We have returned—and our return is welcomed! Welcome to Part Two.
The night lay heavy over Darkol's walls, but Rain's shadow was heavier still.He left through the palace's rear gate—no procession, no ceremony. No farewell. Not even a single word from the Emperor… except one command:
"Follow the shadow that never sleeps—you will arrive where you are truly tested."
Three days of silent travel followed, through lands unmarked on any map.His only companion: "Malek," the strange mage who had appeared just a month earlier in the heart of the palace—without warning, name, or memory. No one knew how he entered. But the Emperor allowed him to stay… simply because no one had been able to stop him.
Despite his brief stay, Malek unsettled the nobles and intrigued the priests.He showed no hostility, sought no power. But in those few days, he revealed flaws in the palace's defenses, unlocked magical seals once deemed unbreakable—then asked to leave. And he volunteered to accompany Rain to the Grey Academy.
Malek spoke little. His movements were graceful, his voice neutral. But his eyes...Something in them was broken, as if a memory burned slowly behind them.
At dawn on the fourth day, the Grey Academy appeared.
It was no building, but a mass of interwoven levels floating in the air, suspended above a valley cloaked by the shadows of dead mountains. Bridges of light stretched from the cliffs, swaying as if breathing.Stones in the nearby fields bore ancient runes belonging to no known kingdom.
Rain stood before the bridge. A faint voice came from the mark on his wrist:
"Active consciousness monitoring... initiated."
He stepped forward.
In the first courtyard, energy gates flared open, surrounding him with four "Pact Wardens," their faces hidden behind glass masks.
One of them said:
"Even with imperial recommendation… you must be tested. The Academy recognizes no authority above its own."
They pointed to three tasks, etched on a tablet of enchanted bone:
Face the Reflection of Regret — confront the image of one he lost, without losing his composure.
Summon the Mirror of Memories — awaken an ancient stone through pure emotional impulse.
Absolute abstinence from mental influence or manipulation during the test.
He entered the first chamber.
There stood Erl—with one eye, looking away from him.She wasn't real, yet he couldn't stop himself from speaking.
"I'm sorry…"
"I know."
Then she vanished.
In the second trial, he sat before a crystal mirror—not reflecting his face, but the chaos of his past.He summoned his shadow and placed his palm on the stone. The wall trembled, and his mind nearly shattered… but he endured.
During the final test, his energy waves were recorded.An anomaly was found: pulses from an undefined dimension.
Still… he passed.
At the end of the trial, he was summoned to the Headmaster's chamber—a core of the Academy.The walls were made of shifting inscriptions, and the ceiling, an artificial sky that changed with the heartbeat of whoever stood within.
Malek was already there, staring into a broken mirror.He turned and said:
"You wonder who I am? Sometimes… I do too."
He paused, then added:
"The last thing I remember is killing someone who wasn't supposed to die.Since then, I haven't been myself... or maybe I no longer know who I am."
He stepped closer and placed a hand on Rain's shoulder.
"The Academy won't fix you, Rain.But maybe… it'll reveal you."
By the day's end, Rain was clothed in the Academy's garb: a grey cloak with silver trim.Etched into his shoulder was a shifting symbol—as if the Academy had yet to decide what he was.
He stepped into the grand arena.
All eyes turned to him.Some feared him.Some scorned his presence.But none of it mattered.
The shadow within him stirred, and the grey sky above whispered:
"This is not the beginning of learning…but the beginning of transformation."