Morning light filtered through the frost-glass walls of the Conduit Chamber.
Kael stood in the center of a circular training platform — alone — surrounded by dozens of suspended Flow crystals that pulsed in steady rhythm. The room smelled faintly of ozone and burnt steel.
Professor Veyra Dathis stood at the edge of the circle, arms folded, eyes cold as the air itself.
"Lesson one," she said. "You will stop treating your power like a burden. You will learn to bend it."
Kael frowned. "I can't even hold it for five seconds without it trying to devour everything around me."
"Then five seconds is your world," she said flatly. "Expand it."
She gestured toward the crystals. "Each of these holds condensed Histinak. You will draw energy from them and release it in measured waves. If you lose control, the feedback will tear you apart."
Kael blinked. "That's… encouraging."
Her lips twitched faintly — amusement, maybe, or irritation. It was hard to tell.
"Begin," she ordered.
---
Kael took a steady breath and extended his hand. The Hollow Veyra pulsed faintly beneath his skin, a cold rhythm that wasn't his own. He reached for the nearest crystal — felt it hum in response.
A thin strand of gray energy leapt between them.
He tried to guide it gently, but the moment it touched him, the energy twisted violently. The other crystals began to react — light flickering erratically as if something was pulling at them all at once.
> [Warning: Unstable Absorption Detected.]
[Synchrony Limit Reached.]
Kael gritted his teeth. His veins burned. The Hollow Veyra surged again, whispering its familiar hunger.
Then — a hand clamped onto his wrist.
Veyra's.
Instantly, the feedback stopped. The Flow froze mid-motion, caught between her control and his chaos.
Her voice dropped low. "You're letting it feed on instinct. You're the master, not the vessel."
Kael met her gaze. "It doesn't feel that way."
"It won't," she replied. "Power never submits to the unworthy. Now again."
She released him.
Kael exhaled slowly. Sweat rolled down his temple. He tried again — smaller draw this time. One pulse, one heartbeat, one wave.
It responded — imperfectly, but it responded. The crystal dimmed, and the Flow in his hand stabilized for a full two seconds before fading.
Veyra's eyes narrowed slightly. "Better. You lasted longer before failure."
"Thanks," Kael muttered. "Always good to hear I failed slower."
That earned a faint sound — not quite laughter, but something softer, buried beneath the cold.
---
As the hours passed, his control improved — marginally. The Hollow Veyra remained unpredictable, sometimes compliant, sometimes furious.
Between exercises, Veyra recorded notes on a silver tablet, her eyes moving rapidly across glowing symbols.
Kael finally asked, "Why are you helping me? You could've let the Council suspend me."
She didn't look up. "Because your curse isn't just a danger. It's a mirror of something older."
"Older than the Histinak system?"
"Older than this age," she said, finally meeting his gaze. "What you call the Hollow Veyra may not be a curse at all. It could be… a fracture. A remnant of the first Flow cycle."
Kael frowned. "You talk like you've seen it."
"I've studied it," she corrected. "And I carry something close enough to understand."
For a moment, her gaze softened — not pity, not warmth, but shared pain.
Then it was gone.
"Again," she ordered.
---
By midday, Kael's body ached. The crystals around the chamber had dimmed from constant drain.
He collapsed to one knee, gasping. "You… you call this teaching?"
"This is survival," she said. "If you can't control your Flow in a chamber, what will you do in a live field?"
"Die spectacularly," he muttered.
She ignored the sarcasm. "Rest. Tomorrow, we begin weapon integration. You'll learn to shape your power through steel."
He nodded weakly, forcing himself to stand.
As he left the chamber, he felt her gaze follow him — sharp, unreadable.
And though he'd never admit it aloud, there was something about her intensity that stirred a strange pull in him — half respect, half irritation.
He liked that she treated him as dangerous instead of fragile. He hated that she was the only one who could stop his power with a touch.
---
Later that evening, Kael sat on the dorm balcony overlooking Valenforge's glowing canals.
Lyra found him there, a warm drink in her hands.
"You've been vanishing lately," she said, sitting beside him. "Training with the Iron Veil?"
Kael nodded. "If that's what you call getting dismantled repeatedly."
"She's famous for it," Lyra said with a small smile. "But… be careful. People say she experimented with unstable Flows in the war. Some say she was cursed too."
Kael glanced at her. "Would explain her interest."
Lyra hesitated, then said quietly, "If it gets too much, you can always talk to me. You don't have to carry everything alone."
Her eyes were so genuine it almost hurt.
Kael looked away, his expression unreadable. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
---
Across the courtyard, Seren Vale leaned against a railing on the opposite tower, watching the two of them.
She didn't smile.
Her reflection in the glass beside her whispered — a perfect mirrored double.
—You envy her.
"No," Seren murmured. "I'm just… curious."
—About him? Or the thing inside him?
"…Both."
---
In the Flow archives below, Veyra Dathis stood before a sealed chamber.
On the wall glowed ancient script — one word pulsing faintly in the old language: Hollowborn.
She whispered under her breath, "You're not the first, Kael Ardyn. But you might be the last."
---
End of Chapter 5