The Grand Seers' chamber was carved deep beneath the Academy, hollowed out from the bedrock itself. No sunlight ever reached this place. Only the dull blue shimmer of crystals embedded in the ceiling—each one whispering faint echoes of the past.
Yohan stood at the center, wrists bound by shimmering sigils that pulsed with faint light. He looked calm, but inside, his chest felt hollow—like something had been torn open when the seal awakened.
Around him, five Seers sat in a half-circle, their faces hidden behind veils of translucent cloth. Each spoke with a tone that made the air hum.
First Seer: "You touched the Origin Seal without guidance. Explain how."
Yohan: "…It wasn't intentional."
Second Seer: "Intent does not matter. The seal is dormant to all but its chosen. So, we ask again—how did it answer you?"
Yohan's jaw clenched. "I don't know. Maybe because it wanted to."
A murmur rippled through the room—shock, disapproval, or perhaps… fear.
Third Seer: "Do not mock the laws that bind our world. The Seals were created by the Founders themselves. They respond only to elemental resonance."
Yohan: "Then maybe your laws don't bind everything."
The temperature dropped instantly. Even the crystals dimmed.
The Seers exchanged silent glances, though one voice trembled slightly when it spoke again.
Fifth Seer: "What did you see within the light?"
Yohan hesitated. He could still feel the memory—the sky bound in chains, the echo of that voice calling him the "fractured flame."
But if he told them, he knew what would follow: surveillance, experiments, maybe worse.
He looked straight ahead. "Nothing. Just light."
The First Seer rose. "Lies cloud your aura. You carry something ancient—and dangerous."
Before he could speak again, the chains on Yohan's wrists flared, sending pain shooting up his arms. He dropped to one knee, teeth gritted.
Second Seer: "We will not harm you… unless you resist."
But then, a strange thing happened.
The chains cracked. The light that formed them flickered, then shattered in sparks.
The guards stepped back, shouting spells—but the energy around Yohan warped, absorbing every incantation before it could reach him.
His voice came out low, trembling, but clear.
"Don't test me. I don't even know what I am right now."
The air stilled. Every Seer went silent.
Then, the First Seer finally spoke again—his tone softer now, almost curious.
"You are not a mistake of this age, Yohan Vale. You are a remnant of something older… something we buried."
Yohan's eyes lifted.
"What do you mean by that?"
No answer came. The Seers' forms flickered, and one by one, they vanished into shimmering mist—leaving only the faint echo of their final words reverberating through the chamber:
"The Fractured Flame awakens once more."
Yohan stood alone, the sigils at his feet fading away. He didn't understand it yet—but every instinct in him whispered the same truth:
Whatever they feared… was inside him.