The warning bells blared across Ravenlock Academy, their sharp tolls cutting through the midnight air. Students scrambled from their dorms, robes flaring, wands and spellblades drawn. Above, the sky churned crimson as dark clouds coiled into a spiraling eye. Something ancient had awakened.
Rai Tenma stood still.
Around him, chaos unfolded. From the cracks in the courtyard stones, tendrils of shadow writhed like serpents, reaching for the nearest students. Screams filled the night, and for a moment, the great academy built on centuries of arcane mastery felt like it was about to fall.
"Move!" shouted Lira Vale, grabbing Rai's arm and yanking him aside as a bolt of shadow magic blasted the stone where he had just stood. "Snap out of it!"
He blinked, the heat of the attack jolting him back into the moment. His hand reached instinctively for the small obsidian dagger strapped beneath his cloak—a relic from his childhood, one he had never drawn in public before.
But now, it pulsed with heat in his hand.
"Rai!" Lira called, already weaving a spell. Purple sigils formed in the air, elegant and precise. "We need to stop it before it breaches the Tower!"
The shadowbeast ahead of them roared. It had the form of a great wolf, but its body was made of swirling mist and eyes like burning coals. It lunged at a group of first-years, and without thinking, Rai moved.
The dagger burst into black flame.
Rai dashed forward, faster than he had ever moved, and slashed upward—not at the creature, but at its shadow. The flame clung to the beast's form, and for the first time, it shrieked.
Lira's jaw dropped. "That's… Moonfire."
"I don't know what that is," Rai said, breathing hard.
"You shouldn't have it unless you're—" she stopped herself, eyes narrowing. "We'll talk later. More incoming!"
Dozens of creatures spilled from the ground—each one different. Some crawled, some floated, some slithered—but all were born of shadow. And they were hunting something.
No—someone.
Rai.
Elsewhere in the Tower of Stars, Headmaster Caelum watched the battle through a crystal window. Behind him stood the Arcane High Council, their faces grim.
"It's too early," one elder hissed. "The Reign of Shadows should not have begun. He hasn't even awakened fully."
Caelum's eyes stayed locked on Rai.
"Exactly," he said. "Which means the Reign began without him. Someone else has breached the seal."
A second voice, older and colder, whispered, "Then he must choose his path now. Light… or darkness."
Back in the courtyard, Kael Drazon hurled a flaming spear into one of the monsters, grinning like a madman.
"This is more fun than Combat Trials!" he shouted. "Who's next?!"
Rai and Lira fought their way toward the front line, spells crackling around them. Rai's blade left trails of dark fire, while Lira's illusions confused and disoriented the enemy.
But then everything went silent.
From the sky, a figure descended—slowly, elegantly.
He wore a mask of bone and a long cloak that fluttered like smoke. Shadows coiled at his feet, parting with every step.
"Who—" Lira breathed.
"The Shadow Envoy," Rai said before he realized how he knew. "He's come for me."
The figure raised a gloved hand. "Moonblood," he said in a voice like wind in a tomb. "You do not belong here. Come with me, and your suffering will end."
Rai felt something pull inside him, like an invisible thread tugging on his soul.
He almost stepped forward.
But Lira's hand grabbed his. "Don't. That's a binding spell."
Rai's eyes cleared. His grip tightened.
"No," he said. "You want me? Come take me."
The Shadow Envoy tilted his head. "As you wish."
He snapped his fingers.
All the remaining creatures merged into one—a towering monster with a hundred eyes and mouths that spoke in lost tongues.
Kael shouted from across the battlefield, "Now that's more like it!"
Students gathered behind Rai, drawn by his refusal to retreat. Lira stood by his side, and Kael jogged over, fire still dancing in his hands.
"We doing this?" Kael asked.
Rai nodded. "Let's end this."
He raised his dagger. The moon above pulsed red.
The battle for Arcane High had begun.
To Be Continued.