Veltharion Academy did not return to stillness.
Not after the Resonant Hollow.Not after the Council hearing.And certainly not after the moment Akasha flared in full view of every noble and elder.
For days, whispers chased Saphine and Eris through the halls.
"That's Eris Vale… but he looks different.""Wasn't her shadow someone else?""No— same name, different face.""He awakened. Maybe he reincarnated.""Or replaced the original—""Don't say such things!"
The academy was a pot ready to boil over.
Saphine Ka'tarel walked beside Eris Vale across the courtyard, now strong enough to move without help. Several students bowed. Some hid. Some stared openly at Eris's changed appearance: younger, brighter, more alive.
Eris waved at them cheerfully.
"Good morning."
A student shrieked and ran.
Saphine groaned."Do you have to greet them?"
"What? Should I hiss instead?"
"No—! Actually never mind."
She rubbed her temple. "They keep staring because you look too different."
"I evolved," Eris said, shrugging. "My Echo reshaped my form. Perfectly normal."
"For you, maybe."
Eris placed a hand over his heart in faux offense.
"Are you saying my face is too handsome now?"
"ERIS—!"
She pushed him ahead as they approached the eastern tower — the meeting place where the eleven heirs had summoned them.
This wasn't a council order.This was something rarer.
A gathering of heirs by their own will.A political earthquake.
Inside the Tower – Eyes That Don't Trust
The circular chamber buzzed with tension.
Aerin Valmont stood near the window, spear on his back, looking deeply annoyed.His shadow, Meline, fidgeted — a bad sign.She only fidgeted when something was wrong.
Lyssandra Calvess leaned against the wall, her twin-blade shadow Verrick sharpening a dagger lazily.
Seloria Avenzelle sat gracefully, tea in hand, her shadow Rhylas drifting like a patient ghost.
Korrin Thalvek pretended to nap again, Cyrinth standing guard behind him.
The others murmured, but when Eris and Saphine entered, the room snapped to silence.
Aerin's eyes narrowed.
"So you finally arrived."
Eris waved.
"Hello, Aerin. Nice hair."
Aerin's eye twitched violently.
Lyssandra cut straight to the point.
"Before anything else… what happened to your shadow?"
Saphine blinked. "My… what?"
Verrick spoke next, tone sharp.
"Your shadow used to look plain. Boring even. Properly forgettable."He pointed at Eris."This is not the same person."
Rhylas added,
"His aura is different. His posture. Even his breathing."
Seloria sipped her tea.
"Rumor says the original Eris Vale died."
Saphine stiffened. "That's—"
"Wrong."
Eris stepped forward, hands casually in his pockets.
The heirs flinched.
"I'm the same person. Same name. Same soul. Same Shadow-mark,"he said calmly.
Aerin Valmont wasn't convinced.
He approached Eris, standing close enough for their auras to collide.
"Then prove it.""You don't look like you did. You don't talk like you did.Your Echo— your form— changed too drastically."His voice hardened."Saphine Ka'tarel once had a shadow who stood silent and expressionless behind her.You are not that shadow."
Eris didn't step back.He simply smiled — soft, unsettling, ancient.
"Evolution isn't replacement, Aerin.It's revelation."
Meline swallowed hard, murmuring,
"His pulse hasn't changed. Shadows don't reincarnate… not like that."
Aerin inhaled slowly.
"Then I'll ask plainly.""What happened to the old Eris Vale?"
Eris's voice dropped into something deeper.
"He outgrew his shell."
The silence that followed was thick enough to cut.
Seloria broke it gently.
"Transformation of this magnitude… only happens with Echo Ascension."
Lyssandra finished the thought.
"Which means he's more dangerous now than before."
Saphine stepped forward defensively.
"Eris didn't replace my previous shadow.He is my shadow.And I trust him."
The heirs exchanged looks.
Aerin finally relented—barely.
"Fine.If the Heir of Ka'tarel accepts him… then we proceed."
But it was clear:
They didn't fully trust Eris anymore.They feared him.
The Heirs' Concerns
The tension eased only slightly as they moved into the purpose of the meeting.
Seloria spoke first.
"The Great Houses are mobilizing.My family already issued a recall order."
Lyssandra added,
"Mine sent spies into the academy.They're looking for something. Or someone."
Korrin lazily raised a hand.
"Pretty sure my House is preparing for another coup. They do that for fun."
Cyrinth elbowed him sharply.
Aerin stepped to the center.
"We're all being pulled into politics.The collapse of the Resonant Hollow triggered instability across the territories."
Seloria nodded.
"Three cities reported Echo fluctuations."
Verradine whispered,
"And the Houses are blaming Akasha."
Dozens of eyes landed on Eris.
He rubbed his neck.
"If they want someone to blame, I am honored."
Saphine pinched him."Stop provoking them!"
"I'm not. I'm just being polite."
"You're never polite!"
Eris grinned.
But the mood darkened.
Seloria set down her cup, face serious.
"Eris. Something is touching the aether in this region.And every time it does—Alia reacts."
The room froze.
A faint pulse shivered through the tower walls.
Meline gasped.Verrick's dagger slipped.Rhylas dissipated into mist.
Eris's smile instantly vanished.
"She's calling again."
Another whisper fluttered across the air.
"E…ris…"
Soft.Not awake.Not conscious.But aware.
The heirs looked at each other, shaken.
Saphine grabbed Eris's sleeve.
"What does it mean?"
Eris stared at the highest window of the tower, Akasha glimmering faintly in his eyes.
"Something reached out to her Echo,"he said quietly."Something that shouldn't exist outside the Hollow."
Aerin stepped forward.
"Where?"
Eris's voice was calm.Too calm.
"Just beyond the academy walls."
Lyssandra's grip tightened on her blade.
Seloria whispered,
"Is it coming here?"
Eris's gaze hardened like tempered steel.
"No."He turned toward the entrance."It's already here."
A chilling silence swallowed the chamber.
And that was the moment the heirs understood:
The trial was only the beginning.Whatever hunted the Saintess's daughter…had followed them back into reality.