Chapter 5: Sin Manifestation
It started small.
A flicker.
A shadow where there shouldn't be one.
A whisper of heat beneath the skin.
Then it grew.
Students began changing.
Not dramatically at first—but noticeably.
Eyes that glowed faintly in the dark.
Voices that carried too far.
Movements that felt… wrong.
Kael noticed it during training.
The girl he had fought before moved differently now—faster, sharper.
Riven's shadows didn't just cling to him anymore.
They listened.
"Your sin is waking up," the silver-eyed girl said.
Kael flexed his fingers. "Feels more like it's trying to break out."
"That too."
He glanced at her. "Yours?"
She hesitated.
Then—"Control."
"That's not a sin."
Her expression didn't change. "Everything here is."
Before he could ask more—
A scream cut through the hall.
Sharp. Sudden.
Everyone turned.
A boy stood at the center, clutching his head, his body shaking violently.
"I can't—make it stop—!"
Dark energy spilled from him—wild, uncontrolled.
The air distorted.
Cracked.
Students backed away—
Too late.
The energy burst outward.
Violent.
Unstable.
It threw several people off their feet, slamming them into walls.
Kael barely managed to stay standing.
"Instructor—!"
But Veyr didn't move.
He just watched.
The boy collapsed moments later, the energy fading as quickly as it had come.
Silence.
Then Veyr spoke.
"This is what happens," he said calmly, "when you lack control."
No one argued.
No one moved.
"Clean it up."
That was it.
No comfort.
No concern.
Just… a lesson.
Kael stared at the boy, unmoving on the ground.
And for the first time—
He wondered if power here was worth the cost.
Or it was just a facade that the academy put up to lure students for something more sinister.