The air had gone wrong.
Thick.Heavy.Breathing.
Lina felt it before the others did — a pulse beneath the stone, like the tunnels were alive. Her rune flickered with warning light, glowing faintly under her skin.
"Kai…" she whispered.
He noticed instantly. "Your flame is reacting. Something's close."
Reyon scanned the shadows. "Something… or someone."
Seren trembled. "The tunnels weren't like this before. They feel—different."
They moved cautiously, deeper into the twisting underground labyrinth that shouldn't exist beneath Aetherion. The walls were no longer smooth stone — they were jagged, uneven… scarred, as if clawed from the inside.
Lina's breath caught. "Those marks… they're not natural."
Kai placed his hand on one of the gashes. His voice turned grim. "This wasn't carved. It broke its way out."
Reyon raised a brow. "Fantastic. We're inside a cave system that doubles as a monster nursery."
Seren whimpered. "P-please don't call it that."
Kai moved protectively closer to Lina. "Stay between us."
Reyon shifted into position on her other side. "And don't wander. Anything in here could be watching."
Lina swallowed hard. Her flame warmed her wrist again, tugging her forward like a heartbeat. She followed the pull until the tunnel opened into a vast, open hollow.
A single, ancient pillar stood at its center.
Carved with runes.Old runes.Forgotten runes.
Reyon stepped forward. "This wasn't part of the academy's design."
Kai circled the pillar. "This predates the school by centuries."
Seren gasped suddenly. "Look!"
A mark glowed at the base of the pillar.The watcher's mark.Signed with a single letter:
L.
But now… something else had been added beneath it.
A message carved deep into the stone:
"BEWARE THE ONE WHO HIDES THEIR HEART."
Kai stiffened.
Reyon's smirk vanished.
Seren covered her mouth.
Lina's pulse hammered.
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
Kai looked away. "Someone here isn't showing their true intentions."
Reyon scoffed. "Oh, how poetic."
But Lina heard the strain in his voice.
Before any of them could react—
RUMBLE.
The ground shifted beneath their feet.
Cracks split across the cavern walls. Dust rained down like ash.
Kai pushed Lina back. "Move! Now!"
A roar echoed — low, guttural, vibrating the chamber.
Lina stumbled. "What was that?!"
Seren screamed. "Behind us!"
A massive shape tore itself from the stone wall — a creature made of rock and shadow, its body twisting like living obsidian. Its eyes — hollow pits of darkness — locked onto Lina's golden flame.
Reyon cursed. "Of course the giant nightmare rock-beast loves her sparkle!"
"Kai!" Lina cried, backing away.
Kai already stood in front of her, blade drawn. "Stay behind me."
Seren tugged Lina's arm. "We need to run!"
The beast lunged — massive claws ripping through the floor where Kai had stood a heartbeat earlier. He rolled, dodging, slicing across its arm — sparks flew, but the creature barely flinched.
Reyon darted forward next, flipping over the creature's shoulder and slashing downward. The blade barely chipped its armor.
"This thing is ridiculous!" he shouted. "Who builds monsters out of mountains?!"
Kai gritted his teeth. "It's drawn to Lina's flame."
"Of course it is," Reyon muttered. "Everything down here is obsessed with her."
The beast swung again.
Lina's flame surged—Glowing so bright she flinched.
Kai saw it.He grabbed her hand.
"Lina, listen to me."
"I—I don't know how to use it!"
"You don't need to," Kai said, voice steady even as the monster roared behind them. "Just trust me."
She swallowed. "I do."
And she did.
Kai stepped behind her, his hands gently bracing her arms.
"Let the flame rise. I'll steady it."
Reyon groaned loudly behind them. "Oh yes, fantastic timing for romantic training—"
"Kai Rhen, if you don't hurry I SWEAR—"
The monster lunged.
Lina gasped as her flame burst forward — wild, uncontrolled, blinding.
Kai steadied her wrists.
"Focus!" he shouted.
She tried.
The flame stabilized — pulsing like a heartbeat — and shot forward in a concentrated beam of golden force.
It struck the monster dead-center.
A shockwave blasted through the cavern.
The creature screeched — cracking apart as golden fire tore through its chest.
It collapsed in a cascade of shattered stone and shadow.
Silence.
Lina panted, falling to her knees. "I… I did that?"
Kai knelt beside her immediately. "You did."
Reyon whistled. "Remind me not to annoy you too much."
Seren ran over, trembling. "Lina! Are you—"
She stopped.
Her eyes widened.
"Lina… look."
The ground beneath the shattered monster held another message — glowing faintly where the golden flames touched it.
Another watcher's mark.Another signature.
But this time…
The letter wasn't L.
It was K.
Lina froze.
Kai went still.
Reyon's eyes widened. "No way…"
Seren whispered, horrified—
"K…? Does that mean… Kai?"
Lina turned to him, voice shaking.
"Kai… did you leave this?"
Kai stared at the glowing mark.
Eyes dark.Jaw tight.Expression unreadable.
He whispered—
"I've never been here before."
But Lina heard something else in his voice:
Fear.
To be Continued© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.