The forsaken Code.

Chapter Six: Secrets Beneath the surface

Noah stood in the dimly lit hall of Blackwood Tower, his heart still steadying from the fight with Killian. The whispers around him had died down, replaced with watchful stares. He had proven himself—at least enough to be acknowledged.

But the true test was yet to come.

Vance’s hand remained firm on Noah’s shoulder. “You see now, don’t you?” His voice was calm, yet his eyes carried something deeper—something unreadable. “You are not bound by the limitations of this world. And that is why the academy will never accept you.”

Noah exhaled, his gaze flickering to the glowing symbols on the walls. “Then what exactly do you want from me?”

Vance’s smile didn’t waver. “We want you to understand what you truly are.”

Noah narrowed his eyes. “And if I refuse?”

Killian scoffed from the side. “You won’t.”

Vance chuckled. “There’s nothing to refuse, Noah. You came here seeking answers. We are offering them. What you do with them… is entirely up to you.”

Noah didn’t respond. He wasn’t foolish enough to fully trust them, but he needed information. And for now, that meant staying.

Vance gestured toward the end of the hall. “Come. There’s something you need to see.”

They walked through a set of heavy steel doors, descending into what felt like a forgotten vault beneath the tower. The air was thick with an ancient presence, the scent of old parchment and something unidentifiable lingering.

Rows of towering bookshelves stretched into the darkness, each filled with records, artifacts, and writings that looked far older than Eastwood Academy itself.

Noah felt a strange pull, his instincts whispering that this place held knowledge long buried.

Vance stopped before an iron pedestal. On it sat a book, its cover dark and unmarked, the pages humming with faint energy.

“This,” Vance said, brushing a hand over the surface, “is the Codex of the Unseen. It contains records of abilities that defied the Awakening Crystal’s comprehension. People like you.”

Noah’s fingers twitched as he reached out. The moment his hand made contact, a rush of energy shot through him—visions flashing in his mind.

A warrior bending time itself.

A woman walking between realities.

A man rewriting the very laws of death.

And then—

Darkness.

A voice, ancient and cold, whispering.

"The Forsaken Code was never meant to exist."

Noah ripped his hand away, his breathing uneven. His head throbbed, his vision swimming.

Vance observed him carefully. “What did you see?”

Noah clenched his fists. “The truth.”

Vance’s smile grew. “Then you understand now.”

Noah met his gaze, his voice steady. “Not yet. But I will.”

Vance nodded. “Then you are ready for the next step.”

Killian smirked. “Let’s see if you survive it.”

Noah said nothing.

But deep inside, he knew—this was only the beginning.

Noah stood at the threshold of a massive underground chamber. The air crackled with energy, and the stone walls pulsed with ancient symbols. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before—this place wasn’t just old. It was forbidden.

Vance motioned toward the center of the chamber, where a circular platform hovered inches above the ground. Strange metallic constructs surrounded it, humming with an unseen force.

“This is the Trial of the Forsaken,” Vance said, his voice calm yet firm. “Those who carry abilities outside the world’s understanding are either destroyed… or they learn to control them.”

Killian leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “It’s simple, really. Step onto that platform, and it will force your power to the surface.”

Noah frowned. “Force it?”

Vance nodded. “The Forsaken Code is not something that can be ‘trained’ like ordinary abilities. It is raw power—something the world rejected. This trial will either awaken it completely… or consume you.”

Noah’s heart pounded. He had felt glimpses of his ability before—when he rewrote the trajectory of Killian’s attack, when he instinctively avoided fatal blows without realizing how. But this… this was different.

He stepped forward.

Killian smirked. “Try not to die, Carter.”

Noah ignored him and ascended onto the platform.

The moment both feet touched the surface, the chamber trembled.

A pulse of pure energy erupted from the metallic constructs, striking Noah in the chest. His body seized, his vision darkening—then exploding into a flood of images.

A World Beyond Reality

He saw a city unlike any he had ever known. Towers of shifting glass. Streets paved with flowing light. People moving in and out of existence as if reality itself was a suggestion.

At the center of it all stood a monolith—a vast black structure, etched with the same symbols that now burned into his skin.

The whispers returned.

"You were not meant to exist."

"You are a distortion."

"You are the last wielder of the Forsaken Code."

The voices layered over each other, pressing into his mind. His body burned from within.

Then, something inside him snapped.

The pain vanished. The whispers faded. And in their place—

Understanding.

Reality Bends

Noah opened his eyes.

The chamber was still there, but everything felt different. His body was weightless, the energy in the air no longer pressing against him but flowing with him.

He raised his hand—instinct guiding him.

The metallic constructs around the platform froze mid-air.

No, not just froze.

They stopped existing.

Killian’s smirk vanished. “What the—”

The air rippled, and the constructs returned—this time, completely rearranged. Noah had rewritten their very composition without even thinking.

Vance’s eyes gleamed. “Incredible.”

Noah stepped off the platform, his heartbeat steady. “Now I understand.”

Killian’s fists clenched. “There’s no way—”

Noah glanced at him, and time around Killian slowed—for just a fraction of a second.

Just enough for Noah to see the flash of fear in his eyes.

The trial was over.

And Noah Carter was no longer just an anomaly.

He was something else entirely.

Noah stood in the center of the training chamber, the metallic walls humming faintly. His mind was still racing from what had happened earlier—the way he had bent reality, the way Killian had recoiled in shock, and the way Vance had looked at him, almost as if he were studying something both dangerous and fascinating.

Now, he was expected to learn control.

Vance stood across from him, arms crossed. “Your power is unlike anything this academy has ever seen, but raw potential means nothing if you can’t use it properly.”

Killian leaned against the far wall, arms folded. His gaze was sharp, but he didn’t interrupt. For once, he seemed more interested in observing than taunting.

Noah exhaled. “So where do we start?”

Vance’s lips curled into a smirk. “With a simple test.”

He flicked his fingers, and a set of floating constructs emerged from the chamber’s walls. Some were made of reinforced steel, others of shifting energy, and a few pulsed with elemental power.

“Your task is simple,” Vance said. “Rewrite them.”

Noah’s pulse quickened. He hadn’t actually tried intentionally altering something yet—his previous reality-bending moments had been instinctive, almost subconscious.

He extended his hand toward the first construct.

A block of solid steel hovered before him. He focused, reaching for that strange awareness inside him, the one that let him see beyond the normal boundaries of existence.

The steel had rules. He could feel them. Its density, its structure, its unyielding nature.

Rules could be changed.

He pushed against reality.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then—

The steel shimmered, its surface rippling as though it had turned to liquid. The weight shifted. The structure weakened. The rules were no longer absolute.

A second later, the block of steel collapsed into fine dust, as if its composition had never been solid at all.

A deep silence filled the chamber.

Killian’s eyes widened slightly. “What the—”

Vance grinned. “Not bad.”

Noah took a shaky breath. The act had drained him—not physically, but mentally. It was like his mind had fought against the natural order of the world itself.

But he wasn’t done.

He turned to the next construct—a swirling orb of pure lightning energy. The moment he focused on it, he felt something different.

Unlike steel, this energy moved. It was chaotic, untamed. It had its own set of rules.

Could he rewrite something so unstable?

Noah gritted his teeth and reached out.

The moment his fingers brushed against the lightning, a jolt of power surged through him. It wasn’t painful, but it was overwhelming, like trying to hold a storm in his palm.

The rules of lightning were simple—it surged, it spread, it never stayed still.

Noah changed that.

With a sharp exhale, he froze the energy in place.

The lightning stopped moving. The crackling electricity turned still, suspended in midair, like a frozen painting of light.

Killian stepped forward, staring in disbelief. “That’s not possible.”

Vance nodded approvingly. “You’re learning fast.”

Noah released his hold, and the lightning construct vanished into thin air. He staggered slightly, his vision blurring for a second before he steadied himself.

Vance watched him closely. “Every time you rewrite something, you push against the natural laws of reality. That kind of strain won’t be easy to handle.”

Noah exhaled. “I can handle it.”

Vance smirked. “We’ll see.”

But before they could continue—

A loud alarm blared through the academy.

The training chamber’s lights flashed red. A deep voice echoed through the speakers.

“All students, return to your dorms immediately. Unauthorized intruders have breached the academy perimeter.”

Noah’s breath hitched.

Intruders?

Vance’s smirk faded. His expression turned serious. “Well, looks like your lessons will have to wait.”

Killian pushed off the wall, his usual arrogance replaced with readiness. “This isn’t normal.”

Noah clenched his fists, energy still pulsing through his veins. Whatever was coming—whatever had broken into the academy—

He had a feeling this was only the beginning.