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Auretria had been dragged through the academy hallways before, but never like this.
Instructor Malien didn't even try to hide his disgust as he hauled her toward the central tower, binding spells wrapped tight around her wrists. Students clustered near doors and stairwells, whispering like a chorus of insects.
"There she goes again…"
"Is she cursed?"
"Is that why the air feels wrong tonight?"
Auretria's jaw clenched.
If only they had seen what she saw.
If only they had heard the voice.
If only anyone believed her.
But the hidden chamber beneath the academy had sealed itself behind her, erasing every trace.
Again.
The Headmaster's Tower
The doors slammed open with a gust of cold air.
Headmaster Ravel's office was dim except for the floating lanterns circling the ceiling like silent moons. Ravel himself stood with his back turned, tall and severe, his silver hair tied into a precise knot.
Malien threw Auretria forward.
"She caused a disturbance in the restricted levels. Again."
Auretria stumbled but didn't fall. Aether fluttered inside her chest with the same uneasy rhythm as a heartbeat.
The Headmaster turned slowly.
His eyes were sharp — too sharp. Like a man who saw far more than he let on.
"Explain," he said simply.
Auretria swallowed.
"There's a hidden room under the academy. I followed a voice there—"
Malien scoffed loudly.
"A voice. Of course."
Auretria glared at him. "I'm not lying."
The Headmaster lifted a hand and Malien fell silent instantly.
"Continue."
Auretria tried to calm her breath. "There was a chamber full of mirrors. They showed… things. Different versions of me. And—"
She hesitated.
How did she explain the fog creature? The entity that knew her name? The revelations?
"They told me I was sealed," she said quietly. "That my power was suppressed."
A long silence stretched through the room.
Then—
"Child," Ravel said softly, "Aether is dangerous. It breaks those who cannot control it. You have a history of hallucinations under strain."
Auretria's blood ran cold.
"That wasn't a hallucination."
Malien stepped forward, triumphant. "Her power spikes. She panics. She imagines threats. Classic Aether instability."
Auretria felt the insult physically — sharp, cutting.
"I'm not unstable!"
Malien's lip curled. "Your outburst tonight proves otherwise."
"Enough," Ravel snapped.
The Headmaster walked toward her, his steps slow and deliberate.
"Auretria. You said you sensed a voice."
"Yes."
"Describe it."
She did — but his expression didn't change.
Instead, he cast a long, intricate spell over her, symbols glowing blue around his fingertips as he scanned her aura. Auretria held still, heart pounding, as the magic swept over her like cold wind.
Finally, he lowered his hand.
"There are… disturbances in your Aether," he said.
Malien stiffened. "Headmaster—"
"Not instability," Ravel cut in. "Interference."
Auretria's breath caught.
He believed her.
For the first time in years, someone believed her.
Ravel folded his arms. "You may leave. I will investigate the lower levels myself."
Malien opened his mouth to protest, but the Headmaster's glare silenced him instantly.
The bindings around Auretria's wrists fell away.
She blinked in shock — then bowed quickly and stepped back toward the door.
Halfway there, Ravel called out softly:
"Auretria."
She turned.
His expression was unreadable.
"Do not wander tonight," he said. "If something is calling you… it may not be done yet."
Her heart tightened.
Because she knew he was right.
The thing in the dark had whispered like it was still watching.
The Return to the Dorms
Auretria walked through the empty corridors alone. The stone floors felt colder than usual, the torches dimmer. Every shadow seemed deeper, heavier, almost alive.
When she reached the dormitory door, she paused.
Arienne lay asleep, breathing softly — completely unaware of the chaos beneath the academy.
Auretria slipped into her bed quietly. For a moment, she thought she could rest.
But when she closed her eyes—
She felt it again.
A pulse.
Like a heartbeat beneath her own.
Thump.
Her eyes snapped open.
Thump.
Her Aether surged wildly, no longer whispering but clawing at the inside of her chest.
The cage inside her was cracking.
She clutched her shirt, gasping silently.
Something hot and golden ran through her veins, searing and cold at the same time.
"I thought… I sealed this… years ago…"
Whose voice was that?
Not her own.
Cold realization spread.
That wasn't a thought.
It was an old memory.
A voice from her childhood — she recognized it now.
Her mother's voice.
Auretria sat up, trembling.
Her mother had sealed her Aether.
Not to protect her —
But to restrain her.
To hide her.
To weaken her.
Auretria bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
Why?
Why would her own parents do that?
Aether swirled violently in answer, as if her rage was fueling it.
The room pulsed gold.
"Auretria…?"
Arienne stirred.
Auretria forced the glow to dim.
"I'm fine," she whispered, maybe too quickly.
Arienne blinked sleepily. "You're glowing."
Auretria's stomach dropped. "It's nothing. Go back to sleep."
Arienne hesitated — but trusted her enough not to ask more and settled back down.
Auretria waited until she heard soft breathing again.
Then she slipped out of the room.
She couldn't stay here.
Not with her power surging out of control.
Not with the shadows whispering her name.
She needed air.
She needed answers.
And the only place quiet enough to think was—
The Moon Garden
The academy's Moon Garden was silent, illuminated by silver moonlight and faintly glowing lotus flowers floating across a shallow pond.
Auretria walked to the center, kneeling by the water.
Her reflection looked… strange.
Her eyes glowed faintly gold. Not blue.
Her hair shimmered brighter than moonlight.
"That's not normal…"
She touched the water, and ripples formed — but her reflection didn't move.
Auretria froze.
Her reflection smiled.
She did not.
"What—"
The reflection's voice echoed from the water like a whisper beneath the surface.
"Little starlight…"
Auretria shoved herself backward.
The water darkened, swirling into a shadowy vortex. The lotus blossoms flickered like dying candles. Cold wind slashed through the garden.
The fog-creature's voice filled her ears.
"You cannot run from us. You opened the door. You woke what sleeps beneath."
Auretria scrambled to stand.
"I didn't wake anything! Let me go!"
The water churned violently. From the center of the pond, something began rising — a shape of fog and darkness, taller than before, its form sharper, almost human.
Auretria's heart hammered as she stepped back.
"Stay away—"
But the fog surged forward.
A tendril lashed out, slamming into her chest and hurling her into a pillar. Pain shot through her spine.
She coughed, choking on air.
The creature drifted closer.
"You cannot deny what you are. You cannot deny what was sealed inside you."
"I'm not your—"
She didn't finish.
The creature lunged.
Auretria raised her hands instinctively—
And the world exploded with gold.
The Awakening
Aether burst from her in a blinding wave, forming a dome of living starlight. The creature screeched as the energy burned into its foggy limbs.
The garden trembled.
Glass shattered.
Branches cracked.
Auretria screamed — not in fear, but in pain — as the power tore through her veins, brighter and sharper than ever before. The cage inside her snapped open.
Chains broke.
Fire roared inside her chest.
The creature retreated, its form dissolving into smoke.
"You are unsealing…" it hissed. "…too soon…"
The garden rippled with silence as the shadow dissolved into the air.
Auretria collapsed to her knees, gasping, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
The glow faded.
The night stilled.
And for several long moments, she could only breathe.
The Partial Resolution
Footsteps thundered toward the garden.
Instructor Malien.
Other teachers.
Students gathering behind them.
Auretria tried to stand — but her legs buckled. Someone caught her before she hit the ground.
The Headmaster.
His eyes widened as he saw the destruction.
"By the gods…" he whispered. "Aether manifestation… unsealed Aether."
Auretria clung weakly to his sleeve.
"Headmaster," she whispered, voice trembling, "something woke up. And it's coming back."
Ravel's face darkened.
"I know," he said softly. "And now… we may not have much time left."
Behind him, Malien stared in horror.
"Aether of that magnitude— she could level the academy—"
Auretria's vision blurred.
She whispered the last thing she remembered hearing:
"It said… the world will break… for me…"
Her body went limp.
The Headmaster caught her before she fell.
"Get the healers," he ordered sharply. "Now."
As the instructors rushed into chaos—
The moonlight glinted off the pond.
And beneath the water, unseen by all…
something stirred again.
Something waiting.