Seven minutes of running through darkness.
Aerin's lungs burned. His legs screamed. But he didn't stop.
Beside him, Kael's breath came in ragged gasps. Fire flickered weakly around his hands, barely enough light to see by.
The forest pressed in from all sides. Trees twisted into shapes that looked almost human in the shadows. Undergrowth grabbed at their ankles. And somewhere behind them-or ahead, or to the sides, impossible to tell-things moved through the darkness.
Monsters. Drawn by noise, blood and fear.
Aerin bit his thumb. Blood welled up. He pressed it to the ground without stopping.
Crimson Trail.
Thin threads of blood seeped into the earth. Spread out. And suddenly he could feel everything happening underground. Every root. Every stone. Every hollow where magic gathered before creatures emerged.
"Left," he gasped. "Something's coming from the right."
They veered left. Three seconds later, the undergrowth exploded behind them. Something massive crashed through where they'd been. A roar split the night.
They didn't look back. Just ran.
Aerin's blood threads kept spreading. Kept searching. Warning them seconds before danger arrived.
The forest became a maze they navigated blind, trusting blood to guide them through darkness.
Then the ground suddenly dropped away.
Aerin's foot hit air. He caught himself on a tree root at the last second. Kael slammed into him from behind. They both nearly went over.
"Ravine," Aerin breathed.
They were standing at the edge of a steep depression. Twenty feet down, maybe thirty. Hard to tell in the dark.
Kael's flames brightened slightly. Enough to see.
There was blood.. everywhere.
It painted the ravine floor black. Splattered across trees and rocks and-
Helena sat slumped against a tree trunk. One hand pressed tight against her side. Her fingers were dark with blood. Her face looked pale. Her breath was uneven.
But she smiled when she saw them.
"Took you long enough," she whispered.
Prince Theron lay a few feet away. Collapsed. Barely moving. His perfect golden hair was matted with dirt and worse things. Burns covered his arms. That immaculate uniform was shredded, soaked through with blood.
He opened his eyes. Focused on Aerin with visible effort.
"Arclight." His voice came out like gravel. "You actually... came."
Kael was already moving. Sliding down the ravine slope, sending rocks scattering. He hit the bottom and rushed to Helena, pulling out his healing potion with shaking hands.
Aerin followed more carefully. His eyes scanned the ravine. Looking for threats. For Marcus.
"Where's Marcus?" The words came out harder than he intended. "What happened? Why are you-"
Snap....A branch breaking
Aerin spun and drew Sangreal pointing it at empty air above the ravine's edge.
A figure stood there.
Black cloak. Wierd mask, In a way that made Aerin's skin crawl.
The figure tilted its head. "Aerin Arclight. We meet again."
That voice. Distorted.But his body seemed to recognize it.
The leader.
"Careful, Aerin." Theron's voice was breaking. Each word looked like it hurt. "Anti-magic swords. Anti-magic armor. They... they nullify spells. Make your magic weak."
Kael looked up from Helena. His face was pale. "Helena. How many were there?"
Helena's eyes were glazed. Unfocused. "Twenty... I think. Maybe more. Couldn't count. They just charged at us."
Two more figures appeared beside the leader. Same black cloaks. Same wrong masks.
"What about the rest?" the leader asked his companions.
"Already sent them to search for the Arclight heir," one responded. "Should I call them back?"
"No need." The leader's mask somehow conveyed a smile. "We already handled the prince. We can manage the rest of the insects."
"Shit." Aerin raised his voice. Not shouting. But loud. Deliberate. "Theron. Get up and use one of your flashy lightning spells instead of just lying there."
"I've been poisoned, you idiot, I can barely speak."
"Take the boy alive," the leader said to his men. Then, almost as an afterthought: "Let's go."
One moment at the ravine's edge, the next already halfway down. Too fast. Unnatural.
The leader took the center path. The other two curved around—one left, one right. Flanking.
Aerin raised Sangreal.
CLANG.
The leader's blade met his. The impact sent shocks up Aerin's arms. His feet slid backward through dirt and blood.
The leader let out a laugh. Manic. Delighted. "C'mon, brat! Give it your best!"
The other two were closing in. Weapons raised.
Aerin couldn't block three at once. Couldn't dodge either.
"Pyroclasm's Wrath—TWIN VORTEX"
Kael stood with both hands extended. Fire poured from his palms in spiraling torrents. Two columns of flame that merged into a massive burning cyclone.
The vortex slammed into the two flanking assassins. Caught them mid-stride. They raised their anti-magic armor. Tried to block.
The flames bent around the armor.found gaps.
"Take Helena and Theron!" Aerin shouted. "Get them out!"
Kael made a sharp gesture. Both hands clenching into fists.
The twin vortexes compressed. Concentrated into a single point between his palms. Then exploded outward in a shockwave of pure force and heat.
The two assassins flew backward. Slammed into trees hard enough to crack wood.
"Inferno's Mantle—BLAZING FIST"
His right arm burst into flame. Hot enough that even Aerin felt .
Kael dropped into a fighting stance. Right arm forward. Left protecting his core.
"Come on!" His voice was raw. Furious. "I'll pulverize you and others for hurting my friends"
"Is he an S-ranked student as well?" one assassin asked the other.
"Doesn't matter." The second one sounded annoyed. "He has precise control over fire magic. Take him out before he becomes a problem."
Kael sidestepped just as the first assassin's blade came crashing down where his head had been moments before. The sword plunged deep into the dirt.
The second assassin's fist shot toward Kael's face. Kael blocked with his left arm, then brought his burning right fist crashing into the man's stomach.
CRACK.
The anti-magic armor held. It didn't break. But the assassin staggered back, gasping for air.
The heat had pierced through—the molten fire boiling his insides despite the armor's protection.
The first assassin spun, sending a brutal kick toward Kael's head.
Kael caught the leg with his left hand. Using the momentum, he twisted his body and slammed his shoulder into the assassin's mask.
Crack.
The mask fractured.
Kael's burning hand shot out, grabbing the man's throat where the armor left him vulnerable.
Searing heat scorched through the assassin's neck armor. The man crumpled to the ground, blackening smoke rising from his body like a dying flame.
The second assassin didn't even flinch.
He pulled a poisoned knife from his belt and threw it.
Kael caught the blade with his left hand, but the metal sliced deep into his palm. Blood welled up around the wound.
His eyes widened. "Wha-"
Poison. The venom burned sharp. His legs gave out. He hit the ground hard.
"Kael!" Aerin's voice cracked.
The leader's blade came down at Aerin's head. He barely blocked in time.
"Concentrate on me, boy!" the leader barked, voice sharp and cold. "You're in no position to worry about others."
The second assassin moved toward Kael, sword raised.
Aerin leapt backward. Crimson Threads shot from his hands, grabbing rocks and broken branches behind him.
He yanked debris forward with a furious jerk.
Clash!
The leader stumbled. Three seconds gained.
Aerin lunged.
The assassin's sword was already descending toward Kael's neck.
Aerin's blade pierced through the assassin's back and punched out through his chest.
The assassin froze, eyes wide. Then he collapsed, a dark metal shard embedded in his ribs.
Aerin felt nothing. Only cold necessity. The burning need to keep Kael alive.
The leader laughed, loud and harsh.
"Ah, you kids are getting worse than even us adults!"
Then, light exploded across the ravine.
Blue and white blended—lightning and ice, and something else. Something like moonlight made solid.
Seren stood at the edge.
Eclipsa glowed in her hands—a pure silver spear radiating enough light to push back the darkness.
Behind her, three students clung together, terrified but resolute.
"Leave." Seren's voice was ice. "Now."
The leader tilted his head. "The Moonveil heir. How appropriate. Your ancestor killed the last Arclight who wielded Sangreal. Will you kill this one too?"
"I said leave."
"We'll be back. With more. With better preparation." The assassin's smooth mask seemed to smile. "Enjoy your temporary victory, boy. But know this—the Crimson Emperor's heir won't live to see spring."
Then they vanished. Shadows swallowed them whole.
Seren was beside Aerin before he could think.
"You absolute idiot. What were you thinking?"
"Kael." Aerin tried to shift toward his friend. His legs refused.
"Alive. Poisoned, but alive." Seren's hands pressed urgently against Aerin's wounds. "Helena and Theron too. They'll survive."
"Marcus?" His voice barely a whisper.
Seren's jaw tightened, her eyes darkening. "Gone. We heard screaming deeper in the forest. Then nothing." She looked away, pain carved into her face. "The Ashen Hand took him. He's probably already dead."
Aerin tried to process it. His mind faded. Too much blood loss. Too much.
He slipped into darkness, still trying to stand.
High above the ravine, hidden in the canopy, a figure watched.
A slow smile spread across their face behind a black mask.
"Phase one complete."
Another figure appeared on the branch beside them.
"And the girl?"
"Let her protect him. Let her care." The first voice was pleased. "Makes what comes next so much more painful."
They vanished into the night.
Leaving blood.
The memory of screaming.
Marcus's body somewhere in the shadows—drained dry, left as a warning no one would forget.