The hallway outside Vaelor's classroom glowed crimson too bright, too unnatural, too alive.
The light pulsed like a heartbeat.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Each pulse made the windows shiver, the torches flicker, and the air thicken as though magic itself was holding its breath.
Vaelor raised his staff higher.
"Stay behind me, Lyra."
Lyra tried but her feet wouldn't move.
The crimson glow was calling to her.
Pulling her.
Recognizing her.
Her chest tightened as the heat inside her own body responded
soft at first, then stronger, like a drum waking up.
"No…" she whispered.
"Not now. Please…"
Vaelor didn't hear her.
Because the hallway suddenly cracked open with light.
A spear of red energy shot across the doorway, slicing through the air with a sound like tearing metal.
Vaelor reacted instantly, slamming his staff down as a barrier of golden flame erupted to block it.
BOOM.
The impact threw him backward.
Lyra gasped as he crashed into the wall, sparks scattering around him.
"Instructor!" she rushed toward him, but he held up a hand.
"Stay….back…." he coughed.
The golden flames around him flickered, struggling to stay alive.
Lyra looked toward the doorway.
The crimson glow began pulling itself together
shaping, twisting, condensing
like a storm gathering into a single point.
And then…
A silhouette stepped out from the swirling red light.
Tall.
Shadowed.
Eyes burning like embers.
The Calamity.
But this time, he wasn't a vision.
He was real.
And very close.
Lyra's heart stopped.
Vaelor struggled to his feet, gripping his staff so tightly his knuckles whitened.
"You." His voice shook with something between fear and fury. "What are you?"
The Calamity didn't answer.
Didn't look at Vaelor.
His ember-colored eyes were fixed entirely on Lyra.
As if she were the only person in the room.
Lyra stumbled backward until her back hit a desk.
"Why…" she breathed. "Why are you here?"
The Calamity stepped forward.
The air rippled with heat.
Vaelor thrust out his hand.
"Stay back!"
He launched a wave of fire hot, bright, explosive.
Lyra shielded her eyes.
The flames hit the CalamityAND DISAPPEARED.
Extinguished on contact.
Vaelor's eyes widened in shock.
"What?"
The Calamity raised one hand, palm glowing with deep crimson.
The floor cracked beneath him.
Vaelor's barrier shattered.
Lyra screamed, "STOP!"
The Calamity paused.
Just for a second.
His head turned slightly toward her voice.
Lyra felt the heat in her chest flare
matching his glow perfectly.
Vaelor, panting, looked between them.
He understood something.
Something Lyra didn't want him to understand.
"You…" he whispered.
"You're connected to it."
Lyra shook her head frantically.
"No….I don't….I didn't….."
But Vaelor saw it.
The matching glow.
The way the Calamity looked at her.
The way her power responded.
This wasn't just a coincidence.
This was a bond.
The classroom trembled again as the Calamity took another step.
Vaelor forced himself in front of Lyra.
"You will not touch her."
The Calamity's voice finally echoed
deep, distorted, ancient.
"I did not come to harm her."
His words sent a cold shock down Lyra's spine.
Vaelor narrowed his eyes. "Then why appear in my academy?"
The Calamity's molten gaze flicked to him.
"I did not come for you."
He raised his hand and the golden flames around Vaelor died instantly.
Vaelor staggered back.
Lyra darted forward and caught his arm before he fell.
"Instructor!"
He looked at her, his face pale.
"Lyra… you need to run."
The Calamity's steps echoed through the room.
Slow.
Measured,Inevitable.
Lyra shook her head.
"I can't leave you…."
"GO!" Vaelor said sharply, pushing her toward the door. "Find the Headmaster now!"
But the door behind her slammed shut on its own
sealed by crimson light.
Lyra spun around, trapped.
The Calamity stopped only a few feet away from her.
He didn't raise a hand.
Didn't threaten her.
Didn't glow brighter.
He simply looked at her.
And when he spoke, his voice was softer
not friendly,
not gentle,but… knowing.
"Lyra."
Her name in his voice felt like fire curling around a secret.
She trembled.
"Why… why are you following me?"
The Calamity did not hesitate.
"Because your power has awakened."
Lyra froze.
"No," she whispered. "I don't want it."
"It is not a choice."
She felt her knees weaken.
Vaelor struggled to raise his staff again, but he was too drained.
Lyra's voice broke.
"What do you want from me?"
The Calamity leaned forward just enough for her to see the glowing patterns across his skin, like cracks in a burning stone.
"I want," he said slowly,
"what has always been mine."
Lyra's breath caught.
Before she could respond,
A violent blast of golden light tore through the ceiling.
A surge of magic thick as thunder.
A swirl of energy that shook the whole room.
A voice roared through the air:
"STEP AWAY FROM MY STUDENT."
Lyra's eyes widened.
Headmaster Aldric had arrived.