Night came early on the Tower's Reach. Clouds smothered the stars, and the wind dragged cold air across the deck like a warning. The students gathered again, quieter this time, each of them knowing tonight would hurt.
Kael stood near the railing, fingers curled loosely against the wood. He wasn't afraid. Not really. The Frost Codex hummed faintly in the back of his mind, not with personality, but with readiness — as if it knew what came next.
Ovrin emerged from below deck, robe edges snapping in the wind.
"Imprinting a rune is simple," he said, "but not gentle."
He raised his hand. Mana gathered — smoother than any student could manage — and a clear blue rune flickered above his palm.
"This symbol will become part of your core. When you shape mana into a rune, you use thought. When you imprint, you use will."
He let the rune dissolve.
"You will feel heat. Cold. Pressure. Pain. If your mind breaks, there will be nothing I can do."
A few students shuffled nervously. Kael didn't move.
"Sit," Ovrin ordered.
They sat.
"Close your eyes."
Kael obeyed. The deck felt solid beneath him, the wind cool on his face.
"Form the rune you created earlier," Ovrin said.
Kael guided mana into his palm. The cold gathered fast — too fast. He slowed the flow, careful, deliberate. A sharp, clear snow-blue line formed in the darkness behind his eyelids, his rune shape hovering in his inner vision.
Good.
Now came the hard part.
"Pull it inward," Ovrin said. "Bring the rune into your chest."
Kael inhaled. He tugged at the mana thread. The rune followed — slowly, reluctantly — like dragging something through heavy water.
A faint ache bloomed under his ribs.
Halfway there.
The moment the rune touched the edge of his chest, pain sparked. Not sharp, not stabbing — more like someone pressing a burning brand against bone.
Kael gritted his teeth.
[IMPRINT PROGRESS: 42%][PAIN LEVEL: MODERATE][NO RISK DETECTED]
The Codex tracked everything silently.
He kept going.
When the rune finally reached his core — the spot behind his heart where mana gathered — a cold wave surged through him, wiping away the heat.
He almost gasped.
The rune pressed deeper.
The pain sharpened.
His heartbeat stuttered once.
Eiden, sitting nearby, let out a choked sound of pain. Aria Vale bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Someone farther back whimpered.
Kael focused only on the cold.
The rune flared — painfully bright — and then sank into him completely.
The moment it locked in place, the pain vanished. Melted away like snow under sun.
A hollow, ringing quiet filled his body.
Then—
A soft pulse.A second pulse.Mana opened like a new vein.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
He didn't move, didn't celebrate, didn't speak. But something in him had changed — a quiet pressure behind the heart, steady and solid.
He had a core now. A real one.
Ovrin's footsteps approached.
"Show me your breath," the Magister said.
Kael inhaled. The air around his lips misted faintly, a thin breath of frost that faded quickly.
Ovrin studied it for a moment.
"…Good," he said finally. "Very good."
Another student groaned in pain. Someone else had fainted. Eiden lay on his back, breathing hard.
But Kael?Kael felt… clearer.
The Codex flickered:
[RUNE IMPRINT COMPLETE][STAGE CONFIRMED: APPRENTICE — FIRST CIRCLE][MANA RESERVES: +20%][CONTROL: +1][SEALS: 12/12]
Then, a final small line:
[A tiny portion of a seal vibrates… but does not unlock.]
Kael blinked. That was new.
The Codex seemed to react — not by unlocking anything, but by acknowledging the imprint.
Progress.Not loud.Not dramatic.But real.
Ovrin clapped once, sharply.
"Those who succeeded are now true apprentices," he announced. "Rest. Tomorrow, we begin shaping your first spell."
Eiden groaned. Aria sat quietly, hands trembling from the aftershock.
Kael stood.
His legs felt steady. His breathing calm.
The sea wind brushed his face, cold and clean. For the first time, Kael felt like the cold inside him resonated with something beyond the ship — something vast and distant.
He didn't fear it.
He understood it.
He was becoming what he needed to be.
He turned toward the cabin, ready for sleep.The path has begun