The morning air at the college was crisp, but for Luke, it felt heavy with an unspoken dread. He walked through the corridors like a ghost, his books clutched to his chest, blending into the sea of students. Outwardly, he was just Luke—the average, one-star student. Inwardly, his mind was a battlefield.
"Auru," Luke whispered, leaning against a locker as if adjusting his bag. "About Kael... I can't shake the feeling I should have done more. Should I go find him? Force him to talk to me? Maybe if I confront him as Luke, I can break through whatever wall he's built."
Auru's voice resonated in his mind, soft and cautious. "Luke, if you do that, it might backfire. Kael is drowning in his own shadow. If you push him while he's like this, you might push him over the edge. Sometimes, the best way to help someone is to give them the space to find their own way back."
Luke sighed, staring at his reflection in the locker's metal surface. "Maybe you're right. I'll leave him alone for now."
But as he turned to head toward his next lecture, the atmosphere shifted. It wasn't a physical change—the sun was still shining, and students were still laughing—but a psychic weight slammed into him. It was a ripple in the fabric of the air, a vibration so cold and jagged it made his skin crawl.
"Do you feel that?" Luke muttered, his eyes widening.
"Yes," Koru replied, his voice uncharacteristically grim. "Luke, this is bad. This isn't just a strong aura. It's dense, corrupted... it's a massive negative aura. It feels like malice given form.I can feel it more beacause I am your Negative Aura."
Luke didn't hesitate. He veered off the main path and slipped into a narrow, shadowed alleyway behind the gymnasium. With a practiced flick of his intent, he unified, the silver and gold light of Auron enveloping him for a split second before he stabilized.
"Illusion," Auron commanded.
A shimmering duplicate of Luke stepped out of his shadow, looking perfectly mundane. "Go to class," Auron told the construct. "Update me the moment anyone from the AuraFeist crew—Marin, or the others—tries to contact you. Stay safe."
The illusion nodded and walked back into the sunlight. Meanwhile, the real Auron took to the skies, staying low and using the rooftops as cover. He followed the scent of that rotting, dark energy, his heart sinking further with every meter he traveled.
Suddenly, a vibration in his pocket signaled an incoming call—not to his phone, but a mental link forwarded by his illusion. It was Marin.
"Auron, I'm taking the call," he whispered, syncing his voice to sound like Luke. "Marin? What's going on?"
"Luke!" Marin's voice was frantic, breathless. "Where are you right now?"
"I'm... uh, I'm on my college," Auron lied, his eyes scanning the city streets below. "Why? You sound terrified."
"Luke, listen to me very carefully," Marin said, her voice trembling. "Go home. Lock your doors. Do not come into the city center. Kael... something has happened to Kael. He's acting wired, he looks different, and he's searching for you. He doesn't look human anymore, Luke. He's dangerous."
Auron felt a cold pit form in his stomach. "Where are you, Marin?"
"I'm at the Central city Plaza. He cornered me here. Just stay away, okay? I'll try to—"
The call cut out with a screech of static.
Auron gritted his teeth. "Illusion, go and stay at home and keep a safe distance if he shows up there. His aura is so corrupted it might cause you to dissipate if you get too close. I'm going to the Plaza."
He didn't care about being spotted anymore. He accelerated, a sonic boom echoing behind him as he streaked toward the heart of the city. I wanted to meet you as a friend, Kael, he thought bitterly. But it looks like the world has other plans.
The Central Plaza: A Scene of Chaos
At the Central Date Plaza, the beautiful fountains and manicured trees were being choked by a thick, purple-black haze. In the center of the square stood Kael.
But it wasn't the Kael that Marin remembered. His skin was unnervingly pale, his veins glowing with a sickly dark light, and his eyes were entirely black—voids of pure resentment. Tendrils of corrupted aura lashed out from his body like whips, cracking against the pavement.
"Where is he?" Kael hissed, his voice sounding like two stones grinding together. "Where is your 'average' one-star friend, Luke? I know he's hiding behind you, Marin. He always does."
Marin stood her ground, her own blue aura flickering bravely against the encroaching darkness. "Even if I knew where he was, Kael, I wouldn't tell you. Look at yourself! This isn't you. Stop this before you do something you can't take back."
"I don't want to fight anyone worthwhile," Kael laughed, a hollow, mocking sound. "I only want Luke. Leave my way, girl, or you will have to pay for your interference."
"Then I guess I'm paying," Marin snapped.
Kael didn't wait. He thrust his hand forward, unleashing a jagged Aura Sphere that screamed through the air. Marin dove to the side, the sphere exploding behind her and shattering a stone bench into dust. She regained her footing and launched three spheres of her own, aiming for his shoulders to incapacitate him.
The spheres hit Kael directly. But instead of exploding or pushing him back, they seemed to simply... dissolve. The dark mist surrounding him absorbed the impact as if it were nothing.
"My turn," Kael whispered.
Before he could strike again, a barrage of attacks rained down from the side.
"Aura Sphere!"
"Impact Strike!"
Shuri, Liod, Chika, and Uno landed in the plaza, forming a defensive line in front of Marin. They had seen the disturbance from the Guild office and rushed to help.
"Marin! Are you okay?" Chika asked, her hands glowing with green healing aura.
Chapter—The Kael Corruption.
"I'm fine, but be careful," Marin warned. "He's not the Kael from the tournament. He's... he's something else entirely. He's not taking any damage."
"We'll see about that," Liod roared, charging forward with his fists wreathed in flames.
The fight was a massacre. One by one, the elite students of the academy were tossed aside. Shuri's speed was countered by Kael's unpredictable dark whips; Liod's strength was nullified by the corrupted aura; even Uno's tactical barriers were shattered like glass.
Within minutes, the plaza was a graveyard of defeated heroes. Only Marin remained standing, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her clothes torn and her aura flickering at the brink of exhaustion.
Kael walked toward her, the ground cracking under his feet. "I told you all. Tell me where Luke is, and I will spare you. Why suffer for a coward who won't even show his face?"
Marin looked up at him, blood trickling down her forehead, her eyes burning with an unbreakable resolve. "Never. We are friends. And as long as we are standing, we will never let you harm one of our own."
Kael's face contorted with rage. "Fine. Then die with your misplaced loyalty."
He raised both hands above his head. The dark energy in the air began to coalesce, drawing in the shadows of the surrounding buildings. A massive, bloated Aura Sphere—ten times the size of a normal one—formed above him. It pulsed like a dying star, radiating a heat that felt cold.
"Goodbye, Marin."
He hurled the massive sphere. Marin closed her eyes, bracing for the end. She couldn't dodge it; the radius was too large, and she was too weak.
BOOM.
The expected impact never came. Instead, a shockwave of pure, golden energy rippled outward, neutralizing the dark heat. Marin opened her eyes to see a familiar, broad back clad in silver armor.
Auron.
He stood between her and the destruction, his hand outstretched, having caught the massive dark sphere and crushed it into nothingness with his bare grip.
"Are you hurt?" Auron asked, his voice a calm anchor in the storm.
Marin let out a sob of relief. "No... it's the second time you've saved me, Auron. Thank you."
"No worries," Auron said, glancing back at her with a small, reassuring nod. "The fact that you kept him busy and protected your friends is more valuable than any victory. You did well, Marin."
He turned his full attention to Kael. The two figures stood in stark contrast: the shining protector in silver and the shadow-drenched boy in black.
"So," Kael spat, "the great Aura Master Auron. You just love to obstruct me, don't you? First at the tournament, now here."
Auron looked at Kael with a deep, profound sadness. He could see the "thing" Kael had been given in the cave—a parasite of negative energy that was feeding on his insecurities. "Kael, I don't know what happened to you in those woods, but I know this isn't who you are. I want to heal you, but I don't know if I can do it alone."
He looked back at Marin. "Marin, I need you to do something for me. Can you run?"
Marin nodded, wiping the blood from her brow. "Yes. What do you need?"
"Go to the Guild Headquarters. Find Kaizen. Tell him exactly what you saw—the density of the aura, the way it absorbs attacks. He is the only one who might know how to purge a corruption this deep without killing the host. Go! Now!"
Marin didn't argue. She knew Auron was right. She cast one last look at Kael, then turned and sprinted toward the headquarters, her heart pounding with a new mission.
Auron turned back to Kael, dropping into a relaxed but ready stance. The air between them began to hum.
"Now, Kael," Auron said, his voice echoing through the empty plaza. "Let's have a talk. And if words won't work... I'll have to beat some sense back into you."
And the fight between Kael and Auron was just begin.
End of Chapter