Chapter 14: Umbral Seeds
The morning after the storm felt unusually quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet that came with a fresh sunrise, but the heavy, pressing silence that weighed on the shoulders like unseen hands. James sat on a crooked rock near the edge of the island's eastern cliff, the ocean winds brushing against his messy hair. His gaze was fixed on the horizon, though his mind wandered far deeper—into questions he wasn't ready to answer.
"Didn't sleep?" a familiar voice asked behind him.
James turned to see Aunt Lysandra holding a mug of steaming herbal tea. Her sharp eyes softened as she looked at him, but James could still sense the worry masked behind her calm demeanor.
"Barely," he muttered, accepting the cup.
She sat beside him, knees folded, eyes scanning the skies. "Something changed in you yesterday."
James didn't respond right away. He took a sip, letting the warmth of the tea calm the lingering fire inside him—the uncontrolled ember of his first emotional awakening. The black aura he'd tapped into had felt like a monster behind a locked door, one he accidentally opened.
"Lysandra... what was that power?"
Lysandra's fingers tightened on her mug. "The black aura."
"You've seen it before."
"I've felt it," she said, voice almost a whisper. "In your father. And in the one who killed him."
James froze. "You said he died in a sea storm—"
"A lie to protect you," she admitted. "The truth is... your father was one of the strongest heroes of his generation. His black aura nearly consumed him—until he mastered it. But there were others who wanted to use it, distort it. One of them was your mother."
"My... mother?"
Lysandra closed her eyes, the pain fresh even after all these years. "She was the one who betrayed us. Sold secrets to the Meta War Syndicate. She wanted power without balance."
James stood slowly, stunned. "Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because the past has found you. And the seeds of umbra have already begun to bloom in your soul. If you don't understand where you come from, you'll never survive what's coming."
---
That same afternoon, the skies above the island shimmered. A ripple of white static tore open, forming a portal. A floating disc-shaped ship emerged, sleek and humming, its metal laced with runes that flickered in pulses of violet.
Three figures descended from the ship's core in thin, levitating panels—representatives from the Hero's School.
The lead was a tall, elegant woman in a coat made of starlight fabric. Her name was Professor Yurei, wielder of the Blue Aura, famed across the nine realms for her calm but fierce fighting style. Beside her stood Bohr, a short muscular man in a yellow trench coat who seemed to constantly twitch with pent-up lightning. The third was a boy—no older than James—with ghost-white hair and a deadpan stare.
"You are James Sylvar?" Yurei asked, her voice like music in a vacuum.
James nodded, fists clenched by his sides.
"You've been invited to take the Hero's School Preliminary Trials," she said, holding out a sleek orb. "This begins your qualification."
Before James could respond, the orb pulsed, pulling him into a simulation realm.
---
He found himself in a mirrored forest, his reflection distorted and duplicated across every surface. The trees shimmered with dark energy, and twisted versions of himself stared back.
A voice echoed: "This is your first trial—Confrontation of the Self."
James stepped forward, the grass crunching underfoot like glass. Shadows moved. A version of him stepped out from the trees—eyes glowing black, flames licking off his arms.
"I am your worst fear," it snarled. "The monster you'll become."
They clashed.
Fire met fire. But while James still lacked finesse, the shadow version was savage. Every hit burned deeper, every dodge felt like a breath away from death.
"Why do you fight?" the shadow hissed.
James gritted his teeth. "Because I choose who I become. Not my past. Not my blood."
He unleashed a surge of red aura—not from rage, but from his will to protect his future. The ground cracked. The mirror forest shattered. And the shadow dispersed in embers.
---
James collapsed to his knees, panting. As the trial realm dissolved, he reawakened on the island, surrounded by Yurei and the others.
"Not bad," Bohr said, rubbing his beard. "Most recruits don't last a minute."
James stood. "When do I leave?"
Professor Yurei smiled. "Now."
Lysandra stepped forward. "Wait." She held out a small box to James. Inside lay a worn red headband and a ring engraved with two initials: S.V.
"Your father's," she said softly. "He wore it when he first left for the Hero's School. Make us proud."
James took it, heart pounding, tears threatening to form. He wrapped the band around his head, a symbol of legacy and choice.
"I'll return," he whispered. "Stronger. Wiser. Ready."
He stepped onto the floating panel.
The ship rose.
The island grew smaller beneath him.
And James Sylvar's journey into the Metaverse War began.
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