Smoke hung thick over the academy, swallowing the golden glow that once poured through its halls. Students stumbled through the haze, their shouts overlapping with the shrill wail of alarms. The polished floors, once pristine and reflective, were now littered with fragments of glass and burning parchment drifting like dying fireflies.
Kurayami Hikari could hardly hear anything beyond the ringing in his ears. His chest heaved with each ragged breath, and the acrid scent of smoke clung to his uniform. It was only moments ago that he had been standing at the lower ranks of his class, the humiliation still fresh—and now, the world around him was tearing itself apart.
"Everyone out! Move!" a voice bellowed from somewhere in the chaos.
Students surged toward the main corridors, tripping over benches and scattered weapons. Hikari followed, though his movements were slow, dazed, as if his body struggled to accept what his eyes were seeing. The once radiant academy—so majestic, so untouchable—was bleeding fire from its very heart.
Through the shattered windows, he saw smoke coiling upward from the Headmaster's wing, curling into the darkening sky. It wasn't just an explosion. It was something deeper, something older. The air itself felt charged—alive, trembling with power.
A deep rumble rolled through the ground beneath his feet, throwing him off balance. He staggered, catching himself on a broken pillar. Cracks snaked across the floor like veins, pulsing faintly with a dull red glow. The air vibrated, heavy with something ancient, something wrong.
"What is that sound…?" he muttered under his breath, though no one could hear him.
A second quake hit, stronger than before. Statues toppled, the banners of the Nobles ripped apart, and the once-flawless ceiling splintered. The rumbling deepened into a roar that wasn't of collapsing stone—but something alive.
From the heart of the courtyard, the ground erupted.
A fissure tore through the earth, splitting the ornate tiles apart. Flames burst outward in a violent spiral, scattering debris in every direction. Students screamed as the blast threw them backward. Hikari shielded his face from the wave of heat, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Then, from that burning chasm, something began to emerge.
It rose slowly—massive, deliberate, dreadful. At first, all Hikari could see were shadows moving within the smoke, tendrils coiling like serpents, the ground trembling with each pulse. Then came the claws—dark and jagged, digging into the earth as if it were paper. They glowed faintly, lined with crimson veins. A head followed—beastlike, ancient, its horns curling backward, eyes burning like molten gold.
The air rippled with its presence. Students froze in their tracks, their earlier panic melting into sheer terror.
An ancient beast stood in the heart of the Golden Sanctuary Academy. Its roar tore through the heavens, shaking the very foundations of the island.
The creature's body was colossal, covered in scales that shimmered between obsidian and violet, as though feeding on the very shadows that blanketed the sky. Around its form, runes flickered—old, incomplete, and foreign. They were restraints—or they had been, once. Now, they pulsed faintly, fading one by one as if centuries of containment had finally come undone.
And then… there was something else.
Above the creature, suspended in the air, a silhouette stood cloaked in dark mist. Hikari could barely make it out, but the outline was unmistakably human. Whoever it was, they were controlling it—or at least trying to. The creature's every movement responded faintly to the gestures of the figure above it.
"This… this can't be happening…" Hikari whispered, his voice trembling.
Another explosion tore through the side of the main building, and a section of the dormitories collapsed like sand. The sky turned a sickly hue of red as the barrier surrounding the academy flickered violently. Magical wards flared and died in flashes of gold.
Hikari took a step back, clutching his arm to steady himself. He didn't know where to run. His instincts screamed at him to move, but his body refused to obey.
The creature's golden eyes shifted, landing squarely on him. For one dreadful second, he felt his soul freeze. His breath caught. The world narrowed until all he could see were those burning eyes.
The beast roared again, and the air rippled with the force of it. The ground beneath Hikari cracked, threatening to give way.
Then—
"Hikari!"
A familiar voice cut through the chaos.
A flash of movement, a gust of wind, and in the next instant, Master Ryu stood beside him. His expression, usually calm and unreadable, was sharp and urgent. The hem of his cloak whipped in the wind, his eyes glinting with controlled fury.
"What are you doing just standing there? Move!" he barked, grabbing Hikari by the shoulder and pulling him aside just as another blast hit the courtyard.
"Master Ryu… that thing—"
"I know," Ryu cut in. "An ancient beast. Sealed long before the academy was built. Someone's broken the barrier—and they're controlling it."
The older man's gaze darted toward the hovering silhouette. His brow furrowed. "Whoever that is… they knew exactly where to strike."
Students and instructors alike were trying to fight back now, forming circles, casting spells, launching attacks that barely grazed the creature's hide. Their combined power was nothing compared to the enormity before them.
Ryu's jaw tightened. "We can't stay here. The portals will collapse soon."
"But the others—"
"They'll manage. Right now, you'll only get in the way," Ryu said firmly, though his voice softened just slightly. "You've seen enough for one day."
Before Hikari could protest, Ryu raised his hand. Shadows swirled around them, coiling into a sphere of darkness. It pulsed once—twice—and then they were gone, consumed by black mist.
The world bent.
When Hikari's vision cleared, they were standing at the edge of the academy grounds, where the teleportation gates shimmered weakly in the distance. The structures were ancient, carved with runes that hummed with faint energy. Several portals flickered, their surfaces unstable, as if the academy's very magic was unraveling.
Ryu didn't waste a second. He led Hikari toward the nearest active gate, his pace brisk and urgent. The rumbling from behind them grew louder—closer.
Hikari turned once, just long enough to see the academy in flames. The grand spires that once gleamed beneath sunlight were now broken silhouettes against a crimson sky. The banners of white and gold burned, their remnants scattering into ash. Even the great fountain at the central plaza had cracked, water spilling across molten stone.
It was all falling apart.
"Master Ryu…" Hikari's voice broke. "The academy—"
"I know."
The older man didn't look back. His expression hardened as he activated the runes on the gate. Energy surged, wrapping around them in a spiral of violet light.
Then, a deafening roar echoed again—closer than before. The ground split open just meters behind them, fire bursting through. The ancient beast's claws tore through the remains of the outer walls, its gaze snapping toward them.
"Not today," Ryu muttered under his breath.
He pushed Hikari through the portal first. "Go!"
The world twisted once more.
For a fleeting moment, Hikari saw the gate beginning to collapse—the stone frame cracking, the light dimming. He reached out instinctively, shouting Ryu's name—
—and then everything went white.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing on solid ground again. The portal behind him flickered once, twice, then shattered into nothing. Fragments of violet energy scattered like dying stars before fading completely.
Master Ryu appeared a heartbeat later, stumbling slightly from the exertion. He straightened, his expression grim, eyes fixed on the distant glow where the academy once stood. Even from here, they could still see the rising pillar of smoke.
The Golden Sanctuary Academy—an institution revered for centuries, a place where legends were forged—was gone.
The night swallowed the horizon.
Hikari stood in silence beside Ryu, his mind blank, his heart hollow. The reality of what had just happened refused to sink in. The laughter, the training, the whispers, the rivalry—it had all been wiped away in an instant.
Ryu closed his eyes briefly, the faintest sigh escaping his lips. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way," he murmured.
The air was still for a long time, the world eerily quiet. Only the wind moved, carrying with it faint embers that glowed against the night.