Nova — Fire in the Ironbound
The dust from the shattered Sentinel still hung in the air, glowing with sparks of dying electricity. Nova could feel the weight of a dozen Ironbound stares resting on him—fear, awe, and something else. Recognition.
Raze was the first to speak.
"Kid… that lightning wasn't just magic. That was Grey lightning."
Nova frowned. "Grey lightning?"
Raze nodded slowly. "Your family didn't just forge weapons. They forged elements… shaped raw mana into forms no mage had seen before. That Thunderbrand technique you just created? That was a lost signature of House Grey."
Nova's pulse tightened. His parents had never told him that. They'd taught him sword strokes, balance, steel—but never this.
Before he could ask more, another tremor rattled the cavern. Not from combat this time—something deeper. A hum running through the stone.
Raze cursed. "They found another entrance. Sentinels are moving through the lower tunnels."
Nova drew his sword again. "Then let's—"
"No," Raze cut in sharply. "They're trying to corner us. Someone tipped them off. Someone inside."
Nova froze.
A traitor… among the Ironbound?
Suddenly the cavern lights flickered. A distorted voice echoed through the tunnels like a mocking whisper:
"Grey… we know you're here."
Nova's breath stopped.
The Crown.
They weren't hunting the Ironbound.
They were hunting him.
Sorra — The Crown's Net Tightens
The Academy courtyard had turned into chaos—enforcers in crimson armor forcing students to the ground, demanding identifications, pushing staff aside. Spells crackled in the air, clashing with defensive barriers.
Headmaster Vale gripped Sorra's arm. "We need to get you out. Now."
"But Nova—" she whispered.
"He is not here," Vale said firmly. "And if they capture you—Silvercrest falls next."
Sorra felt her blood warm—her powers reacting to her fear.
"I can fight."
"And if you do," Vale said, "you will start a war you cannot win."
The doors burst open. A wave of Crown soldiers surged into the hall, blades drawn.
"In here!" one shouted.
Vale pushed Sorra behind him and raised his staff. "Run."
Sorra hesitated—but Vale didn't wait.
A burst of wind magic slammed into the soldiers, sending them crashing back into the pillars.
"GO!"
Sorra sprinted down the hallway, her boots echoing off marble. She slid into an alcove, pressed her back to the cold stone, and tried to breathe.
But then—
A presence stepped into the corridor.
Not the soldiers.
Not Vale.
A single man.
The crimson-cloaked commander.
His eyes gleamed like polished steel.
"Sorra Grey," he called softly, almost kindly. "I am not here to hurt you."
She didn't answer.
"I am here," he continued, taking slow steps forward, "to bring you home."
Her power surged.
Inferno Cage flickered at her fingertips.
The commander smiled.
"Ah," he whispered. "You are just like your brother."
Sorra's breath halted.
"How do you—"
He lifted a gloved hand.
"Because we tracked him first."
Her heart plummeted.
Nova…
What have you gotten yourself into?
Nova — Into the Broken Forge
Raze grabbed Nova's shoulder, dragging him back from the tunnel edge.
"We have to move. If they trap you in here, we're all dead."
"Then let me fight!" Nova snapped.
"You don't get it," Raze hissed. "Those Sentinels? They're not here to capture. They're here to erase. You. Us. Everything tied to the old forge."
Nova stared into the dark tunnel where the voice had echoed.
Erase.
The Crown wasn't afraid of him.
They were afraid of what he represented.
"Raze," Nova said quietly, "you said my family hid something. Did the Ironbound ever find out what it was?"
Raze swallowed.
"We found… fragments."
He reached beneath a table, pulling out a small steel case.
An old, rusted blueprint lay inside.
A forging diagram.
But not for a weapon.
For a core—something meant to power entire cities or armies.
"This," Raze said, "is the reason your family died."
Before Nova could respond—
BANG.
The wall behind them exploded.
A Sentinel burst through the stone like a metal demon, its glowing red core exposed and pulsing.
Nova reacted first.
Silent Step.
Triple Strike.
Lightning Element.
He flickered through space—appearing behind the Sentinel in a flash of blue. His blade carved through armor, striking the core once.
Twice.
A third time—
The core collapsed with a thunderous crack, the entire machine detonating into sizzling scraps.
The Ironbound stared in stunned silence.
Raze breathed one word.
"…Monsters…"
Nova pointed toward the tunnels.
"There will be more."
Sorra — The Flame That Answers
The commander stopped five paces from her.
"Sorra," he said softly, "if you come with us, no one else at the Academy will be harmed. Resist… and you will force my hand."
Sorra shook.
Fear.
Rage.
Confusion.
Nova was fighting somewhere.
She could feel it.
His mana signature—wild and frantic—pulsed at the edge of her awareness.
"You're lying," she whispered.
The commander sighed.
"You Grey siblings are all the same. Stubborn."
His eyes hardened.
"You have three seconds."
Sorra's breath sharpened.
"Wind Boost."
The world blurred.
She launched into the air as soldiers flooded the hallway behind her—spells exploding where she'd stood.
The commander flicked a finger.
A wave of pressure slammed toward her.
Sorra spun, thrusting out her hand.
"Inferno Cage!!"
Flames roared around her in a vortex—but the pressure shattered it like glass.
She crashed onto the courtyard tiles, rolling hard, vision flashing.
Students screamed.
Spells collided overhead.
The Crown's men closed in.
As Sorra pushed herself to her feet, blood dripping down her cheek, the commander approached—
calm, steady, unstoppable.
"You're strong," he said. "But you are alone."
Sorra glared, heat swirling around her palms.
"No," she whispered.
"I'm never alone."
Because she could feel Nova's presence surging, alive and fighting.
And she would not let him face the world's hatred alone.