Kael awoke in darkness.
It wasn't the soft comfort of night; it was a weight, a living shadow pressing against his skin, chest, and thoughts.
He sat up, gasping.
The infirmary was quiet, lit only by a dim violet orb floating near the ceiling. Rows of beds stood empty. Outside, thunder rumbled low across the horizon. A storm was coming, but not of rain - this one was of war.
He wasn't alone.
A figure leaned against the wall across from him, cloaked in black. Her silver hair shimmered like moonlight, and her piercing emerald eyes locked onto his like twin blades.
"You nearly destroyed the eastern tower," she said flatly. "Impressive."
Kael blinked. "Who...?"
"Aelira Voss," she interrupted. "Third-ranked at Aetheron. Specializing in shadow magic. And now" she stepped closer, "your assigned watcher."
"My what?"
She tossed him a worn scroll sealed with crimson wax.
"By order of the Headmistress," Aelira said, "you're to accompany me into the Vault of Shadows at dawn."
Kael's hands trembled as he opened the scroll. Elegant ink flowed across the parchment. It detailed his temporary release from confinement and his appointment as a Seeker-Class Initiate.
"But the Vault was sealed centuries ago," he said. "After the Umbra War - no one's ever returned."
"Exactly," Aelira said. "That's why we need you."
Kael glanced at his palm. The burn mark shaped like a crescent claw still pulsed faintly. It was a mark left by the Umbraflame. He was still changing.
"Why me?" he asked.
"Because you're not supposed to exist," she said. "And because that Vault is reacting to you."
By dawn, they stood before the massive obsidian gate hidden deep beneath the academy. Vines of runes twisted across the stone, pulsing with ancient magic. Twelve archmages once sealed it, sacrificing their souls to contain the Umbra.
Now, those seals were unraveling.
Kael stepped forward. As he raised his hand, the gate breathed, exhaling magic and memory. The crescent burn on his skin glowed, and the runes lit up one by one.
The gate opened with a moan like thunder cracking the sky.
Aelira drew her blade, a thin rapier of enchanted glass. "Stay close."
Inside, the Vault of Shadows was not just a place it was a realm.
Whispers danced on the wind.
Phantom lanterns floated in midair, lighting a staircase that spiraled downward into an abyss of shifting black.
As they descended, Kael heard it again.
"The last heir.. has entered.."
The voice wasn't Aelira's. It came from the walls, the darkness... from within.
"What is this place?" Kael whispered.
"The prison of your ancestors," Aelira said grimly. "And the key to a war that never ended."
Just as her voice faded, the floor trembled and a pair of eyes opened in the dark. Massive, glowing violet eyes.
Kael froze.
From the shadows, something ancient stirred..
A creature older than the academy..
Bound by blood..
And it had just sensed its master return.