The classroom erupted in chaos. The rumble from below grew into a violent shudder as cracks splintered along the walls. The overhead lights burst, showering the room in sparks before plunging everything into flickering half-darkness.
The door banged open, not by accident but by force. Figures poured in—cloaked, faceless, their movements unnaturally sharp. Their very presence carried a suffocating pressure, as if the air itself bent away from them.
"Shadowspawn," Daxen muttered, his voice tight. His own darkness flared outward, coiling like snakes ready to strike.
"Finally!" Ryo laughed, flames bursting to life around his fists. "Been dying for some fun."
The Circle moved with frightening precision. Mira raised her hands, lightning cracking through the gloom like jagged spears. Elara stomped her foot, vines snapping up through the floorboards, curling around the intruders. Jin exhaled a blast of frost that turned the ground slick, sending enemies sliding. Liora's eyes glowed, her voice booming in their minds, "Stay back!"—a command that made several attackers hesitate mid-step.
Kaito stood frozen at the center, heart pounding like a war drum. He didn't understand. He wasn't like them. He couldn't fight—
"Move!" Aria yanked him back as a shadowy blade cleaved through the air where he had just been standing. Her grip was firm, steady, almost too calm for the chaos around them.
"You're in danger," she whispered urgently, her eyes locked on the battle. "You can't let them touch you."
"Why?!" Kaito demanded, his voice cracking with fear.
Aria didn't answer. She pulled him close, shielding him with her own body as Mira unleashed a storm of lightning across the front line.
But something stirred inside Kaito. Every sound—the clash of power, the hiss of shadows, the shouts of battle—echoed too loudly in his head, as though the world itself was leaning toward him. His skin prickled, his breath came in bursts, and for an instant he swore he saw… something.
The walls weren't just walls. They pulsed, alive with lines of light running beneath the surface. The shadows weren't just darkness. They twisted into shapes, whispering in a language he almost understood.
"Kaito!" Daxen's shout cut through the haze. The leader of the Circle pinned two shadows with his own, but his eyes burned into Kaito's. "If you don't act now, you'll never survive!"
Kaito staggered, clutching his chest. "I—I don't know how!"
Aria's hand gripped his shoulder. Her voice, calm and unyielding, reached him even through the noise.
"You will. Because you have to."
The floor cracked again. More Shadowspawn surged through the doorway, their numbers doubling. The Circle fought on, but even their power was beginning to strain.
Kaito's vision blurred. The whispers in the dark grew louder. And as one of the creatures lunged at him, instinct roared awake.
The world exploded in light.