Morning sunlight filtered faintly through the cracked courtyard glass, illuminating scorch marks and broken stone left behind from the night's sudden assault. The academy was not silent — it was too quiet. The usual chatter, laughter, and careless debates had vanished. Every footstep echoed like a warning.
Students were gathered in tight groups along the walkways, whispering in nervous bursts.
"Did you hear? The instructors captured one assassin."
"They weren't even supposed to get past the barrier…"
"My friend saw a spear made of living crystal."
"I'm not sleeping here anymore."
Avin walked beside Kai and Rei, the weight of too many eyes pressing against his back. Every whisper felt aimed directly at him.
Kai tried to lighten the atmosphere.
"On the bright side, bro, you're now officially popular."
Rei gave him a flat look. "Popular for assassination attempts is not a good thing."
Avin didn't respond. He kept replaying the moment he lifted the stone effortlessly — how natural it felt… and how that frightened him more than the hunters' blades.
The seal reacted on its own.
Sarene emerged from the dorm entrance, falling into step beside Avin. Her tone was low.
"Teachers want all involved students to attend a special debriefing."
Kai perked up. "Does debriefing include snacks?"
"No," Rei answered.
Kai drooped. "Brutal."
They crossed into the Central Conclave Hall, a circular chamber reserved for emergencies. Magical lanterns floated under the vaulted ceiling, casting pale light over the faces of instructors seated along the upper balcony.
Professor Nyra stood front and center.
Her sharp amethyst eyes found Avin instantly.
"Students. What you experienced last night was not random violence," she began.
"The attackers came searching for a specific target."
A roomful of students went cold.
Ryuven clenched his hands.
Zane's jaw tightened.
Lena coldly crossed her arms.
Brant stood stone-still.
Nyra continued.
"The academy barrier cannot be permanently breached — but it can be bypassed. And next time, it may not only be hunters."
Students gasped softly.
Sarene shifted closer to Avin unconsciously.
Nyra raised a hand.
"For your safety, Aetherion Academy is now under restricted lockdown."
---
LOCKDOWN PROTOCOLS INITIATED
• Outside missions suspended
• Curfew enforced at sundown
• All training monitored
• No students permitted beyond outer wards
• Combat pairs reassigned for protection detail
---
Rei muttered, "That's practically martial law."
Kai whispered dramatically, "BRO THIS IS HOW APOCALYPSE MOVIES START."
Avin didn't hear either of them.
Nyra's gaze had returned to him.
"There will be additional observation on select students."
Select students.
That phrasing made Avin uneasy.
After the meeting ended, Sarene stopped him before he could leave.
She looked unsettled — not frightened, but deeply worried.
"You didn't react the way an unawakened student should have last night."
"…I moved," Avin said.
"No. You didn't just move — you shifted."
Her fingers trembled faintly.
"It was like the world folded around you."
Avin didn't deny it.
Sarene inhaled.
"Are you in danger… or are we in danger because of you?"
The question struck deeper than any blade.
"I don't know," he said honestly.
Her shoulders relaxed a bit at his answer — honesty meant something.
Kai inserted himself awkwardly.
"HEY HEY NO FEELINGS TRIALS RIGHT NOW — I ALMOST DIED, EMOTIONS ARE LIMITED."
Rei pushed him aside.
Sarene gave Kai a tired look, then met Avin's eyes once more.
"If they come again…"
She paused.
"…I'll stand with you."
Avin stared at her.
No dramatic confession.
No declarations.
Just quiet loyalty.
Nyra stood beside the restrained assassin — the only captured intruder — observing the flickering sigil cage around the armored figure.
Deputy Headmaster Hale joined her.
"The retrieval group underestimated him," Hale muttered.
Nyra didn't reply immediately.
"The boy moved without intent," she said slowly. "Instinctually."
Hale folded his arms. "Meaning his buried core is closer to awakening."
Nyra nodded once.
"And more importantly…"
She turned.
"The hunters now have confirmation that the Heir exists."
Hale's voice darkened.
"Then it's only a matter of time before bigger forces get involved."
Nyra whispered under her breath:
"…Too soon."
The sky over Aetherion burned gold as evening fell.
Avin lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Kai leaned back on a chair, munching stolen biscuits. Rei quietly reviewed mana fluctuation logs.
None of them spoke for a long moment.
Then Kai finally broke the silence.
"Bro… you saving that girl yesterday?"
Avin nodded.
Kai swallowed.
"That… that was heroic."
Avin looked away.
"I didn't do it because I wanted to be."
Rei murmured, "You did it anyway."
The second heartbeat pulsed slowly inside Avin's chest.
Not yet… Heir…
Suddenly—
The room temperature dropped.
Not Sarene cold.
Different.
Avin sat upright.
The faint silver mist began creeping across the room again—thin coils whispering as they danced around the edge of his bed.
Rei jumped to his feet.
"Kai… tell me you see that."
Kai dropped a biscuit mid-bite.
"BRO… IT'S BACK."
The mist thickened — then shaped itself into something vaguely humanoid at the far wall.
No face.
No features.
Just a silhouette of shadow and silver.
Avin met its presence.
The whisper came louder than ever:
"…Your protectors are failing…"
His chest tightened.
"What do you mean?"
The figure's voice grew closer.
"…Because the seal… is no longer enough…"
The mist surged forward —
And the door burst open at the same time—
Sarene rushed in, ice flaring instinctively—
Professor Nyra stepped through behind her—
And both froze at the sight of the forming figure.
Nyra whispered:
"…So the manifestation has begun."
Avin stared into twin silver eyes forming in the mist.
And the voice spoke clearly at last:
"…Soon, you must choose… Heir."
---
Who — or what — is the voice inside the mist…
and what choice is it forcing Avin to face?