Chapter 19: The Weaver's Thread and the Chimera's Roar (Part 2)
Location: The Locker Room Tunnel.
Time: 4:15 PM.
Ren walked back out of the tunnel. He had the Key of Chronos in his pocket, but right now, he had a more immediate problem. The Tournament wasn't over.
He had defeated the Beast (Subject X), but that was just the Exhibition Match. Now, the actual student bracket began.
Caelum ran up to him, handing him a water skin.
"You're insane," Caelum hissed, checking the hallway for spies. "You turned a dagger into a spear? Since when can you do Transmutation?"
"Since last night," Ren whispered, drinking deeply. "How is the bracket?"
"Chaos," Caelum said grimly. "Draven advanced. Lyra advanced. And... you advanced. The judges ruled that your victory over the Chimera qualifies you for the Quarter-Finals."
Caelum pointed to the magical scoreboard hovering over the arena.
[ Quarter-Final Match 3: Ren Arken (Umbra) vs. Lysander Vance (Solaris) ]
Ren narrowed his eyes. "Vance?"
"Vice-Prefect of Solaris," Caelum warned. "He's a Level 21 Lightning Mage. He's fast, Ren. And he hates you because you embarrassed his House."
"Lightning," Ren mused. "Flashy. Loud. Dangerous."
Ren looked at his Gauntlet. It was still smoking slightly from the Chimera fight. His mana was recovering, but [Rewrite] was on cooldown for another few minutes.
"I need a conductor," Ren muttered.
He turned to Kaelith.
"Do you have any Iron-Weave Wire left from the trap supplies?"
Kaelith dug into her pouch. "About fifty feet. Why?"
"I'm going to go fishing for lightning."
Location: The Grand Arena.
Time: 4:30 PM.
The crowd was buzzing. The "Null" had killed a monster, and now everyone wanted to see if he could bleed.
Lysander Vance stood in the arena. He was tall, blonde, and wore robes of shimmering yellow silk. Sparks danced around his fingers.
[ Enemy: Lysander Vance ]
[ Level: 21 ]
[ Class: Storm Caller ]
[ Trait: Envy-Empowered (Stage 2) ]
Ren walked out. He wasn't carrying a weapon. His hands were empty.
"Begin!" the referee shouted.
Lysander didn't waste time.
"You got lucky with the beast, Null!" Lysander shouted. "But you can't trick lightning!"
He raised his staff.
[ Spell: Chain Lightning. ]
A jagged arc of blue electricity shot toward Ren.
Ren didn't dodge. He threw a small object into the air.
It was a spool of Iron-Weave Wire.
Ren held one end. The spool unraveled in the air, flying toward a metal grate in the arena floor (a drainage vent).
Ren activated [The Index].
[ Source: 'Basic Geomancy' ]
[ Borrowed Skill: Magnetic Pull (Rank F). ]
He didn't pull the lightning. He pulled the wire toward the lightning.
The iron wire intercepted the bolt mid-air.
CRACK-ZAP!
The electricity followed the path of least resistance—the conductive wire—and grounded harmlessly into the drainage grate.
Ren stood untouched.
"Physics," Ren said loud enough for the crowd to hear. "It beats magic every time."
Lysander's face turned purple. The Envy in his aura flared, feeding on his humiliation.
"Die!" Lysander screamed.
He abandoned technique. He began to cast [Thunderstorm], a massive Area-of-Effect spell. Clouds gathered rapidly over the arena.
"He's overdrawing," Ren analyzed. "The Envy is pushing him to burn his life force for power."
Ren couldn't ground a whole storm. He had to end this now.
Ren sprinted.
"Strike me!" Lysander roared, calling down a bolt.
Ren activated [Flash Step].
BOOM.
The bolt hit the sand where Ren had been.
Ren reappeared five feet in front of Lysander.
Lysander panicked. He cast [Shockwave] to push Ren back.
Ren didn't stop. He raised his left hand—the Gauntlet.
[ Skill: Mana Drain. ]
He punched the shockwave.
The purple void of the gauntlet ate the kinetic mana. Ren broke through the wall of force.
He grabbed Lysander's staff with his left hand.
[ Mana Drain: Contact Established. ]
"You want power?" Ren whispered, his eyes glowing violet. "I'll take it."
He didn't drain Lysander dry—that would kill him. He drained the spell. He sucked the mana out of the gathering storm clouds above.
The dark clouds dissipated instantly. The lightning vanished.
Lysander stood there, holding a staff that felt dead in his hands. He looked up at the clear blue sky.
"My... my storm..."
Ren released the staff. He swept Lysander's legs.
Thud.
Lysander hit the sand. Ren placed the tip of his Shiv (which he drew in a blur) against Lysander's throat.
"Yield," Ren commanded.
Lysander looked at the Null. He looked at the crowd, who were staring in silent shock.
"I... I yield."
[ Match Winner: Ren Arken. ]
The crowd erupted. But this time, it wasn't just cheers. It was fear.
"He ate the storm!"
"He's a monster!"
"The Null is a Demon!"
Ren walked away. He didn't celebrate. He felt the gaze of Malthus burning into his back.
Location: Umbra House, The Crypts.
Time: 5:00 PM.
Ren sat in the common room, icing his knuckles. Kaelith and Bastion were celebrating, sharing a bottle of cheap wine.
But Ren was watching the door to the infirmary.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
Vex ran out. She looked terrified.
"Ren! It's Tom!"
Ren dropped the ice pack and ran.
Inside the infirmary, Tom was floating.
Literally floating. His body hovered three feet off the stone slab. His eyes were wide open, glowing a blinding neon green. His mouth was moving rapidly, speaking in a voice that wasn't his.
"THE CUP IS FULL. THE SEAL IS THIN. THE TOWER CRACKS."
"Tom!" Ren shouted, grabbing his floating ankle. [Void Presence] to ground him.
It didn't work. The power flowing through Tom was too strong.
"THE ENVY OF THE THOUSAND OPENS THE DOOR. HE IS COMING."
Tom's back arched.
A beam of green light shot from Tom's chest, straight up through the stone ceiling of the crypts.
It passed through the floors of the Academy.
It passed through the Library.
It passed through the Solaris Dorms.
It hit the Pillar of Scales in the main courtyard.
Location: The Main Courtyard.
Time: 5:05 PM.
The Pillar of Scales, which Ren had sabotaged earlier to vent mana, suddenly roared to life.
But it wasn't venting anymore.
The green beam from Tom acted as a key. It reversed the flow.
Instead of sucking mana from the students, the Pillar cracked open.
CRACK.
The glass shattered.
A massive rift tore open in the middle of the Academy.
It wasn't a portal window anymore. It was a physical tear in reality.
From the purple sky on the other side, a giant, unblinking Eye looked through.
And then... things started to crawl out.
They were small at first. Envy Imps. Green, gargoyle-like creatures that shrieked and flew toward the nearest students.
"MONSTERS!" someone screamed.
Chaos erupted.
Location: Umbra House.
Tom collapsed onto the slab, the light fading.
"It's open," Tom gasped, clutching Ren's hand. "The invasion... Malthus accelerated it. Because you won."
Ren froze.
"Because I won?"
"Your victory caused a massive spike in Envy among the Solaris students," Tom whispered. "They hated you so much... it overloaded the lock."
Ren stood up.
He had played right into Malthus's hand. By humiliating the elite, he had generated the exact energy needed to open the gate.
"Bastion, Kaelith," Ren ordered, his voice cold. "Gear up."
"We're fighting?" Bastion asked, summoning his stone armor.
"We're not fighting," Ren said, drawing his Shiv of Gluttony. "We're cleaning up my mess."
He looked at the ceiling.
"Malthus wants a war? Fine. I'll give him a war."
Ren turned to Vex.
"Lock the doors. Protect Tom. No one enters Umbra House."
Ren walked to the exit.
"Where are you going?" Kaelith asked, nocking an explosive arrow.
Ren held up the Key of Chronos that Solon had given him.
"The Headmaster gave me a key to history. I think it's time I found out how to kill a Sin."
[ System Alert ]
[ The Invasion of Envy has begun. ]
[ Academy Defense Mode: Active. ]
[ Objective: Reach the Chronology Section before the Library falls. ]
Ren kicked the door open.
"Let's go."
End of Chapter 19
Summary:
Quarter-Finals: Ren defeats Lysander Vance (Lightning Mage) by using iron wire to ground his lightning and Mana Drain to dissipate his storm.
The Trigger: Ren's victory causes a massive spike of Envy in the Solaris students.
The Glitch: Tom acts as a conduit. The collective Envy overloads the Pillar of Scales.
The Breach: A portal to the Continent of Envy opens in the Academy courtyard. Monsters invade.
The Revelation: Ren realizes Malthus manipulated the tournament to generate this exact emotional spike.
Next Move: Ren heads to the Chronology Section of the Library to find a way to seal the breach.