2025-05-12 16:35:29The academy halls had never felt so suffocating.
Leo walked through the corridors, his head bowed, his ribs still aching from his injuries. The hushed whispers and mocking laughter followed him, clinging to him, suffocating him. He had known things would be bad. But this? It was worse than he had ever imagined. The student giggled as they looked at him. Some pitied him while some laughed out loud mocking him. “Look who it is,” a voice sneered from behind. “The so-called prodigy.” Leo kept walking, refusing to react. But the voices only grew louder. “The mighty Leo Carter, defeated in a single strike.” “What a joke! I actually used to look up to him.” “Guess his F-rank ability suits him. Failure-rank!” Laughter erupted around him, the jeering voices cutting deeper than any wound. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He wanted to fight back, to yell, to do something. But what could he say? They were right. He had failed. The only way of gaining face had been snatched away from within his grasp. He had failed against the Abyssal Fiend. He had failed to protect his reputation. He had even failed to keep the girl he loved. Sophia… His chest tightened at the memory of her standing beside Ethan, her arms wrapped around him as if Leo had never existed. The humiliation was unbearable. But the worst part? Ethan wasn’t content with just taking everything from him. He wanted to rub salt into the wound. “Leo!” A loud familiar mocking voice echoed through the hallway. Leo stopped in his tracks, knowing what was coming. Ethan stepped forward, flanked by a group of students who had the same abilities like him—his new entourage. At his side, clinging to his arm like a trophy, was Sophia. She looked at Leo with something between pity and amusement. Ethan, of course, was grinning. “Walking around with your head down already?” he mocked. “Didn’t think you’d break this quickly. I had always thought you had it in you. I had thought you were a fighter. But guess I was wrong." Leo’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. The onlookers gathered, their interest piqued. Ethan wasn’t done. He turned to Sophia, his smirk widening. “Tell me, babe,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “What was it like dating him?” Sophia giggled, playing along. “Honestly? It was so exhausting. I kept waiting for him to become something, but—” She shrugged, leaning into Ethan. “Well, we all know how that turned out.” The crowd erupted into laughter. Leo felt something inside him snap. Not just anger. Not just humiliation. Something deeper. Something…powerful. But it is well quick to dissolve, disappear. Ethan wasn’t finished. “Oh, and you won’t believe what Sophia told me,” he said, his voice dripping with amusement. “Did you know she never actually kissed you?” Leo’s breath caught in his throat. He flashed his eyebrows at Sophia, he didn't believe she could tell him that too. Sophia smirked. “Oh, please. Do you really think I’d waste my first kiss on someone with a pathetic ability?” The crowd roared. Leo’s vision blurred at the edges. His hands trembled. His nails dug so deep into his palms that he almost drew blood. Ethan leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper only Leo could hear. “I took everything from you.” He patted Leo’s shoulder. “How does it feel to be nothing?” The hallway felt smaller, the walls pressing in, the laughter ringing in his ears. His breaths came short and fast. His heart pounded violently against his ribs. But then… [ SSS-Rank Ability Detected. ] A pulse. A flicker of something deep within him. Leo exhaled. Slowly. The humiliation, the rage, the pain—everything fused into something sharper. More refined. Not yet. Not here. But soon. He looked up, his eyes locking onto Ethan’s. The smirk was still there, the arrogance practically radiating off of him. Leo didn’t react. Instead, he let a small, almost imperceptible smile tug at the corner of his lips. Ethan’s smirk faltered. " Wait? Did you just smirked?" his voice sharp, demanding. Just for a second. The hall was silent with the anticipation of what was going to happen next.
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Chapter 20: The Shadow That Chose Him
They say the strongest flames are born from the coldest winters and Leo Carter was no exception.He first opened his eyes in the blue-gray light of dawn, on a morning weighed down by the hush of rain against the window. His mother’s arms, warm and trembling, were the only comfort he knew. In that moment, she held her breath....both for him and for the life that had changed forever.“Leo Carter,” his mother whispered for the first time, her voice thick with wonder and worry. “You are safe now.”Behind them lay a life she would never speak of again. His parents two extraordinary individuals...... once shared love and power beyond compare, but that love had fractured. His mother, an elemental sorceress whose fire sparked legends, had carried Leo without letting his father know. When the truth slipped free, the marriage collapsed. He vanished from their lives. She chose to leave him that way.Alone, she raised Leo. At first, strength came easily—crafted by youthful hope and magic born of
Chapter 19: Back to the Realm
The cold in the realm was different. It wasn’t the kind of cold that came from snow or winter. It was a dead, hollow cold that sank into Ethan’s bones and refused to leave. His body ached. His wrists were bound by black iron chains pulsing with dark magic, each link etched with ancient runes that siphoned his strength little by little.Ethan knelt in the center of a ruined chamber, surrounded by flickering torches that gave off no warmth. The walls around him were cracked and crumbling, decorated with faded murals of forgotten gods. The air reeked of decay, and in the shadows, twisted spirits whispered curses in a language he couldn’t understand.He had lost track of time. Minutes, hours, maybe even days—it all blurred into one long nightmare.Then, they came.Dark figures, cloaked in robes made of smoke and shadow, glided into the chamber. One of them stepped forward. Unlike the others, this one had a face—sharp and pale, with eyes like burning coals. He spoke with a voice like shatt
Chapter 18: Beneath the Thunder of Applause
It was a day of grandeur and glory.Avalon Academy stood bathed in light, the towering spires gleaming beneath a clear azure sky. Banners bearing the sigils of the Five Houses fluttered across every corridor, balcony, and rooftop. Students and instructors alike wore ceremonial robes embroidered with magical threads that shimmered in the sun. The scent of roasted meat and sweetcakes drifted through the air from open pavilions near the stadium, where food stalls and vendors catered to the crowd gathering in celebration.The entire campus buzzed with energy—for today marked the Anniversary of Founding, a sacred tradition where the academy not only celebrated its origins but also paid tribute to the forces of magic and the warriors who protected the realm. The Grandmaster and the High Council were in attendance, and so were numerous SSS-ranked heroes of old, returning to witness the next generation rise.The enormous stadium at the heart of Avalon was filled to its brim. Thousands of stud
Chapter 17: Shadows Beneath the Flame
The sun rose over Avalon Academy, painting the ancient stone towers in hues of gold and crimson. But beneath its beauty, the school was uneasy. Rumors had already spread like wildfire—of the explosion of light at the hospital wing, of Leo’s forbidden power, and of Elaine’s near-death and mysterious recovery. Then came the summons. Every student, from first-year initiates to elite SSS-ranked seniors, was ordered to gather in the Grand Convocation Hall—an enormous domed chamber at the heart of the academy. The stained glass murals along the walls shimmered with soft magic, and the sound of murmuring voices echoed endlessly beneath the curved ceiling. Whispers buzzed from one row to the next. "Did you hear? Leo used a dark ability." "Elaine almost died..." "They say the hospital wing exploded with energy!" "I heard he’s being kept in the attic tower, under guard." The room hushed as the Grandmaster entered. Clad in flowing midnight-blue robes trimmed with silver runes, Grandmas
chapter 16: Between Light and Shadow
{Back at the Hospital}The moment the Grandmaster stepped into the ward, the suffocating energy that had filled the room began to dissipate. The swirling wind that had churned through every corner of the hospital faded into silence. Lights flickered once more to life. The oppressive pressure lifted like a fog parting at dawn.Elaine's body lay at the center of the chaos—limp, glowing embers fading slowly from her skin. Blood pooled beneath her, staining the sheets she had once used to meditate. The light was gone, but the memory of it pulsed in the walls like an aftershock.The doctors rushed to her, hands trembling as they worked quickly to stop the bleeding. One nurse pressed cloth to her side while another checked her vitals. Her pulse was weak. Faint. But it was there.“Stabilize her,” the Grandmaster said with quiet command. His voice carried weight—an ancient one that calmed even the most panicked heart in the room. “I want a full containment barrier around this wing. No one ent
Chapter 15: Echoes of the Forbidden Flame
The moon hung high over Avalon Academy, casting a silvery glow across the deserted courtyard. On the rooftop training chamber, Ethan stood alone. The cool night breeze tousled his hair as he stared into the distance, trying to piece together the events that had unfolded.The atmosphere was charged with tension......a heavy silence blanketing the academy, as if the very walls were holding their breath in anticipation.“Oh, there you are,” Sophia’s voice broke the silence as she approached him.“I’ve been searching for you for hours. What’s wrong, darling? Don’t tell me you’re still brooding over what happened with Leo.”She paused, her eyes searching his face.“You know he can’t do anything for now. He’s locked up.”For a moment, Ethan remained silent, his gaze fixed on the horizon. Then, with a sigh, he spoke.“Yeah, you’re right. He’s been locked up.....but we both know it won’t be for long. I still wonder how he came across such immense power. That kind of power is forbidden... Yet,
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