The Academy felt emptier without them.
Clem's laughter echoing down the corridors. Darvin's steady voice during training. Even their arguments, sharp and playful, left a silence in their absence.
Now the halls seemed hollow. Every torch flickered like a shadow's sneer, every whisper in the crowd carried the same question.
Where were Clem and Darvin?
And always, always, the same second question.
Why hadn't Alaric stopped it?
Alaric sat alone in the training courtyard, the night air sharp with cold. His fists were raw from striking the stone wall again and again, until blood stained the cracks. The amber stone pulsed weakly in his hand, each flicker reminding him of the moment they were dragged away.
He could still see Clem's defiance. Darvin's desperate shout. The rift snapping shut.
He ground his teeth until his jaw ached. "I should've gone with them. I should've—"
"…Should have bowed, and they would still breathe…"
Eryndor's voice slithered through the chains, mocking.
Alaric clutched his head, shaking. "Shut up."
But the voice only grew smoother, silkier. "…You saw it, Alaric. The beasts bowed to you. The Hollow Ones kneel. This is not a battle. This is a throne waiting for its king. Claim it, and they return. Deny it, and they rot."
Alaric slammed the stone into the ground, fire flaring around him. "I said shut up!"
The courtyard gates creaked open.
Professor Kale stepped inside, his timid frame half-hidden beneath his heavy robes. He adjusted his spectacles nervously, his pale face illuminated by the torchlight.
"Alaric," he said softly, his tone like silk folded over steel. "You shouldn't be out here alone."
Alaric glared at him. "If you came to tell me it's hopeless, save your breath."
Kale raised his hands gently. "Not hopeless. Dangerous, yes. Reckless, perhaps. But hopeless? Never." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "The Hollows didn't take them at random. They are bait. A lure meant to draw you deeper."
Alaric's chest heaved. "Then I'll take the bait."
Kale's eyes glittered behind his glasses. "So you will follow."
"Yes." Alaric stood, fire sparking at his fingertips. "I don't care what Eldrin says. I don't care what the Council decides. Clem and Darvin are my family. If I have to walk into Eryndor's realm alone, I will."
The chains inside him rattled violently.
Rudra's voice whispered faintly from the amber stone. "Alaric, wait. Recklessness feeds the darkness. You risk becoming the very thing you fight."
Alaric clenched his teeth. "And if I do nothing, they die."
The voice hesitated, then softened. "…Then prepare. And do not let go."
Professor Kale's lips curved in the faintest smile, so quick it almost wasn't there. "Spoken like a true warrior. But you cannot go unprepared. You need to understand the Rift, its layers, its guardians. And you need someone who knows how to bend its shadows without breaking."
Alaric narrowed his eyes. "You?"
Kale inclined his head. "I have studied the darkness all my life, boy. The Council fears what they don't understand, but knowledge is power. Power you will need if you are to survive what awaits."
Alaric hesitated, his fists clenching. He didn't trust Kale — not entirely. But he couldn't deny the truth. No professor knew more about the dark arts than this timid, obsessive man.
And if it meant saving Clem and Darvin…
He exhaled sharply. "Fine. Teach me."
Kale's smile deepened, hidden quickly behind a shadow of sympathy. "We start at dawn. Rest what little you can. Tomorrow, we walk the path no Council dares to tread."
That night, Alaric didn't sleep.
He sat at his desk, the amber stone glowing faintly in his hand, its warmth steady against the storm inside him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Clem's face, Darvin's blade raised in defiance. He heard their screams as the rift swallowed them whole.
And beneath it all, he heard Eryndor's whisper.
"…Soon, Alaric. Soon you will come to me. And when you do, you will not leave."
His hands trembled. The chains rattled.
But his resolve did not break.
Clem. Darvin.
He would find them.
He would bring them back.
And if Eryndor stood in the way…
Then he would burn through king and kingdom alike.