The murmurs hadn’t stopped.

  By dawn, Aeon's name had already passed through every corridor, whispered between scrolls, embroidered in gossip, and echoed across dorm rooms. No first-year had ever ended a sanctioned duel so soundlessly—and with no visible use of magic.

  Even the headmaster, Archon Viran, had paused during his morning meditation, sensing the fracture.

  Astraedus Academy – Headmaster’s Observatory

  High in the ethereal observatory, Archon Viran (the aged yet sharp-eyed headmaster cloaked in robes of shifting constellations) stood beside a pool of starlit essence.

  "So, the Flame flickers," he murmured. “The prophecy may yet awaken.”

  Behind him, Thalor Virelios (Aeon’s father – a noble figure with regal features, wrapped in a high military uniform edged in golden threads) appeared through a warp-gate.

  “I saw the duel,” Thalor said calmly. “It has begun.”

  Viran turned. “And Isara?”

  “She felt it before I did,” Thalor said with a small, amused sigh. “Our son doesn’t realize the depth of what he holds.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Elsewhere – Academy Library

  Lysira Caelwyn (sharp, brilliant, and mysterious—with flowing silver hair and crimson eyes) sat cross-legged amidst floating books. Her fingers glided over a tome that vibrated with forbidden knowledge.

  “Aeon… what are you truly hiding?” she whispered, placing her palm over a page marked with the sigil of ancient origin gods.

  Darion Zepharynx and Elian Myrrhos—meanwhile—argued near the library entrance.

  “He dodged like the spear wasn’t even real!” Darion (a heavy-built student with glowing amber eyes and a love for martial tradition) exclaimed.

  Elian (a thinner boy, clever with illusion magic and charm, often sarcastic) shrugged. “Or maybe he’s just not from around here…”

  Lucen Draeven (quiet, bookish, always watching) sat nearby, his pen jotting every whisper. “I saw his eyes. He knew more than he let on. This… wasn’t chance.”

  Deep Within the Earth – Ritual Chambers

  Zelphira Dyvra stood before the sarcophagus now pulsing violently. Her shadow stretched unnaturally behind her.

  “He remembers,” she muttered. “Which means… Vael will act.”

  Myris Velstra stepped beside her, holding a vial of soul-ink.

  “We need to break the wards of Astraedus. He must return to the fold.”

  Aeon's Dormitory – Midnight

  Aeon stared into the mirror. Not at his face, but at something deeper. Something behind the glass.

  A voice echoed.

  "Why do you still wear their skin? You know who you are."

  He blinked.

  “Because I chose to walk.”

  From beneath his bed, a glyph-etched scroll began to pulse. Unbeknownst to him, it had activated from his duel—a latent key reacting to his true self.

  In the walls, ancient gears turned. Somewhere beneath the academy… a gate began to open.