"No one ever escapes the Black Cells… unless they were never meant to be inside."
—Lyra Ashveil
The prison walls breathed magic.
Dark veins of enhanted stone pulsed faintly under torchlight as Kairo Vex crouched in the corner of his cell, heart hammmering. Evry few seconds, his gaze flicked toward the iron-barred door.
He couldn't believe what she'd said.
Lyra Ashveil, noble girl of the Ashveil family, daughter of the Rank Councll, was planning to help him escape.
That was madness.
That was suicide
That was…
Exactly what he needed.
Kairo's body still ached from the tests. His arms were lined with faint bruise, his legs barely holding his weight. But something in him had changed after that last surge in the lab. His power was still asleep—but it was breathing now.
It was there. Watching. Waitinh
Just like he was.
Midnight
Outside the Black Cells, a patrol of five guards circled the perimter. The air was thick with mist. The torches crackled, their runes humming with detection wards.
A noble girl in a traveling cloak—hood pulled low—walked calmly down the hallway as if she owned it.
Because, in a way, she did.
Lyra Ashveil shwed her crest to the guards.
"By order of Councilor Ashveil," she said, "I'm retrieving the boy for re-evaluation."
The guards looked uncetain. "The orders we have—"
"—are outdated," Lyra cut in. "Unless you'd like to call the Council at midnight and explainedd why you delayed his transport?"
They hesitated.
But nobles were dangerous. More dangerous than prisoners.
"Oppen the gate," one of them sighed.
Inside the Cell
The lock cliked open.
Kairo stood instantly. "You're serious?"
"No time for second thoughts," Lyra said. She tossed him a cloak. "Put that on. Stay close to me. And don't say anything unless I tell you."
Kairo pulled the cloak over his ragged robes and followed her into the hallway.
Two guards escrted them—watchful, suspicious.
As they passed the southern stairwell, Lyra spoke one word under her breath:
"Now."
Kairo didn't hesitate.
He spun, grabbed one guard's baton mid-swing, twited, and slammed the man into the wall.
The second guard shuted, "Stop—!
But Lyra was already moving—one flick of her wrist and a silver dagger spun through the air, slicing the rune on his armor.
Crack!
The light shattered. The magic in the guard's chestlate fizzled. Kairo elbowed him into unconsciousnes.
Lyra turned to him, panting. "This way. The emergency hatch."
They sprinted.
Behind them, alarm bells rang. Blue flames burst from the walls. The prison came alive with noie and shouting.
"We've got five minutes before the entire security net locks us in," Lyra said.
"Why are you doing this?" Kairo asked as they ran.
"Because I'm tired of this system," she snaped. "And you're the first thing that's ever threatened to break it."
Chase in the Lower Sector
Kairo and Lyra burst through the undercroft of the prison—a place few even knew existed. It smelled like rust, ancient metal, and mana decay.
Ahead was a narrow tunnel with a glowing orb embedded in the ceiling.
"What's that?" Kairo asked.
"Null Sensor," Lyra said. "It detects raw magic levels. If you flare too high—"
Too late.
Kairo's chest pulsed.
The Heaven Mark flared faintly.
WEEEEEOOOOHHH!
The orb turned red.
The tunnel slammed shut behind them. Magical walls surged from the ground.
"They're trying to box us in!" Lyra yelled.
From behind, footsteps thundered.
Guards. Mages. Weaepons drawn.
Kairo turned.
No way out.
"Get behind me," he said.
Lyra blinked. "What?"
Kairo stepped forward.
"Just get back."
He closed his eyes.
And reached for it.
For the mark. For the black fire.
It didn't come like a surge.
It came like a whisper.
A low, angry hum that crawled into his bones.
Kairo raised his hand. The guards slowed. Their weapons glowed blue with enchantment.
And then—
Everything stopped.
No, not time—but energy.
The air vibrated as Kairo's body lit up with faint blue sigils that spiraled down his arms.
One by one, the guards' magic began to flicker.
Then die.
"W-What's happening to my barrier?!"
"My sword—! The rune is gone!"
"My power's… gone?!"
Kairo opened his eyes.
He whispered:
"Break."
A shockwave of black-blue light exploded from his body, rippling through the tunnel.
The guards were thrown back, weapons shattered. The spell matrix in the hallway fizzled out like dying sparks.
Lyra stared, frozen.
"You… just erased their power," she whispered. "That wasn't suppression. That was…"
"Nullification," Kairo muttered, breathing hard. "I don't know how… but it listens when I need it."
She grabbed his wrist. "We need to move. Now."
🌫️ Outside the Walls
They burst out of a hidden sewer grate on the edge of the Outer Ring.
Steam hissed from cracked pipes. Smoke drifted from nearby forges. The city beyond was asleep.
They were free—for now.
Kairo collapsed on the street, gasping. His body felt like it had been torn apart and reassembled.
Lyra knelt beside him. "You shouldn't have used that much."
"I had to," he coughed.
They sat in silence.
Then Lyra said quietly, "They'll come for us."
"I know."
"They'll brand me a traitor."
"I know."
"Why are you smiling?"
Kairo looked up, bruised and bloody, and said:
"Because for the first time… I broke something they couldn't control."