The first snowfall of winter fell like ash across the ivory courtyards of Arkwright Spirit Academy, blanketing the world in silence. But for Aren Vahl, it wasn't peace.
It was judgment.
He stood at the center of the Summoning Circle, shivering—not just from the cold, but from the hundreds of eyes fixed on him. Eyes filled with amusement, pity, or worse—indifference.
The white runes beneath his boots glowed faintly, expecting a connection. A spirit. A bond.
But Aren had none.
He always had none.
Children of the realm bonded with elemental spirits by the age of ten—flamesprites, thunderstags, windseers. Even the weakest of the weak had something. A whisper of magic. A flicker of light. A presence.
But when Aren first stepped into the Bonding Ceremony as a child…
Nothing came.
No wind. No glow. No whisper.
Not even the weak-minded spirits pitied him.
The court scholars labeled it a rare condition: Null Affinity. The people whispered a simpler word.
Spiritless.
That word clung to him like mold.
Aren could feel their stares now, slicing through the cold air like knives.
"Vahl," boomed Headmaster Luthien, voice sharp as glass. "Proceed with the Rite of Awakening."
He had to. It was law.
Aren swallowed, stepped forward, and raised his hand. His voice was steady, but only barely.
"By name and soul, I call thee… my spirit. Come forth."
A flash of white.
Then silence.
The circle dimmed. The magic fizzled. The sky itself seemed to hold its breath.
A few heartbeats passed.
Then the whispering began.
"Again?""Seven times and still no bond…""He's faking it. Has to be.""No. He's just broken."
Luthien's eyes narrowed. "You mock the ancient rites with this farce, Vahl. You stand here, unbonded, again. By right of the Spirit Tribunals, this is your final attempt."
Aren lowered his hand. The warmth of his breath steamed into the air as his vision blurred.
Not from cold.
From shame.
It wasn't that Aren hadn't tried. Every day for the past ten years, he studied harder, trained longer, meditated deeper. While others laughed and sparred with their spirits, Aren bled in silence, reaching into the void, praying something would answer.
Nothing ever did.
He would've taken even a crippled flame imp. Even a blind whisper spirit.
But the void stayed silent.
And now, as the final chance passed…
The judgment fell.
Luthien's voice echoed with brutal finality. "Aren Vahl. Declared Spiritless. By law of the Grand Pact, you are stripped of Spiritborn status. Expelled from Arkwright Academy. And exiled from all sanctified territories."
There was no ceremony. No honor.
Just a scroll. A seal.
And silence.
Even Lira, his only childhood friend, turned away. Her fox spirit—amber-furred and regal—stood guard beside her, as if Aren was already dangerous just by standing there.
She mouthed something he would never forget.
"I'm sorry."
Then she walked into the snow.
That night, the wind howled like a starving beast.
Aren stumbled through the outskirts of the Forbidden Vale, driven by cold, hunger, and a desire to simply vanish. The snow soaked his boots. His legs ached. The exile parchment flapped uselessly in the wind.
He fell—finally—beside a crumbling shrine. Long forgotten. Covered in moss and frost. At its base, an inscription in a dead tongue pulsed faintly.
The symbol of a crown… shattering.
"I was never enough," Aren whispered, breath ragged. "Not for the spirits. Not for anyone."
Then the world cracked.
It wasn't sound.
It was code.
A pulse rippled through the air like a glitch in reality. Faint at first. Then overwhelming. Ancient glyphs glowed around him, unseen by mortal eyes for centuries.
[System Detected: Sovereign Core Fragment – Unsealed]Initializing Protocol: "Forgotten King"Soul Match: Aren Vahl – Condition: SpiritlessSystem Activation: PERMITTED
Aren's heart stilled.
He couldn't breathe. Couldn't scream.
The shrine shattered.
From within rose a shape—more echo than man. A phantom cloaked in broken crowns and rusted chains. Its face hidden behind a mask of obsidian, its voice not a sound but a weight in his skull.
Heir of the Null Domain. You who bear no spirit. You who were cast aside. You are worthy.
Do you accept the Forgotten Code?
Aren's lips parted. "What… what is this?"
The end of weakness. The beginning of sovereignty. You will not borrow power. You will forge it.Accept… and become more than Spiritbound. Become the One Who Commands Spirits Themselves.
For the first time in his life, something answered him.
And it wasn't pity.
It was power.
He reached out—
And the code burned into his soul.
System Integration Complete.Unique Class Unlocked: [Sovereign of the Null Domain]Skill Tree Created: [Shadowcrafting], [Memory Reap], [Sovereign's Will]WARNING: You are now marked by the Old Realms. Prepare.
As the snow whirled around him and shadows coiled at his feet, Aren Vahl smiled through the blood.
Let them call him Spiritless.
He would become their King.