✦ Phase 1 – Kalidor: The First Fracture
What he saw wasn't unfamiliar…He was used to slanted glances, whispered sidelines, and the kind of silence that hangs like spiderwebs between corridors.
But what he wasn't used to…Was seeing something like lostness in her eyes.
Alyana.
A name he hadn't uttered in weeks.Not out of stubbornness,Nor denial…But because he knew: if he spoke it, it would become a truth he couldn't run from.
He saw her yesterday—from afar…She was sliding her finger across the pages of her book,But her eyes didn't move.Anyone might have thought she was studying,But Kalidor recognized the look.
The look of someone trying to convince themselves of something… after the ground beneath them had shifted.
He hadn't asked anything from her.He never tried to share her spotlight.Never tried to compete,Not even to rise to her level.
He had chosen to stay distant—Not because he lacked the capability,But because he believed that distance… would protect her.
"When she doesn't see me, she doesn't feel the need to compare.When I disappear, no one can use me against her."
That had been enough for him.
But now…
The girl who used to dazzle her instructors…Was stumbling over a basic incantation.Missing her classes…And going quiet for long stretches.
"Not because I failed… but because my shadow ruined her light."
He stood by the old stone wall,Where the morning mud clung beneath one's feet.
He remembered how he used to train alone…Away from the trainers' eyes.How he tested spells in silence.And how he chose deliberate failure,To keep himself out of the circles of attention.
"But now… I haven't protected anyone.Instead, I caused the one I wanted to protect… to be harmed."
He pressed his hand against the wall.As if searching for balance.As if contemplating breaking his habit.
But he didn't move.Not yet.
He just needed one reason…Not to win.But to ensure no one else would fall because of him.
✦ Phase 2 – Lisa: When I'm Not a Shadow
She sat at the edge of the corridor,flipping her wooden sword with one hand,and in the other… a piece of charcoal, sketching on the stone as if she forgot each time.
When he passed by,she didn't lift her head.
But she said, without looking:
"You know…it's not fair to spend your life hiding yourself…then blame others for not seeing you."
He didn't respond.But his steps slowed.
She added, as she drew an unfinished circle:
"I'm not asking you to show your strength,or to respond to rumors,or to impress your sister.Just…stop punishing yourself on behalf of the world."
Finally, he turned toward her.His eyes were empty…But Lisa knew well the difference between emptiness… and the wave that comes before the explosion.
He took a step closer.He said, voice cracked but steady:
"When I'm not her equal,I become a burden.And when I prove myself…I become a threat."
He slowly clenched his fist,as if pain gathered in his joints.
Lisa answered calmly:
"Sometimes, being something on your own…is harsher than being a shadow or a rival.But…that's what makes your existence necessary."
They stood in silence for a moment.
She didn't try to come closer,and he didn't ask her to stay.
But when he began to walk away,she said, still not looking:
"Your sister… doesn't need a hero.She just needs to know you haven't forgotten you're her brother."
✦ Phase 3 – Talia: The Unspoken Choice
She sat on an overturned wooden barrel,playing with a small knife,tossing it into the air and catching it with her fingertips.Once… twice… three times.
Then suddenly, she stopped,and said loudly, without looking back:
"You know I'm here, right?You walk like a ghost… but the ground doesn't lie."
His steps hesitated,then he emerged from the shadows,silent as always,his eyes carrying a weariness that wasn't of the body.
Talia looked at him,then jumped down from the barrel,standing directly in front of him.
She said, as she sheathed the knife:
"I won't tell you to fight.And I won't tell you to defend yourself.Because I know you better than that."
"You don't need a reason to stay…You just need to choose to stay."
He didn't answer.
But his face flinched for a moment,as if her words had touched something very hidden.
She smiled faintly,and said, looking at the gray building behind him:
"You're free, Kalidor.But… if you choose to leave,don't ask me to move on like nothing happened."
"I'll do everything I can to make sure you're not expelled.Whatever you choose…I'll follow you."
Then she turned,and walked away calmly,without waiting for a single word from him.
But he stood there,watching her back retreat,and feeling a new weight in his chest…A weight not against her… but for her.
✦ Phase 4 – Lynn: Words Never Said to Anyone
She sat alone,on the edge of the inner window,resting her head against the glass,watching the courtyard from afar.
Behind her, careful footsteps echoed.She turned...It was Kalidor.
He didn't approach.
He remained standing there,as if the space refused to let him in,even though no one had stopped him.
She spoke softly, without looking at him:
"Sometimes…it's like you don't realize how much your silence bothers her."
Silence.
He stepped forward halfway.
He said:
"She didn't say anything.She didn't even look me in the eye."
Lynn smiled faintly with a touch of irony,then turned to face him,her gray eyes like a gentle storm.
"She doesn't speak… because she doesn't know what to say.And because she's young,she assumes everyone she loves must be great from the start."
"When you were away… she mentioned you often.But now, she doesn't know how to say it.Especially after people started talking."
He hesitated, then asked:
"So… do you think she still considers me her brother?"
Lynn answered firmly:
"Don't think.Know."
She looked outside,and added in a soft voice:
"Sometimes…she wishes she were me.That I were her sister… not you."
"But she only says that because she doesn't know how much pain it takesto be as silent as you."
He didn't answer.
And before he left,Lynn added in a near whisper:
"She… isn't as strong as everyone thinks.And you're not as weak as you let yourself believe."
Then silence settled,until the whole corridor seemed to stop breathing.
✦ Phase 5 – Alyana: A Word That Didn't Belong
The room was still.No sound but the scratch of her pen drawing something unclear on the paper.
She sat on the floor,beside her bed,her brow furrowed as if solving a problem with no solution.
She suddenly said, without looking up:
"Lynn… do you think I was harsh?"
Lynn, sitting at the edge of the bed reading,closed her book slowly.
She didn't answer right away.
She moved beside her, sat down,and saw what she was drawing.
It was a face.
One half complete…the other blurred, as if the features refused to settle.
Lynn said gently:
"Sometimes, words leave our mouths… before they reach our hearts."
Alyana bit her lower lip,gripping the paper tightly.
"He doesn't do anything.He stays silent.He doesn't explain.He doesn't even try… not even with me."
Lynn asked:
"And do you think you gave him a chance?When you said that word to him…Did you mean it?"
Alyana fell silent.Then murmured:
"No… I don't know."
She stood abruptly,pacing the room with quick steps.
She was speaking more to herself than to Lynn.
"I… I'm not sorry!But… but I also… I don't want him to get hurt."
"I hate how he makes me feel…Like I'm the only one who cares."
Lynn said, without rising:
"Maybe… he never learned how to show he cares.But he was always there.Even if you didn't see him."
Alyana paused,gazing at the dark window,then whispered:
"I wish… I could see him just once,the way others see him… when I'm not there."
A long silence.
Then she added suddenly, as if apologizing without saying the word:
"I… don't want to hate him.But I also… don't know how to start talking again."
Lynn smiled.
"Maybe you don't need words.Maybe… just a look.An honest silence, stronger than a thousand sentences."
Alyana didn't reply.But she picked up the paper again,and began drawing the second half of the face…slowly,as if trying to remember featuresshe hadn't dared to look at fully before.
✦ Phase 6 – Neron: The City That Never Sleeps
The noise in Carvid… is like nowhere else.
A city that screams with life at night,screams with chaos,with wanderers who don't ask your name,only your skills.
He sat at the edge of the tavern,his hood hiding more than it revealed,a clear, water-like drink in his hand—just the way he liked it.
In the opposite corner,three guild men argued over a torn map,and across the room,a flutist stumbled through an off-key tune…but no one complained.
"This world… doesn't give you recognition,unless you learn how to scream in silence,"said the man with the iron arm, passing by.
Neron didn't answer.He simply stared long at his right hand,then murmured:
"Screaming? I don't need it.It's enough to be the voice that isn't heard… but changes everything."
Outside,the sign above the guild creaked in the wind.
"Welcome… to the Last Guild."Words etched in slanted lettering,with no clear identity…as if the whole city refused to be defined.
A three-legged cat passed in front of him,followed by a man with a shaved head and leopard-spotted skin.
In this world…nothing is normal.But everything… is accepted.
Neron stood up.Left without saying goodbye.Without anyone noticing.
He only left behind a small metal coin on the table,engraved with a circular sigil.
A symbol known only to those…whose names are not written in the academy's records,but who write history in blood unseen.
Beyond the End – Before the Candle Extinguishes
We now arrive at the end of Chapter Eleven...
And only two chapters remain:
Chapter Twelve, followed by the concluding chapter, which will not only end the story but also set the stage for new atmospheres...
Atmospheres closer to daily life, academia, and graduation. The upcoming story will not be more dramatic or harsh,
Instead, it will take a different path, focusing more on the academic and school experience,
And it will recount what transpired from the moment this story ends...
Up until the protagonist's graduation. From the beginning, the plan was for this series to extend to one hundred chapters.
But currently, the story will be divided into diverse parts,
Each part carrying a different theme and an independent classification,
So that together we can discover the most suitable form for this world. For now, our goal is to reach 20,000 views for this part,
As a small token of appreciation for all the effort put into it. In the future, I will begin working on organized PDF versions for the upcoming volumes,
And they will be published exclusively on my support platform,
Where you can support the project with a small amount between 1 and 3 dollars. Your support, however symbolic, means a great deal to me.
And it gives this story the chance to be completed as it deserves. Thank you for reading,
Thank you for your steadfastness. And... until we meet in Chapter Twelve. 📘