The bell tower struck midnight.
Somewhere in the west dorms, a student's Echo sparked to life mid-dream, shattering a bed frame and two windows. No one blinked. The faculty had seen worse.
But in the quiet east wing, Saphine Ka'tarel sat awake, elbow-deep in documents she technically wasn't supposed to have.
"Process of elimination," she muttered, dragging her stylus across the names.
"Kerren? Too boastful. Hired a mercenary bodyguard. Easy tell."
"Mirella? Too nervous. Probably made her little sister do it."
"Daen? I don't think Daen even knows he has a bodyguard."
She paused.
One name remained.
Eris Vale.
Never speaks unless spoken to. Always at the edges. And somehow — somehow — always exactly where he needs to be."
She tapped her chin with the stylus.
"You're either a bored genius... or the worst liar in the building."
And then, she smiled.
"Let's test that."
Elsewhere – Beneath the Academy's Chapel
Eris stood alone in the sanctum of forgotten stone.
His Flare Garment was unbound, draped loosely like a half-living shroud, its threads shimmering faintly with residual Echo pulses. In this hidden place, the Grand Gaze expanded — sight turned inward and outward simultaneously.
He knelt near the altar, tracing runes across an old mosaic — an image of the world before Echoes.
"Echoes only manifest through people," he said softly to himself. "Resonance anchors to emotion. Identity. Will."
He tapped the edge of the mosaic.
"So why... was one walking free?"
The Grand Gaze reached back to the courtyard, replaying the echo-distortion frame by frame. There was no bearer. No tether. And yet, it searched — the way an orphaned Echo might... if it still remembered it was once human.
Then a flicker. A pattern.
A realization sparked behind his eyes like a cracking mirror.
He stood sharply.
"No. That can't be…"
The vision snapped closed.
He gripped the edge of the altar, breathing steadily.
But his thoughts were already moving elsewhere.
If that's true... she's in more danger than even the Trials can prepare her for.
A Chamber Beyond the Mountains — Council of the Peaks
A cold fire burned at the center of a dark stone table.
Four chairs circled it — ancient, towering things carved from different elements: obsidian, icewood, golden ash, and boneglass.
Only two were filled.
A woman in layered black silk sat motionless, a silver veil over her face. Her voice floated like mist:
"Two of us remain missing. The world trembles, yet the trials continue."
Across from her sat a figure in jagged armor — all bronze edges and thunderous Echo. His Flare Garment hissed with barely-contained force.
He scoffed.
"We can't delay succession every time a shadow twitches. Let the heirs bleed a little. It'll shape them."
The other two chairs sat in silence — one coated in frost, the other faintly smoldering with golden heat… and empty.
Then—
The golden chair flickered.
For a heartbeat, it was not empty.
Not seen.
Not heard.
Felt.
A sensation like gravity brushing against the soul.
Then it vanished again.
The veiled woman's gaze turned slightly, beneath the silk.
"The Hollow Peak stirs."
No one spoke after that.
Back at Dominion Academy – Noon, Trial Courtyard
Saphine stormed across the courtyard with determination in her step and absolutely no subtlety in her plan.
She'd prepared a dramatic monologue. She'd rehearsed the phrase ten times in front of a mirror. She even had backup lines if he denied it.
She was ready.
She marched right up to Eris — who was leaning against a pillar eating a peach — pointed at his face, and said:
"I know you're my bodyguard!"
Eris blinked once. Chewed slowly.
"...Are you sure?"
"Don't play games with me, Eris Vale!"
He raised a brow. "You're very loud for someone attempting espionage."
"I read your entire library check-out history," she blurted.
"...That's not legal."
"It's deeply suspicious!"
"...It's mostly cookbooks."
"I said what I said!"
A pause. Eris tilted his head.
"Why would a bodyguard read six books on soufflé mechanics?"
"I—wait. Did you just admit it?"
He blinked.
She scowled. "Okay, enough. If you're not going to say it, I will."
She took a breath. Looked him dead in the eye.
And whispered the phrase:
"The fire forgets the spark, but the shadow always remembers."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
The Flare Garment beneath his skin glowed faintly. A symbol pulsed at his wrist. A mark no other student had ever seen.
Saphine's breath caught.
He bowed his head slightly.
"Acknowledged. Trial One complete."
She stared.
"...Are you serious?! That's it?!"
Eris smiled — a very tiny, very annoying smile.
"Congratulations, Saphine Ka'tarel. You found your shadow."
To be continued...