The door groaned open on its own.
Not a normal creak.A deep, guttural sound — like the academy was exhaling something poisonous.
Lina shivered as cold air washed over them.
Reyon rubbed his arms."Okay, love the vibe, love the ambiance, very… 'haunted retirement home.' Can we NOT go inside?"
No one answered.
Because the corridor beyond was pitch black.
Seren whispered first.
"Something inside… is awake."
Kai struggled to stand.Lina steadied him, her flame flickering weakly after absorbing the Shadowsteel blast.
"Lina… you shouldn't be the one supporting me—"
"Hush," she whispered."You'd do the same."
He looked at her — broken, grateful — then forced himself upright.
Reyon approached the threshold and made the mistake of peeking inside.
"I can't see anything. Illusions can't map it. It's like the shadows are—"
"Watching us," Seren finished.
Lina exhaled slowly.
"We go in together."
Kai hesitated.The seal on his chest pulsed, an ominous warning.
"Lina… this place reacts to your flame. And to my curse. We don't know what it'll do to us."
"We can't turn back now," she whispered."Arienne is inside. And so is the truth."
Seren nodded shakily.
"And the entity that's been calling you."
Reyon groaned. "Great. An entity. I love entities. They're so fun and NOT DEADLY."
But he followed anyway.
They stepped inside.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Lina's breath caught.
"Kai—?"
His hand immediately found hers.
"I'm here."
That one sentence kept her breathing.
The darkness shifted.
Seren gasped as a whisper ran through her:
"Seventh tear…memory blood…truth unbound…"
She clutched her chest, trembling.
"Prophecy again. It's warning us."
Reyon snapped his fingers, trying to conjure a light illusion.
Nothing.
"…Oh that's REALLY bad. My illusions aren't failing — the place is EATING them."
Lina's flame rose instinctively — golden, gentle, soft.
And the darkness recoiled.
For a moment, they could see.
The corridor was lined with sealed doors.
Each carved with runes.
Each cracked.
Each leaking faint shadows.
Kai's face tightened.
"This wing was used to contain unstable Resonances. Students whose powers broke. Students who… didn't survive."
Reyon choked."AH. Excellent. A hallway of ghost lockers."
Seren shook her head.
"No. Not ghosts."
She pointed at the nearest cracked door.
"Echoes."
The door throbbed.
A faint voice murmured from inside:
"Why… did… you… leave…"
Lina's heart froze.
Kai stepped in front of her.
"No one answers these echoes. They're remnants — memories stuck on loop."
But another voice came — this one behind them — soft, trembling, familiar.
"Kai…?"
Lina spun.
Arienne stood at the far end of the hall again — but flickering, glitching, like her body was stitched from broken memories.
Her eyes fixed on Kai.
"You came back."
Kai's breath hitched."Arienne—"
But Lina grabbed his arm.
"Kai, wait— she's not whole. She's leading us deeper."
Arienne stepped backward — into the shadows.
"Follow."
The shadows swallowed her.
Lina's flame flickered toward the spot where Arienne disappeared — and the wall behind it dissolved into a memory.
Not a vision.
A memory replay.
The ward room appeared in fragmented pieces.
Runs glowing red.Stones falling.A girl screaming.Kai reaching for her.
Arienne.
Lina gasped.
"Kai… this is the night she died."
Kai shook his head violently."No— stop— PLEASE stop—"
But the memory pulled them in deeper.
Reyon shivered."The entity is showing us its version of events."
Seren clutched her head.
"No… it's worse.This isn't the entity's version.This is what Arienne remembers."
The memory sharpened.
Lina's heart stopped.
A figure appeared in the corridor of the past.
A girl.
Golden flame flickering around her.
But the flame wasn't gold.
It was black.
Black as shadow.
Black as Kai's curse.
Kai froze.
"No.No— that can't be—"
Reyon whispered, horrified:
"That figure… is Lina."
Lina staggered back, choking on air.
"No— that's NOT me— I never— I wasn't—"
But the memory Lina turned her head.
Her eyes were empty.
Her flame—devouring.
Seren whispered:
"That's not Lina.That's Lina under control.Something… possessed her."
The memory Lina raised her hand.
Arienne screamed.
Kai in the memory shouted. Ran. Reached.
But a beam of collapsing stone fell on Arienne.
The memory shattered.
The hallway snapped back.
Lina collapsed to her knees.
Her voice broke.
"I was there…but I wasn't myself…"
Kai knelt beside her, shaking.
"Lina — listen to me — you were controlled. This wasn't your fault—"
But Seren went pale.
"No… it wasn't just control."
They looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Lina whispered.
Seren swallowed hard.
"That wasn't a possession.It wasn't a mimic."
She pointed at Lina's chest.
"It was your flame."
Lina felt ice flood her veins.
"My… flame…?!"
Seren nodded, terrified.
"Your flame wasn't awakened then.But it leaked — just a fragment.Just enough to be dangerous."
Reyon whispered:
"Her flame… killed Arienne…?"
Seren shook her head.
"No."
Relief washed through Lina—
Until Seren finished:
"Your flame didn't kill her.It awakened her curse."
Kai's breath stopped.
"My curse… came from that night…?Because of Lina's flame…?"
Seren trembled.
"The Seventh Flame didn't kill Arienne.It bound her.Half-alive.Half-dead.A living echo trapped in the ward."
Lina covered her mouth, tears forming.
"I… did that…?"
Kai grabbed her hands.
"Lina— STOP— you weren't awakened — you weren't aware — you were manipulated—"
But then—
Arienne's voice whispered directly into Lina's ear:
"You stole my life."
Lina screamed.
The flame inside her burst outward.
The shadows reacted.
The entire Forbidden Wing shook.
And emerging from the darkness—
A towering figure formed.
Not Arienne.
Not a mimic.
Not a memory.
The entity beneath the school.Half-seen. Half-shadow.And it knew Lina by name.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.