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Night settled over the Academy like a heavy cloak. The sky outside Auretria's window was a flat stretch of black, starless and suffocating, as if someone had scraped the heavens clean. The lamps in the hallways burned weakly, their flames flickering as though afraid to shine too brightly.
Auretria felt the same.
She sat on her bed, knees pulled to her chest, the silver crest of her uniform lying discarded at her feet. Her stomach twisted with the memory of earlier—the surge of Aether she had failed to control, the way every eye in the class turned to her with a mix of awe and fear. She could still hear it.
Monster.
It had only been whispered, but whispers carried farther than screams.
Auretria looked at her palm. Even now, faint sparks of blue light curled upward, like restless smoke. She clenched her hand shut.
"Stop," she whispered. "Just… stop."
The Aether pulsed stubbornly.
She hated it.
She depended on it.
She feared it more than anything.
A soft creaking sound interrupted her spiraling thoughts. She stiffened and turned toward the door.
It was slowly opening.
No knock. No warning.
Just silence… sliding into her room like a shadow.
"Who's there?" Auretria asked, though her voice cracked.
A figure stepped inside. Not entirely human, not entirely anything. A tall silhouette wrapped in deep violet robes; the edges of the fabric seemed to dissolve into mist. A mask covered its face—smooth, pale, and featureless except for the faint suggestion of eyes.
They glowed faintly.
"Child of Aether," the figure murmured, voice layered, echoing strangely as if spoken by more than one throat. "You're awake. Good."
Auretria's pulse hammered. "W–Who are you?"
"A watcher."
"An observer."
"A witness to what you are becoming."
The creature's presence felt like ice sliding down her spine. She instinctively reached for her Aether, the familiar blue heat rising around her fingers—but the figure raised a hand.
"No," it said calmly. "Not unless you want to tear the room apart."
Auretria froze. The Aether in her hand flickered, destabilizing at its words. It felt harder to control, as if the stranger's presence made it restless… wild.
Her throat tightened. "What do you want from me?"
"You," the figure answered simply. "And the power inside you."
It moved closer. Auretria pressed herself back against the wall, breath shallow. The air around her soured—her vision dulled at the edges, shadows stretching unnaturally as though drawn to the figure.
"You are changing," it continued, tilting its head as if examining something only it could see. "The Academy cannot hide it much longer. Your teachers feel it. Your classmates sense it. Even the stones beneath your feet… whisper your name."
Auretria shook her head. "I don't want any of this."
The figure paused.
Then it laughed softly.
A distant, empty sound.
"That," it said, "is not how fate works."
Auretria's room darkened further, the lanterns dimming to embers. The air grew thick—too heavy to breathe easily. Something unseen brushed against her cheek like cold fingertips.
She jolted.
"Stay away from me!"
The Aether burst from her palms, bright and violent—sparks flying like shattered stars. But the figure absorbed it effortlessly, the light disappearing into its robes.
Auretria stared, horrified.
That had never happened before. Ever.
"You have much to learn," it whispered. "And so little time."
It lifted a hand toward her.
Auretria's lungs tightened—her pulse slowed. Something coiled around her mind, probing gently, searching.
She couldn't move.
Could barely think.
But then—
A loud knock slammed against the door.
"Lady Auretria? Are you awake?" Professor Elyra's voice cut through the room like a blade. "I sensed a fluctuation—are you unwell?"
The figure snapped its head toward the door. It hissed—a quiet, sharp sound—and the shadows around it recoiled violently.
"Not now," it whispered.
Then it dissolved.
Literally dissolved—its body unraveling into strands of darkness that slipped under the floorboards and vanished into nothing.
The room brightened instantly, as if reality had gasped back to life.
Auretria collapsed to her knees.
The door opened and Professor Elyra rushed in, her usually composed expression twisted with concern. Her eyes scanned the scorched floor, the trembling lanterns, and finally Auretria's pale, shaking form.
"What happened?" Elyra breathed.
Auretria opened her mouth.
No words came out.
Her voice was gone—stolen by fear.
Elyra gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Auretria… look at me. You're safe now."
But Auretria knew she wasn't.
She knew something terrible had entered her room.
Something watching her.
Something waiting.
And worst of all—
It had called her by a name she had never spoken aloud.
Child of Aether.
Auretria's fingers trembled as she whispered the only thought echoing through her mind:
"It found me."
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