Aeron stood alone in the underground hall.
The Black Door loomed behind him—sealed again, silent and dead like it hadn't tried to eat his soul a week ago.
The chamber was dark, save for the faint glow of torches lining the stone walls.
He liked it here.
No nobles.
No whispers.
No titles.
Just breath.
And pain.
And silence.
He exhaled slowly and dropped into a low stance.
"One more time."
His bare feet slid across the dusty floor as he moved through his forms—one slow, one sharp, one strange.
He was mixing techniques now.
Martial flow from his old noble training…
Pulse strikes from his soul core's memory flashes…
And improvised pain channeling from the night he got stabbed in the ribs.
The result?
Ugly. Incomplete. Wild.
But it worked.
He threw a forward palm. The air rippled.
Phantom Pulse.
A strike that didn't land—but still hurt.
Energy sent forward like a ripple in water, vibrating through space.
He hadn't mastered it.
Not yet.
But it was coming alive.
A door creaked behind him.
He didn't look. He already knew who it was.
"You're gonna pass out again one day if you keep training like that," Kael said, stepping into the torchlight.
"Still better than crying in a noble bathhouse."
Kael snorted. "Hey, I'd pay to see that."
He walked up with two steaming bottles of nutrient brew and handed one over.
"You're getting sharper," he said, watching Aeron move. "Faster than before."
"Because I'm not thinking like them anymore."
Kael raised a brow. "Meaning?"
"They build power like it's a script. Steps. Ranks. Safe little lessons."
"And you?"
"I'm carving it into my bones."
Aeron stepped back and dropped into a new stance.
He planted his foot, gathered a breath, then—
Boom.
Lightning snapped through his shoulder, down his arm, and blasted into the stone wall ahead. A faint scorch mark burned in the shape of a crescent.
Kael blinked.
"That new?"
"Half-finished."
"What's it called?"
Aeron wiped sweat from his brow. "No idea yet."
"Looks like a whip."
"Feels like a scar."
Kael walked the edge of the room, eyes thoughtful.
"You're building your own system."
"I'm building something they can't understand."
"So why keep it secret?"
Aeron glanced at him.
"Because the moment they understand it, they'll try to kill it."
Somewhere Else – Dormitory Hall D
Mira sat in her dorm, windows closed, candlelight flickering across a half-finished healing rune etched into her notebook.
But she wasn't focused.
Her eyes drifted to the corner of the page, where she'd drawn a small sketch.
Of Aeron.
Messy hair. Sharp eyes. Half a smile that didn't reach all the way.
Stop thinking about him…
She shook her head, closed the book, and whispered a spell under her breath.
The rune glowed blue, pulsed, then faded.
Even when he's not near me, he's louder than everyone else…
Back Underground
Kael leaned against the wall while Aeron wrapped his wrist.
"You know," Kael said, "they're going to come at you harder next time."
"Let them."
"That noble kid you beat? His sister's in Class A. She's not as dumb. And she's gunning for you."
"Good."
"You're a menace."
"I'm a reminder."
"Of what?"
Aeron stood up.
His eyes looked… different.
Older.
Sharper.
Like someone who'd walked through fire and came out with a grin.
"That the system they built can still bleed."
Late Night – Aeron's Dorm
Later that night, Aeron collapsed into his bed, shirtless, ribs bruised, body humming with overused energy.
He stared at the cracked ceiling and muttered to himself.
"Name… I need a name…"
He replayed the technique again in his mind—the pulse blast from earlier.
It moved like a scar.
It struck without touch.
It didn't break bones… it broke flow.
"Phantom Pulse?" he said quietly.
It didn't feel right.
He closed his eyes.
Then it hit him.
"Soul Disrupt."
Yeah.
That was it.
[New Ability Created: Soul Disrupt]
A focused, medium-range strike using soul-infused energy to unbalance or briefly destabilize an enemy's aura, magic, or body control. First-stage hybrid type.
The words didn't appear in front of him.
But he felt them.
Like a branded idea.
A confirmation.
A quiet whisper in the back of his skull that said:
More is coming.
[End of Chapter 8]