The sky above Obscured Flame Academy had never looked so still.
After the tournament, banners were taken down. Reconstruction sigils hummed across fractured arena walls. Students returned to classes. Instructors returned to routine.
But not Kairo Vale.
Because today, he passed through a door no student had seen in five decades.
The Secret Agency Archive hidden beneath the capital's Magisterium Tower was not a library.
It was a memory forged in steel, shadow, and time.
The entrance was unassuming: a circular door of etched obsidian with no keyhole, no handles.
Just a symbol:
𝘼𝙎𝙋𝙀𝘾𝙏.
It shimmered faintly as Kairo approached.
It recognized him.
The flame in his chest pulsed once.
And the door opened.
Inside, silence ruled.
But it was not empty.
Thousands of suspended crystals floated like stars, each one holding texts, memories, battle recordings, scrolls, or living echoes of power. Some of the halls were deeper than vision allowed, tunnels into other dimensions, sealed with layered glyphs.
A ghostly voice whispered as he stepped in:
"Archive identification: Kairo Vale. Clearance: Flame Prime, Dual Aspect – Tri-Core Classification. Mana threshold surpassed. Access granted."
A projection pulsed before him.
"Begin interface?"
Kairo nodded once.
A sphere floated down.
The Tome Engine.
It flickered with ancient text and spoke in a quiet, neutral tone:
"Would you like to review recorded classifications first?"
"Yes," Kairo said.
The air split.
And before him unfolded the hidden order of the world.
✦ Mage Stages ✦
Stage 1 – Awakening Core
Access to elemental mana. Passive channeling.
Stage 2 – Bound Core
Internal mana circulation begins. Spellshaping possible.
Stage 3 – Elemental Fusion
Elemental affinity stabilizes. Specialization manifests.
Stage 4 – Aspect Awakening
First aspect becomes visible. Can interact with world.
Stage 5 – Mature Aspect / Combat Form
Aspect becomes active in battle. Shapes battlefield directly.
Stage 6 – Dual Aspect Integration (Rare)
Control over two aspect layers. Requires discipline or inherited bloodline.
Stage 7 – Mythic Evolution
Aspect manifests will. Entity gains limited independence.
Stage 8 – Veil Transcendence (Unknown)
Access to Worldlayers. Dimensions beyond mage perception.
✦ Aspect Types ✦
Common Aspect: Elemental spirits. Single-type elemental mastery.
Enhanced Aspect: Bloodline-shaped. Greater intelligence.
Matured Aspect: Can act independently during battle.
Mythic Aspect: Legendary. Often worshipped in ancient civilizations. Extremely rare.
Primeval Aspect: Time-bound. Exist outside chronology. Forbidden.
Kairo whispered, "Then what was Umbra?"
The Tome Engine paused.
"Searching… entity: Umbra… Match found."
"Designation: Umbra, Lord of the 9th Veil. Shadow Primeval. Class: Mirrorcaster. Born before timeline anchoring. Survived Aspect Collapse. Status: Suppressed. Host: Kairo Vale."
A book appeared.
Black.
Bound in chains.
Titled only:
The Book of Shadows
Kairo touched it.
And the Archive shifted.
The walls went dark.
A ripple passed through the room.
Suddenly, Kairo was standing in a reconstruction memory—a projection formed from mana echoes, shaped into living memory.
A battlefield.
Endless night.
And there, surrounded by collapsing stars and raining ash, stood a man cloaked in endless shadow.
Eyes glowing like silver moons.
Behind him: nine silhouettes. Not human. Not alive. Echoes of dead aspects bound by chains.
A voice echoed from the sky:
"The gods cast him out because he remembered too much."
Kairo stepped backward.
The vision collapsed.
The black book vanished.
And standing behind him now.
Was someone new?
He turned.
A tall figure in deep green robes, eyes hidden behind circular spell lenses, leaned against a floating archive pedestal. Mana pressure rolled from him like fog controlled, yet heavy.
"Umbra, huh?" the man said.
"You're either cursed… or you're about to break the world open."
Kairo narrowed his eyes. "And you are?"
The man straightened, extending a gloved hand.
"Agent Neros Valein. Celestial-Class Clearance. Shadow Operative."
"I worked with Cael. Once."
He leaned in, smiling faintly.
"But you? You're more interesting than he is."
From deeper in the archive, others watched.
A girl in gray, twin daggers on her back, spinning a crystal orb in one hand.
A man with molten-gold eyes, reading a scroll that bled light.
A child sitting upside down on a floating slab, humming a lullaby in a language long dead.
Each of them monsters.
Each of them Celestial-tier operatives.
"Welcome to the real world," Neros said.
"This is where gods are born."