After class, the students spilled out into the courtyard. Nova wanted nothing more than to disappear into the crowd, maybe hide behind one of the stone pillars, or pretend she had somewhere urgent to be. But before she could slip away, Mira was already approaching.
The Emberfall prodigy moved with the confidence of someone who had never doubted her own power. Her cloak flickered with faint heat, as if even the fabric responded to her intensity.
"Open Circle and unstable resonance?" Mira said, her smile sweet but sharp enough to cut. "You're going to have a rough time here."
Nova's throat tightened. "I… I'm just trying—"
"That's the problem," Mira interrupted. "Trying isn't enough at Arclight."
Kael stepped between them before Nova could shrink any further. "Leave her alone."
Mira rolled her eyes. "Stoneveil knight to the rescue. How adorable."
She turned on her heel, cloak swaying like a flame in the wind, and walked away without waiting for a response.
Kael exhaled and looked at Nova. "Ignore her. Emberfall types think they own the world."
Nova tried to smile, but the familiar tingling in her hand returned — stronger than ever. Not a flutter. Not a spark.
A push.
As if something inside her was demanding to be seen.
She slowly opened her hand.
A point of light appeared.
But this time… it didn't flicker. It didn't vanish. It hovered above her palm, steady and bright, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Kael's eyes widened. "Nova… that's not normal resonance."
Nova swallowed hard. "What does that mean?"
Before Kael could answer, a voice spoke behind them — calm, deep, and unmistakably authoritative.
"It means," the man said, "that you carry something this school hasn't seen in years."
Nova turned.
A tall figure in a dark mantle stood there, the air around him subtly bending with power. His armband glowed with a symbol she had only heard whispers about:
A circle — cracked open — with light leaking from the fractures.
The Broken Circle.
The rank of a master.
"Welcome to Arclight, Nova Lyris," he said. His gaze was steady, almost knowing. "It seems your story… is just beginning."