Chapter 2 — Academy of Hidden Hunger
The morning sky above Godforge Academy was pale and cold.
Not bright.
Not dark.
Somewhere between.
As if the mountain floating beneath the academy was trapped inside eternal twilight.
Wind moved slowly across the training courtyard stone floor.
The air carried faint magical residue from early morning practice.
Students were already gathering.
Talking.
Observing.
Judging.
Human nature did not change even inside a sacred academy.
People always searched for strength in others and weakness in strangers.
Aric Veyr stood alone near a black stone pillar engraved with ancient runes he could not read.
The whisper inside his chest was quiet today.
Not sleeping.
Waiting.
Like a predator choosing patience over hunger.
"Hey."
A voice came from behind him.
Aric turned slightly.
It was Leon.
The blonde boy walked casually and sat beside Aric on the stone platform.
"You wake up early," Leon said.
"I don't like crowds."
Leon nodded as if that was a completely normal answer.
"Crowds are noisy because people are afraid."
Aric asked, "Afraid of what?"
Leon smiled faintly.
"Many things."
"Failure."
"Someone stronger than themselves."
"And the unknown."
Aric looked at the courtyard.
Students were secretly watching him.
Some were curious.
Some were afraid.
Some were calculating.
Fear and curiosity often walked together.
"Your black sigil," Leon said suddenly.
"Does it hurt?"
Aric shook his head.
"Sometimes it talks."
Leon raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Talks?"
"Yes."
"What does it say?"
Aric was silent for a few seconds.
Then answered honestly.
"It asks to be fed."
Leon did not laugh.
Did not show surprise.
He simply watched the sky for a moment.
Then said slowly:
"Do you know what the golden scar in the sky is called?"
Aric answered:
"No."
Leon said quietly:
"Scholars call it the Remnant Gate."
"It is believed to be the wound left after the ancient cosmic war."
Aric asked, "War between who?"
Leon replied:
"The gods and the observers beyond reality."
Aric asked one more question
.
"Are the observers enemies?"
Leon shook his head.
"No one knows."
"That is the problem."
The training bell rang loudly.
First-year students were ordered toward the combat training arena.
The arena was enormous.
Circular battlefield.
Surrounded by floating stone barriers engraved with defensive magic.
Instructor Selene was already standing in the center.
Her silver hair moved slightly despite the lack of wind.
"Magic is not strength," she said.
"It is control."
"If you cannot control your power, your power will control you."
Students listened silently.
"First exercise."
"Energy manifestation."
"Attempt to release your magical signature."
Students began practicing.
Blue fire sparks.
Wind blades.
Water spheres.
Earth dust spiral formations.
Aric closed his eyes.
The whisper inside him was silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
Aric raised his right hand slowly.
Black mist appeared around his fingers.
Not explosive.
Not aggressive.
Just hungry presence.
Students nearby stepped backward instinctively.
Instructor Selene watched him carefully.
The black mist condensed slightly and then vanished.
Aric lowered his hand.
He felt slightly stronger.
But also emptier.
After training, Leon spoke again.
"You are learning slowly."
"Yes."
"That is good."
"Why?"
"Because people who grow too fast burn out."
Aric did not reply.
That afternoon something strange happened.
A student was found unconscious near the academy library.
The student chest carried a red circular mark.
The Abyss Cult symbol.
Aric watched the scene from distance.
The whisper inside him suddenly reacted.
They are here.
Aric thought, "Where?"
Below knowledge.
Aric understood immediately.
"The underground section?"
The academy underground facility was restricted.
Most first-year students were not allowed inside.
Aric went there anyway.
Leon followed silently.
The underground corridor was dim.
Blue magical crystal lamps illuminated stone walls.
The air felt heavier.
Like something ancient had been buried here.
They reached a sealed stone door engraved with forbidden runes.
Leon spoke quietly.
"This place is sealed."
Aric asked, "Can you open it?"
Leon smiled faintly.
"I can try."
Leon placed his hand on the rune seal.
Golden magic light spread across the door.
The seal reacted.
The stone door began moving upward slowly.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Inside was darkness.
Deep darkness.
The kind that felt alive.
Aric stepped inside first.
The whisper inside him spoke.
Feed me danger.
After walking about fifty meters, they saw red light.
Burning like slow blood fire.
Three hooded figures stood inside a ritual stone chamber.
A student was lying unconscious in the center.
The same red cult mark burned on his chest.
One cult member spoke.
"You are early, vessel child."
Aric asked calmly.
"Why are you here?"
"To awaken the sky hunger."
"What is that?"
"The thing above the scar."
Aric's eyes moved slightly upward.
Then he said:
"You want to release it."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the observers are imprisoning our god."
Silence followed.
Leon whispered behind Aric.
"They are insane."
Aric asked:
"Do you serve it?"
The cult member replied:
"We serve the true hunger."
Aric felt something inside his chest react.
Recognition.
The whisper inside him screamed suddenly.
Kill them.
Aric inhaled slowly.
Black sigil energy spread across his right arm.
The cult members raised their hands.
Dark chains of shadow energy shot toward Aric.
Leon formed a golden barrier behind him.
Aric stepped forward.
Black mist exploded outward briefly.
Chains shattered.
Aric punched the nearest cultist.
Black light burst outward.
The cultist was thrown into stone wall.
The second cultist attempted shadow escape magic.
Aric's hand moved instinctively.
Black mist grabbed the shadow energy.
The cultist screamed once.
Then vanished into darkness.
The third cultist stepped backward.
"You are still incomplete."
"Good."
Then he crushed a black crystal.
The ritual chamber began trembling violently.
The student in center opened his eyes.
But his eyes were completely black.
The whisper inside Aric screamed:
Stop it now.
Aric rushed forward.
Black sigil energy condensed into impact
point.
He punched the ritual core stone.
BOOM.
Red light shattered.
The cultist laughed quietly.
"You cannot stop the awakening."
Then his body dissolved into shadow smoke.
Silence returned.
Leon spoke quietly.
"You are getting more dangerous."
Aric replied:
"I know."
Outside the underground corridor night wind was colder.
The golden scar in the sky pulsed once.
Like a sleeping heart.
And somewhere beyond cosmic dimensions, an ancient voice whispered:
"The vessel is learning to resist."
"But hunger always wins in the end."