“

Before she could finish, Miko had already reached for a pencil sitting on the desk. Without another word, Miko closed his fingers around the pencil, and within moments, the ash wrapped around it, coating the entire object in a dark, smoky layer.

“Teacher, I’m waiting for you,” Miko said as he looked at her.

The air seemed to thicken with tension as Miko held the pencil up.

“Miko, what exactly—?” Miss Rose started, but Miko didn’t give her the chance to finish.

Miss Rose took a deep breath as she conjured, “Wind spike!” She blasted at him.

He flung the pencil with a sharp motion toward the spoke.

The moment the pencil collided with the wind ball, the pencil bounced off and flew away. “ Leaving Miko to dodge the spike.

The room fell into stunned silence.

The male teacher and the principal both stared, their mouths agape in disbelief.

Miss Rose dusted her palm.

“As expected, a mere pencil can’t cut a wind spike, I don’t know what you were trying to demonstrate,” Miss Rose said.

“What in the world just happened?” The other teacher asked.

“What in the world just happened?” the other teacher asked, his voice shaky. He adjusted his glasses, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“What did you both see?” Miss Rose asked.

The principal, however, didn’t speak immediately. He was staring at Miko, Finally, he broke the silence. “That wasn’t… normal. Miss Rose, didn’t you see it?”

“See what?” she asked, folding her arms. “He threw a pencil, and it didn’t do anything. What else was there to see?”

The principal stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he addressed her. “The moment his pencil made contact with your Wind Spike. Didn’t you notice the split in your magic?”

Miss Rose frowned, replaying the moment in her mind. Slowly, her confidence began to waver. “What do you mean?”

The male teacher interjected, his voice rising in pitch. “I saw it too! Right before the pencil bounced off, the tip of the Wind Spike… it split. It was like something sliced through it, but not completely.”

“That’s not all, what type of pencil would survive a clash with a wind spike?” The principal said as he walked towards the pencil.

He picked it up, revealing the good state of the pencil. “It should have been..”

“Torn to shreds,” Miss Rose uttered as the realization struck her.

Miss Rose’s eyes widened as she turned to Miko, who stood silently, his expression unreadable. “What did you do?” she demanded, her tone sharp.

Miko hesitated, debating how much he should reveal. Finally, he sighed and held out his hand. The ash began to swirl around his fingers, faint at first but quickly thickening into a visible haze.

“This,” he said simply.

The principal took a step back, his eyes fixed on the ash that seemed to pulse with its own life. “What… what is that?”

“It’s my element, ash,” Miko said, his voice calm. “In the face of life and death, I discovered that my ash had the ability to swallow mana like a void. So anything I coat with it becomes and anti-magic weapon”

Miss Rose’s spine stiffened as a shiver ran through her. “That… that’s not normal magic. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The principal nodded slowly, his expression grave. “Such magic… This isn’t something we’ve encountered before when it comes to The Ash element. Miko.”

Miko hesitated again, his thoughts racing. He couldn’t tell them about the pendant or the Abyss—not yet. Instead, he decided to keep his explanation vague.

The male teacher stepped forward, his eyes filled with fascination. “And you can control it? Just like that? I mean you can turn on the anti-ash and turn it off? Choose. When you want to slice magic and when not to?”

”Well, it comes at a cost,” As Miko ended that sentence. Everyone in the room finally noticed the blood pouring out of his nose, eyes and mouth.

“The cost is my life. If you look properly, you would notice my dark hair got lighter. The skill burns away my lifespan as it’s battery. So this is a skill that I don’t think I will ever use,” Miko said.

Miss Rose shook her head, her expression filled with concern. “This doesn’t make sense. Magic has rules. Elements have rules. But this… this is something else entirely.”

The principal cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Miko, we’re going to need to investigate this further. Your abilities… but like you said, it’s a good choice to stop using the anti-magic part of your ash.”

“Ash Void,” Miko uttered.

“You’re giving a name to a skill you’re not planning on using?” Miss Rose asked.

The room fell silent again, the weight of the situation settling over them like a heavy blanket. Finally, Miss Rose spoke, her voice softer this time. “Miko… do you have any idea what you’ve been ‘birthed’ into?”

Miko looked at her, his expression unreadable.

The principal nodded, his expression serious. “For now, we’ll keep this between us. But Miko, be careful. Whatever this power is… it’s not something to take lightly. If it gets out of the school that you have such a power, you’ll be scouted into battle units or even the military. They will do their best to risk your life for a cause.”

Miko nodded, his mind racing.

The heavy silence in the room was cut by Miko’s voice. “I have another question,” he said, his tone was cautious yet firm.

Miss Rose raised an eyebrow, her hands still crossed tightly over her chest. “What now, Miko?”

Miko hesitated for a moment, his eyes flicking between the three adults. “What are wraiths that can talk called?”

As if rehearsed, the principal, Miss Rose, and the other teacher turned to face him at the same time, their expressions shifting from curiosity to alarm.

The principal’s voice was low, almost a very low whisper. “What did you just say?”

Miko scratched the back of his head, feeling the weight of their stares. “I said… What are wraiths that can talk called?”

Miss Rose stepped closer, her face pale. “Why are you asking that, Miko? Did you—” She stopped herself, as if afraid of what she might hear.

“I saw one,” Miko said bluntly, not waiting for her to finish.

The male teacher adjusted his glasses and took a step forward. “You what?!”

Miko sighed, already regretting his decision to bring it up. “I saw one in the Abyss,” he said, his voice steady despite the chaos swirling in his head. “It… it wasn’t like the others. It talked to me.”

The male teacher’s jaw dropped. “It spoke to you?”

Miko nodded. “Yeah. It called me out.“

The principal leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. “You’re sure about this? You’re not mistaken?”

“I’m sure,” Miko said firmly. “It wasn’t just some random wraith. It was… different. Stronger.”

Miss Rose exchanged a glance with the principal, her voice barely above a whisper. “An awakened wraith?”

The principal nodded slowly, his face grim. “It sounds like it.”

Miko frowned. “Awakened wraith? What does that mean?”

The principal sighed deeply, “Wraiths that can talk are called awakened wraiths. They’re not like the regular ones you see swarming around the Abyss. They’re… smarter. Stronger. And far more dangerous.”

Miss Rose shivered visibly. “They’re extremely rare, Miko. Most people never encounter one and live to tell the tale.”

“Wait,” Miko said, his brows knitting together. “So you’re telling me that thing I saw… was one of the strongest types of wraiths?”

The principal nodded solemnly. “Yes. And the fact that you survived…” He trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s nothing short of a miracle.”

The principal stood, signaling the end of the conversation. “For now, let’s keep this between us. No one else can know about your encounter with the awakened wraith. If word gets out…” He didn’t finish, but the gravity of his tone made it clear what he meant.

Miko nodded, his mind already racing with questions. He didn’t trust them completely—not yet—but for now, he had no choice but to follow their lead.