Location: Astraedus Academy - Eastern Courtyard, Twilight

  The air was thick with the stillness of the aftermath. The battle had raged, but Aeon barely felt its weight. The energy had left his body, but the emptiness remained. His mind replayed the flashes of reality and the undeniable pull he’d felt—something beyond this world, beyond this life.

  Lysira approached slowly, her footsteps echoing softly as the evening breeze danced through the academy’s courtyard. She saw him standing there, staring at the remnants of the broken seal, his expression distant, as if searching for something that was never meant to be found.

  “Aeon,” Lysira said softly, her voice almost a whisper in the cool air. “What did you see?”

  Aeon didn’t turn to face her at first. His mind was elsewhere—caught between the layers of time, the fragments of memories that weren’t his own. The Eye, the sensation of being watched, the sense of reality bending under the weight of forgotten truths.

  “I saw... something I wasn’t supposed to see,” he replied, his voice strained with the weight of the experience. “A piece of me, Lysira. Something that belongs to a past I can’t remember, but that remembers me.”

  Lysira moved closer, her hand brushing the hilt of the divine artifact at her side. She had no answers, no way to guide him through this. But she would not leave him alone.

  “You’re not alone, Aeon,” she said softly, looking at him with a determination that matched the strength of her aura. “We’ll face this together.”

  Aeon nodded, but deep down, he knew that this was a battle he had to fight alone. Even if his friends and Lysira walked beside him, there were truths buried deep within him that no one could see, not yet.

  Location: The Forbidden Depths of Astraedus - Hidden Chamber

  Elsewhere, in the deep and forgotten parts of the academy, far from the prying eyes of the students and faculty, Tavin Grynth stood before an ancient glyph, its surface pulsing with an eerie light. Behind him, the shadows of his comrades—Myris Velstra, Varek Khoran, and Zelphira Dyvra—moved with purpose.

  “The seals are breaking,” Tavin murmured, his voice barely above a whisper as he traced his fingers along the glyph. “The path is opening. He is awakening.”

  Zelphira stepped forward, her eyes burning with the weight of their mission. “But is he ready? Has he reached the threshold?”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “No,” Tavin said, turning toward her with a knowing grin. “He hasn’t even begun to understand what he is. But we are not here to guide him. We are here to ensure he reaches his full potential... under our control.”

  Myris’s voice was laced with a bitter edge. “And if he refuses?”

  “We will force him,” Tavin said with a cruel smile. “Whether he knows it or not, Aeon Virelios is destined to awaken to a truth that will consume him—or he will destroy everything in his path.”

  Location: Aeon’s Dorm Room - Night

  That night, the academy felt different. The energy in the air had shifted, like the calm before a storm. Aeon sat at his desk, staring at the ancient tome he had recently found hidden in the library—its pages filled with cryptic symbols and forbidden knowledge.

  His fingers brushed over the pages, each one making his heart race faster, each word echoing something deep within him—a truth he could barely comprehend.

  “Aeon?”

  The voice of his friend, Ryssha Noctelle, broke through the haze in his mind. She stood at the doorway, her expression unreadable, though the concern in her eyes was unmistakable.

  “Ryssha…” Aeon began, his voice trailing off. He didn’t know what to say. How could he explain the confusion and weight of what he had seen? How could he tell her that he was no longer just a student at Astraedus, no longer just a boy with friends—he was something far older, far more dangerous than any of them could comprehend?

  “What happened?” Ryssha asked, taking a cautious step into the room. “You’ve been distant. We’re all worried.”

  “I saw something,” Aeon whispered, almost as if speaking the words would make them real. “A part of me that shouldn’t be here. A part of me that remembers things... things I shouldn’t remember.”

  Her gaze softened. “We’re in this together. Whatever it is... we’ll face it as friends. You don’t have to carry this alone.”

  Aeon met her eyes, his chest tight with conflicting emotions. “It’s not just that, Ryssha. I don’t think any of us can comprehend what’s coming. I’ve seen the threads unravel. The truth is... It’s bigger than us.”

  Location: The Academy’s Grand Hall – Night

  The following evening, the Academy’s Grand Hall was filled with the hum of preparation for the coming storm. Classes had been suspended temporarily, and the atmosphere was tense with whispers about strange occurrences around the city.

  While students and faculty alike gathered for a council meeting in the grand hall, Aeon found himself standing at the edge, his thoughts consumed with the events of the past few days. Lysira, who had joined him, noticed the weight he carried.

  “Don’t let it consume you, Aeon,” she said, her voice steady but laced with concern. “We are all here with you. We’ll face whatever comes together.”

  He looked at her, his heart heavy. She didn’t know the full extent of what he had seen. He could feel it—the hidden power, the potential for destruction, the truth of what he had yet to become.

  “I’m not sure how much longer I can keep pretending that this is just a normal fight, Lysira. There’s a reckoning coming, and I... I don’t think I’m ready for it.”

  But before Lysira could respond, the doors to the hall swung open, and Vael Virelios entered. His presence seemed to freeze the very air, a darkness clinging to him like a shadow.

  His gaze landed on Aeon.

  “I see you’re still playing the hero,” Vael said with a smirk, his voice dripping with disdain. “But don’t be mistaken, Aeon. You’re not the one pulling the strings. That’s something you’ll have to learn... the hard way.”