The Hall of Roots was nothing like the rest of the academy.
No grand stone pillars. No gleaming banners fluttering under sunlight.
Here, the air was damp, alive with the smell of soil and something older—older than the Federation itself. The light was dim, filtered through thick vines crawling across the ceiling like the veins of some sleeping giant.
Kael stepped inside, boots sinking slightly into the moss-covered floor. The moment he crossed the threshold, the hall reacted—roots shifted beneath the surface, curling and uncoiling as though sensing his presence. They weren't hostile. Not yet.
"You shouldn't be here."
The voice came from somewhere in the shadows. Smooth. Feminine. Edged with warning.
Kael turned, his hand instinctively brushing the hilt of his blade. "And yet, here I am."
From behind a curtain of hanging roots emerged a girl in a long, emerald robe, the fabric etched with patterns that glowed faintly in the dark. Her hair was white as frost, her eyes the shade of deep ocean water.
"You're the one who lit the old seed," she said. "The whispers have reached even down here."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Whispers?"
She stepped closer, the faint scent of rain and crushed leaves following her. "The Hall listens. It remembers every step, every word. It remembers what's been buried. You awakened something it had sealed away."
A sudden shiver passed through the air. The roots at Kael's feet twitched, not in hostility but in recognition. Something beneath the floor was moving—a slow, deliberate pulse, like a massive heart beating far underground.
Kael steadied himself. "Then maybe I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
The girl's gaze sharpened. "Or maybe you've just stepped into a place that will decide whether you live or vanish forever."
A low hum rose from the walls. The roots around them began to glow faintly, illuminating intricate carvings—ancient star maps, planetary symbols, and swirling patterns that hinted at worlds Kael had never seen. The maps were incomplete, like fragments of a much greater design.
"You see them?" she asked, watching his reaction.
"More importantly," Kael said slowly, "I feel them. They're not just maps—they're… paths."
Her lips curved slightly. "Then you understand why you can't tell anyone about this."
Kael studied her. "And why would I agree to that?"
Before she could answer, the ground trembled. A sharp crack echoed through the hall as a root as thick as a man's torso burst upward from the floor between them. The girl moved instinctively, her hands weaving strange patterns in the air. The root froze mid-lunge, shivering, as if held in invisible chains.
"This isn't the Hall's doing," she hissed. "Something's trying to break in."
Kael didn't hesitate. He drew his blade, the metallic ring cutting through the humid air. "Then we deal with it."
The root split open, revealing a slick, black core that pulsed with a sickly light. A whisper slithered through Kael's mind—hungry, alien. He clenched his jaw, forcing the voice back. Whatever this was, it wasn't natural.
The girl's chant grew sharper, her voice layered with echoes that didn't belong to a single person. Roots from the ceiling plunged downward, ensnaring the intruding tendril. The black core writhed, spitting out motes of dark energy.
Kael struck.
His blade sliced clean through the root's corrupted heart. The thing shrieked—not with sound, but in Kael's head—and then dissolved into ash that melted into the moss.
The Hall grew still again.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Finally, the girl exhaled and straightened. "That… was not supposed to happen."
Kael sheathed his blade. "Seems like nothing ever is."
Her eyes lingered on him. "If you're going to survive what's coming, you'll need to know the truth. Meet me here tomorrow, at dusk. And come alone."
Before Kael could reply, she melted back into the shadows, her emerald robe fading among the roots.
He stood there, listening to the faint heartbeat still pulsing beneath the floor.
The Hall had shown him a glimpse of something vast—and something was willing to kill to keep it buried.
And Kael Saran had never been the type to walk away from dangerous secrets.