Oh damn... I never thought the trail would be so huge! Jogging was initially a bad decision. But how come Silas isn't tired!? He is also jogging from the start and still has no sweat on his face. I stopped to catch my breath before I passed out, but the man in front of me did not put an end to mocking me at any chance he got.
"Quit taking breaks, firebreather, and continue running or you'll be too weak and pathetic," he says, and before anger could burst out, I felt sudden nausea and had the urge to vomit. The energy came out of nowhere, and I ran to the nearest tree and dumped all the contents I had from last night, basically all the rum I had. I felt my hair moving, and I just tilted my neck a bit and saw Silas grabbing my hair in his fist. "There is no way you'd become stronger if you kept up with this." Silas still insults me. I felt like crying, and so I barked back at him even though I was near passing out.
"Just shut up! I've had enough of your taunts ever since you started to teach me. Can't you be a little gentler? I am fucking trying, but my body isn't built the way like yours or any other person in this realm," I say and try to go for the throw up again, but thankfully it never came. I gagged at the way my jaw hurt from the sudden pull. "Your body was made like us, Kaya. You're one of us. You have potential, like all of us. You can do this. We all know it very well and have no doubt," he says, and his change of tone and words make me nearly laugh.
"Shut your mouth and get up. We have five more laps to run," Silas says and takes off. I groan loudly and try to get back up after him. Suddenly, my mind turns hazy, and everything around me turns black. "Where am I?" I say, looking around. "Come... To Me..." a voice says, and I turn around and see a deep blue lake behind me. The voice was calling out to me from under the water. "Come..." a soft, melodious voice says, and I slowly walk towards the lake. "Kaya, come... come kaya..." the voice was desperate. I was about to take a step into the water, but there was a shrill voice entering through the bliss in my mind and shaking me to the core. I was brought back. "Kaya?" Silas was standing in front of me, grabbing me by my arms. I look up at him in confusion. What had happened?
"What's going on? Why were you going to the lake? I thought you didn't know how to swim?" he said, and I looked at the words, taking in his words. "I can't swim. Why was I in here?" I asked him, or rather myself. My memory became foggy and painful as I tried to remember what I was trying to do. "Come on, let's get you back to your quarters," he said, and I walked back with him while he kept all his eyes on my movements. I guess he had somehow mind-linked Selene into coming to get me, as she was standing outside the building and handed me over to him. "Get her some rest. Don't let her come to classes today if needed," he said to her, but I was against the idea. "No, I will take the classes today. I don't need any rest." I say, and she takes me inside, nodding while looking back at Silas. They are both mind-linking each other or something.
"Come on, let's get ready and then head for breakfast, or we'll be late for classes," Selene said, and I nodded slowly. We then head inside the building, and I walk towards my room with confusion, but Selene stops me. "You sure, Kaya? You don't want to get some rest for today? I can cover all the lectures for you if you want," she asks. "No, I suppose not, what would I do all day cooped up in my room? I want to attend the classes," I say, and she smiles.
--
I tightened the belt around my waist and clipped my knives in it as the three of us were ready to head out for the classes, though I couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier when we were jogging. Was she under some sort of control? I need to report every strange thing happening to her to Headmaster Orion.
Lucien has a book in his hand, and he's flipping through the pages, looking like he has no interest in where we're going, while Abex and I are looking around the area and nodding at the students who greet us.
As we walk past the hall which connects the five different quadrants of the school, the teaching, hostel, council, practical ground, and library, we stop right in the middle, where the path splits in different directions.
"You go to the practical grounds. I'll go to the library and see if everything is working. Lucien, you go to the hostel quadrant. We'll meet at the main teaching gate," I say, and they nod before we part ways.
On my way, I notice new and old students roaming around, either looking lost or excited to be back. The classes had started a week ago, but a lot of students have arrived this week, and the place looks packed with students.
I walk toward the practical grounds following the daily routine, and I notice a few students practising their abilities and smile at how raw their skills still are. They have a long way to go, and it reminded me of Kaya. By the way, it's time for the class. Where is she?
When I arrive at the training arena, the weapons and props are neatly stacked on the side, and the training dummies are placed in a perfect line. I nod approvingly and walk around, inspecting everything. As expected from the students.
I felt tingling in my head. It was a message from Lucien.
"Found your little firecracker at the dorms. She looks lost. Want me to bring her to you?"
I grin at the name he gave Kaya and reply:
"Yeah. I'll be in the training grounds. Don't scare her. And bring her quickly, the students are here." A few minutes later, Lucien walks in with Kaya beside him. Her eyes are wide as she looks at me, mentally readying herself to get scolded by me. "Make sure you people are not late next time. I maintain discipline and expect my students to follow it too," I said, and as she took her place, I started the session.
I had forgotten about other students as my mind only focused on her. She was practising with selene and it was like every time I think about her, I run into the conversation from the morning. I don't know why it's all happening, but I am a bit afraid for her. She is new to this and being granted an anabolic element, I am scared what if she goes out of control. But that is the reason we were called here to train her. I was so out of my mind that I missed her slipping on her step and was about to fall, but luckily, I was quicker and fetched my shadows to catch her and prevent her from injuring herself. She knew and quickly turned around to meet me.
--
As I was practising with selene my adrenaline was a bit better from the running I had done in the morning. But of course, I was still lacking at many things; I missed my step and slipped. Before I could grab for selene who had offered me her hand and would fall to the ground, there was a barrier around me of black smoke, and I didn't have to think. I knew at once it was Silas's shadows that had protected me from falling to the ground. My head turned way faster than me stabilizing myself to stand properly, and I looked at him to find him already watching me with an intense look.
He came towards us, and getting awkward from the long staring, I broke the contact first, and he grabbed the staff from selene who had picked mine as well, and he threw it towards me, and I caught it without fail, and he raised his brow in curiosity. "This is the next lesson from where we'll start. You'll be learning to control your power and yourself. This isn't just about fighting," he smoothly positions himself. "Lesson one, stance."
I stood awkwardly, the staff too big for my frame.
"Spread your legs a bit. Keep them shoulder-width apart," he instruct knowing I was struggling.
I adjust, still unsure if my position was correct.
"Bend your knees slightly. Hold the staff like this," he showed me, and I mimicked him, my grip too tight.
"Relax your hands. You're not strangling it," he said sarcastically, making me pout. I gently release the grip, and he suddenly speaks.
"There. That's better."
I finally look up at him, my shoulders slightly less tense.
"We'll start with some basic moves. Nothing intense. Just follow my lead."
As he demonstrated, I followed. My movements were a bit clumsy, but I was determined. Though I wasn't sure why he was chill all the time, as if he was in a good mood, otherwise he'd scream my head off. We had been practising for about an hour, I was sweating, and my breathing became too hard. I was a bit exhausted, but the energy didn't force me to stop, and so I didn't give up. I was also surprised at how calm he was and didnt said a word to me about practising wrongly. He just carried on, and judging by his looks, he could go for 5 or 6 hours straight without taking a break.
But unfortunately, I got distracted, making my grip sloppy, and Silas noticed it and threw away his staff. "Let's take a break here, everyone!" he said, and everyone stopped in the room to get some rest or to regain their energy. Silas threw me a water bottle, and I caught it confidently.
"You did well for your first time," he said.
"Really?" I ask, surprised. He wasn't the one to give compliments.
"Yeah. You didn't cry or run off. That's a win in my book."
I rolled my eyes, but a hint of a smile came over my face, and unfortunately, he saw it.
"I want to do better," I suddenly say after a pause. "I don't want to be weak anymore."
He nods, serious now. "Then keep showing up. That's how you get stronger."
I held his gaze for a moment before nodding. And that's when the bell ring dismissing us, and Silas greeted everyone before leaving the training room.
"Come on, it's time for our next class, selene said, and we both went to our next class. On our way, I suddenly bumped into someone as I was lost in the thoughts of early morning jogging with Silas.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" I apologised to the girl and looked carefully at her, remembering that it was the same girl whom youna was talking about, the one who didn't have powers like me. I took pity on her at how afraid she looked when bumping into me. I think she is too traumatised from all the gossip and bullying she suffered from. "No worries, it's fine. I'm used to it anyway," she said and walked away in the other direction. I look at Selene to see that she rolls her eyes before entering the classroom, and, finding it confusing, I follow her. "Selene, I saw how you rolled your eyes. Don't you like her?" I asked, and she sighed. "No kaya it's just I don't hate her or have anything against her. If she is getting bullied, why doesn't she report these incidents to the authorities? Why is she letting them push her?" she says. "What if she is scared to get involved in the mess with the high-ranked students and endanger her admission?" I say, but she stays silent. "Hmm, that may be it, I suppose...", Selene shrugs off.
"Hey, guys! I saved you guys seats!", youna yells out, catching our attention and grinning at her. We make way towards her and settle into our seats. Soon professor Iviz comes to the class and starts his lecture.
"Good morning, everybody. Today's lesson covers the War of the Crimson Eclipse, the most devastating conflict in Aradox's history, which occurred three centuries ago." Professor Iviz darkens the entire lecture hall, and suddenly, the war events appear in front of the students. "Ok, before I start my lecture, you guys must take detailed notes on the strategies and spells that were used, including the consequences and effects that arose during the war, as we will be holding debates after every lecture, and you will be marked on these to test your intelligence.
We all opened our notebooks and began jotting down every smallest detail which will be important for the debate.
Professor taps the map, zooming in on a small coastal region, "The war didn't begin with armies. It began here, in the village of Greymere, with disappearances. Three mages lost their powers overnight. Then seven more. The local healers thought it was a plague. The Council thought it was mass hysteria. By the time they paid attention, Archmagus Malachar had drained forty-seven villages. Nearly eight thousand people were rendered completely powerless. Husks. Still alive, still breathing, but stripped of the very essence that made them who they were.
He summoned an illusion of a distinguished man in academic robes. "Archmagus Malachar taught in this very building. He wrote your textbooks. Then he discovered he could steal other mages' powers to extend his own life. The first time, he told himself it was an accident. The second is a necessity. By the third..." The illusion's eyes turned void-black. "He simply wanted more."
A student raised her hand. "Why didn't anyone stop him?"
"Because he was careful. For two years, he drained village mages, commoners the Council ignored, while attending faculty meetings and smiling at colleagues. By the time we noticed, he'd consumed eight thousand powers and created the Void Disciples from his victims' twisted essence."
Professor Iviz continued, "Then came Lumindral. During the Festival of Lights, he drained our capital, one hundred thousand people in a single night. They thought the darkening sky was part of the celebration."
The map showed battles across the realm. "The Four Elemental Orders fought separately and fell separately. At Shattered Peaks, Malachar reversed two thousand earth mages' connection to their element. They became stone statues. Some still stand in those mountains."
"That's when Archmage Seraphine proposed heresy: combining elements. For eight hundred years, mixing disciplines was forbidden. But desperation wins arguments. The Prismatic Guard was born, warriors who could wield multiple elements, though one in three died during training."
He conjured armoured figures wreathed in multicoloured energy. "Two hundred Prismatic Knights held Serpent's Pass for forty days against twelve thousand Void Disciples. They ate their boots when food ran out. On the final day, three survivors collapsed the pass on themselves and the enemy, buying time for refugees to escape."
A long pause. "The songs call it glorious. It was three young people choosing to be buried alive so others might live. Eventually, Seraphine assembled a coalition, even former enemies who'd been at war for decades. They couldn't defeat Malachar directly; he'd grown too powerful. He was preparing to drain the planet's elemental core itself, which would kill everything but make him a god."
The hall went completely silent.
"Seraphine proposed the Sundering Sacrifice. Two hundred warriors would assault his floating fortress. Fifty mages would create a prison of pure elemental energy, but maintaining it required they remain in eternal stasis, forever channelling their life force into the spell."
"Seven hundred volunteered for the fifty positions."
The students stared in silence.
"The assault force fought through Nullhold's defences. By the time they reached Malachar, only sixty-three remained. The fifty entered and began the spell." His voice dropped. "Witnesses said they started screaming within seconds. Their bodies were torn apart from magical strain. One begged Seraphine to kill them rather than continue. She refused—if even one faltered, the spell would fail."
He conjured an image of a sphere of crystallised energy. "While Malachar was distracted by the assault force's final desperate attack, the prison closed around him. Seraphine cast one last spell to banish the entire fortress to the Fractured Void—a pocket dimension beyond normal space. It burned out her connection to magic. She lived another forty years as a powerless civilian."
A student finally spoke. "But we won, didn't we?"
"We survived," Iviz corrected. "Three hundred thousand mages dead or drained. Kingdoms reduced to ash. And those fifty heroes? They're still there, still frozen in that moment, still suffering three centuries later. The spell can't be broken without releasing Malachar."
"Every year, the Council verifies the prison holds. Every year, we confirm their torment continues. Their descendants suffer 'bloodline drain', permanently reduced magical potential because their ancestors' power still feeds the containment spell."
A boy asked quietly, "Is he still alive in there?"
"Oh yes. Frozen, aware, unable to move or die. Trapped at his worst moment forever. Perhaps that's its own kind of hell."
Iviz picked up a small crystal. "This was Seraphine's. A memory stone containing the moment she ordered the Sundering Sacrifice, when she heard them start screaming. She kept it with her always, forcing herself to remember what her choices cost."
He met their eyes. "Malachar began with a small compromise, just one stolen power, he told himself. That compromise became a civilisation-ending catastrophe. He was once a student here, sitting where you sit now. So was Seraphine. The difference wasn't power, it was choice."
One girl lingered. "Professor, did you ever see the prison?"
Iviz's expression grew distant. "Once, as a young man. I stood at the boundary and felt their suffering radiating like heat from a forge. And I realised I would have made the same choice Seraphine did. That terrified me more than any monster."