The Talentless Boy Who Challenged the Devil

CHAPTER THREE:ORIGINAL DECREE

The eastern archive was closed by the time Kael reached it.

A chain of enchanted iron crossed the entrance, and a red seal glowed above the lock. Beyond the doors, rows of ancient books stretched into darkness.

Kael pressed his palm against the wood.

Nothing happened.

He tried the handle.

Locked.

“Looking for something?”

Kael spun around.

A woman in a dark instructor's uniform stood at the end of the corridor. A narrow silver badge rested against her collar, and a crystal pendant glimmered at her throat.

He recognized her from the morning's assessment.

“I wanted to read about talent awakenings,” he said.

“Then you should have visited the public library.”

“I already did.”

“And?”

“Everything available to unclassified students explains how talents are measured. Nothing explains why some people fail to awaken one.”

The woman's expression changed slightly.

“Why do you need to know?”

“Because I'm tired of being told to accept something nobody has bothered to explain.”

For several seconds, she studied him.

Then she approached the sealed entrance and pressed two fingers against the red mark. The seal brightened, revealing lines of glowing runes beneath the surface.

“You should be careful about the questions you ask here,” she said. “Some knowledge is restricted for a reason.”

“Then give me a reason to stop asking.”

The woman said nothing.

Kael had expected her to summon a guard. Instead, she withdrew her hand from the seal.

“Return to your dormitory.”

“No.”

“If you continue asking questions like these, someone far less patient than I am will eventually notice.”

She walked past him.

Kael remained beside the locked doors, watching the silver badge disappear around the corner.

He had come looking for a way to discover his talent.

Instead, he had received a warning.

And somehow, that warning made him even more determined to find the truth.

************

“Kael. The Sovereign Rector wants to see you.”

The summons came just as he returned to his dormitory.

Two academy guards stood outside the entrance, their uniforms immaculate and their weapons glowing faintly with protective enchantments.

Kael's stomach tightened.

“What for?”

“You'll find out when you arrive.” The guard replied, clearly getting pissed.

He followed them through the academy's central courtyard, past students who stopped talking as he passed. Some recognized him from the assessment. Others noticed the guards escorting him and began whispering.

By the time they reached the administrative tower, a small crowd had gathered behind them.

“Perhaps they're finally expelling him,” someone said.

“Wouldn't surprise me.”

“Imagine getting admitted by special order only to be thrown out on the first day.”

Kael kept walking.

The tower's entrance opened without anyone touching it. Blue runes illuminated the walls as they climbed the staircase, their light pulsing with every step.

At the top stood a pair of enormous black doors.

One guard knocked.

“Enter,” a deep voice answered.

The office beyond was larger than Kael's family home. Shelves filled with ancient books lined the walls, and a transparent globe floated above a stone table, displaying a miniature map of the surrounding territories. Silver symbols rotated around it, marking the locations of known creature incursions.

Behind the desk sat Lord Vaelthar Draven.

The Sovereign Rector looked nothing like the instructors who had dismissed Kael earlier. His dark robes carried intricate gold embroidery, and a black ring rested on his right hand. His eyes were cold, but something was unsettling about the stillness of his expression.

“Leave us,” he ordered.

The guards bowed and closed the doors behind them.

Kael remained standing.

“You sent for me, sir?”

Vaelthar studied him before gesturing towards the chair opposite his desk.

“Sit.”

Kael sat.

“I assume you know why your assessment was unsuccessful.”

“Because I don't have a talent.”

“And do you know why you were admitted despite that fact?”

“No, sir.”

“Have you ever wondered why someone would waste an academy place on a boy who has failed every recognized measure of potential?”

Kael's jaw tightened.

“Every day.”

“Good. Then perhaps you'll understand why I called you here.”

Vaelthar opened a drawer and removed a thin black folder. He placed it on the desk but kept one hand resting on its cover.

“Your admission was not approved by the usual council.”

Kael stared at him.

“Then who approved it?”

“Someone whose authority exceeds that of this institution.”

“Who?”

Vaelthar's expression hardened.

“That is not information you are entitled to receive.”

Kael looked at the folder.

“Then why tell me any of this?”

“Because I want you to understand something. Your admission does not make you special. It does not grant you protection from the academy's rules, and it does not guarantee that you will ever awaken a talent.”

“Then why keep me here?”

For the first time, Vaelthar's fingers tightened against the folder.

“Because I was ordered to.”

The answer left Kael more confused than before.

“By whom?”

“Enough.”

The word struck the room with an unnatural weight. The floating globe flickered, and the runes along the walls dimmed for a fraction of a second.

Kael fell silent.

Vaelthar leaned forward.

“You will remain at Veylcrest Dominion Academy until further notice. You will attend your assigned duties, follow your instructors' orders, and refrain from interfering with restricted academy records. If you break the rules, you will be punished like any other student.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then you may discover that leaving this academy is considerably more difficult than entering it.”

Kael stared at the man.

Now the person responsible for the academy's authority was telling him that he had to remain somewhere that considered him worthless, without explaining why he had been brought there in the first place.

“What am I supposed to do here?” Kael asked quietly.

Vaelthar's eyes remained fixed on him.

“Survive.”

**************

After Kael left, Vaelthar waited until the doors had closed completely.

Then he opened the black folder.

The admission authorization lay on top, bearing the same seal that had arrived that morning. He had examined it countless times, searching for evidence of forgery or enchantment. He had found none.

Beneath it lay the original decree.

Vaelthar turned to the final page, where a line of writing had appeared only after Kael's admission was approved.

The letters glowed faintly before settling into black ink.

Vaelthar went still.

He had seen divine orders before. He had witnessed miracles that ordinary humans would have mistaken for legends.

But never had a command left him with so many questions.

He closed the folder and locked it inside the desk.

Then he looked towards the window, where the academy's enormous gates stood beneath the fading light.

“What are you hiding, boy?” he murmured.

For the first time in years, Lord Vaelthar Draven found himself hoping that a student would prove the academy wrong.

Because if the decree was telling the truth, Kael's greatest danger might not be his lack of talent.

It might be what would happen when he finally discovered it.