The rain over Aeloria Academy arrived without warning—soft at first, then suddenly heavy, drumming against the rooftops like a thousand restless fingers. The sky had turned a bruised purple, clouds swirling unnaturally above the academy spires. Students hurried back to their dorms, umbrellas flicking open, spells cast to keep them dry. But Eiryn Vassir walked alone through the courtyard, letting the rain soak his coat as if it didn't bother him at all.
What bothered him was the silence.
The same kind of silence he felt before the shadow attack.
The same kind that warned him something was already watching.
His hand brushed the cold locket hanging from his neck.
It vibrated faintly, like a heartbeat.
He didn't like that.
"Oi, Eiryn!" a voice yelled behind him. "Are you trying to look cool again?!"
Miri ran toward him with her bag bouncing violently like it contained explosives—which it probably did. Behind her stumbled a taller boy, Rin Clavel, the school's loud-mouthed illusionist who wasn't actually good at illusions.
Rin wheezed. "Bro… slow down… Why are you walking in the rain like you're doing a movie entrance?"
"I wasn't," Eiryn replied calmly.
"You totally were!"
Miri squinted through her goggles. "Rain is suspicious today. Very suspicious. Very–"
Lightning cracked the sky.
Miri froze. "I WAS RIGHT! SOMETHING EVIL IS HAPPENING!"
Eiryn frowned slightly.
This time… she wasn't wrong.
He felt it—faint vibrations under the ground, like something crawling beneath the academy. A pulse. A whisper. A familiar coldness brushing against the edges of his mind.
Something was rising.
Before he could warn the others, the academy bells rang sharply—then died mid-sound, silenced by an invisible force.
Every lamp across the courtyard flickered and went out.
Darkness swallowed the academy.
Rin swallowed. "Um… Eiryn… did the school just… die?"
The rain stopped falling.
It didn't fade. It just froze in mid-air—every drop suspended like glass beads.
"Okay nope NOPE I HATE THIS," Miri screamed, practically climbing onto Eiryn's back.
He sighed.
Mana surged in the frozen air, thick enough to make breathing feel heavier. And from the ground beneath the fountain, the shadow began to rise—slowly, like a creature waking from a dream.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Black humanoid silhouettes crawling out of the stone, faceless, featureless, their bodies rippling like smoke trapped inside skin. Their heads twisted unnaturally, jerking with a strange rhythm.
Rin's voice cracked. "E-Eiryn… buddy old pal… this is the part where we run, right?"
"No."
"WHY NOT?!"
"Because they'll chase us."
Miri clung to his arm. "WHY DO YOU SOUND SO CALM?!"
Eiryn didn't answer.
One of the shadows stepped forward, taller than the others, its chest pulsing in and out like lungs breathing in a grave.
W̷e̵ ̷h̶a̵v̸e̷ ̷f̵o̸u̷n̶d̷ ̸y̷o̸u̵.
The words weren't spoken—they were felt, vibrating directly into the mind.
Rin grabbed Miri. "Okay I've decided I hate your school, I hate your courtyard, and I hate anything that has a face made of nothing!"
The shadow pointed at Eiryn.
M̷a̶r̶k̵e̷d̶…
B̸r̸i̸n̷g̵ ̶h̸i̸m̴.
The others roared like wind tearing through metal.
Eiryn's eyes narrowed.
They didn't want chaos.
They wanted him.
He gently pulled Miri off his arm.
"Both of you. Get to the academy hall."
"No way!" Rin shouted. "We're staying with you!"
"Do you have any spells that can kill them?"
"…No."
"Then leave."
A shadow lunged at him.
Eiryn flicked his hand and instantly materialized a curved blade of condensed mana, its edge glowing blue. He dashed forward—clean, fast, precise—cutting the creature in half.
It dissolved into black mist.
But immediately reformed behind him.
Rin screamed. "BRO—THEY DON'T DIE!!"
Eiryn clicked his tongue.
He expected that.
More shadows swarmed toward him, twisting, shrieking, their voices scraping against his mind. He moved through them like a silent storm—striking, dodging, bending mana into shields, blades, chains—his movements precise and cold.
But the shadows were endless.
Miri shouted, "EIRYN, THERE ARE LIKE 200 OF THEM!!"
He didn't answer. His focus was razor-sharp.
Lightning flashed again—this time from the academy roof—followed by a familiar voice:
"EIRYN!!!"
Liora leapt from the top of the library, landing beside him in a burst of silver light. Her dagger blazed with mana, eyes fierce enough to cut through the night.
"You never wait for me," she said breathlessly.
"You were late."
"This is why I worry about you!"
She slashed through a shadow, her blade glowing like moonlight.
It dissolved—then reformed behind her.
Eiryn moved instantly—grabbing her wrist, pulling her away from the incoming claw.
Their faces came close—too close—Liora's breath catching for a second.
She whispered, "You… you felt it too, right? This darkness…"
"Yes."
"It's the same as the Tower," she said. "But stronger."
Their moment shattered as the ground cracked.
A massive shadow erupted—a towering beast with four arms and a face split open with jagged teeth.
Rin fainted instantly.
Miri screamed at him, "YOU USELESS BROOMSTICK!!!"
The giant shadow roared, darkness rippling outwards, knocking back Liora and sending Miri tumbling.
Eiryn stood alone in front of it.
The creature stared down at him, its mouth splitting wider.
Y̸o̷u̸ ̵a̵r̶e̶ ̶h̶i̵s̶ ̴f̷e̵a̸r̶.
H̷i̸s̶ ̸t̷h̴r̸e̶a̸t̴.
H̸i̶s̴ ̷r̶i̸v̴a̶l̷.
Eiryn didn't understand—why him?
What did "him" mean?
Who was watching him?
The creature raised its massive claw.
Liora screamed, "EIRYN—MOVE!!"
But he didn't.
Because something inside him snapped—
—not fear,
—but a pressure that had been building since the Tower.
The locket burned against his chest.
His vision flickered.
And then—
The world turned blue.
Mana flooded out of him like a broken dam, swirling around him violently. The rain frozen in the air shattered like glass, rippling outward. The shadows recoiled instantly, their bodies trembling.
Eiryn's heartbeat thundered.
The locket cracked open—glowing from within.
His vision blurred.
Shapes.
Materials.
Structures.
All of reality… became blueprints.
The beast swung.
Eiryn raised his hand.
A massive spear of shimmering, translucent iron materialized instantly—ten meters long—slamming into the monster's chest and pinning it against the courtyard wall.
The impact shook the entire academy.
Students woke up screaming.
Windows shattered.
The sky turned a deep cobalt blue.
Liora stared in shock.
Miri dropped her bag.
Rin woke up just to faint again.
Eiryn felt dizzy.
Mana spiraled around him uncontrollably.
This wasn't his normal power.
This was something deeper.
Something ancient.
Something the shadows feared.
The massive shadow beast let out a choking cry.
N̵o̵…
T̷h̸i̷s̴ ̸p̶o̵w̷e̷r̵…
F̸o̸r̴b̶i̷d̴d̷e̷n̸.̵
Eiryn walked toward it, eyes glowing bright, aura swirling like a storm.
"What am I?" he whispered.
The creature trembled violently.
Y̶o̴u̵… ̵a̷r̵e̵…
T̸h̴e̷ ̸A̷l̶c̵h̴e̶m̷i̶s̷t̶ ̷o̶f̷ ̵V̷e̵i̶l̸s̴.̴
H̵e̷ ̶w̴i̶l̷l̵ ̴c̵o̸m̴e̵ ̸f̸o̴r̴ ̴y̵o̸u̶.̴
Then it exploded into darkness.
The remaining shadows screamed and scattered, dissolving into the ground, fleeing like terrified insects.
Silence fell.
The rain collapsed back to the earth.
And Eiryn…
fell to his knees.
Liora ran to him, catching him as he collapsed into her arms. His breathing was heavy, sweat dripping from his forehead, mana still leaking out of him dangerously.
"EIRYN!" she cried. "Say something—anything!"
He whispered:
"…I'm… fine."
"No you're not!! You almost–"
"I awakened something."
"What happened to you?"
Eiryn looked at the cracked locket glowing faintly in his hand.
"I think," he said softly,
"I remembered a piece of who I am."
The academy around them lay in ruins.
Students gathered in panic.
Teachers rushed to contain the damage.
But none of them knew—
This was only the beginning.
And someone… far away… watching through a rip in reality…
Smiled.