Night pressed against the shutters of Aramore Academy like a living thing, but inside Shade's room the air lay utterly still. A single candle guttered on the desk; its flame bent toward her the moment she crossed the threshold, as if even fire recognized the storm she carried.
< Serena Valen – Core Bloom 5 >
< System Tier: High-3 >
< 18 days remain >
---
The Weight of Walls
She eased the door shut with two fingers, the latch clicking softer than a heartbeat. The Academy's stone corridors still echoed with the laughter of students who believed tomorrow would forgive them. She envied that laughter for half a breath, then let it go. Mercy was a luxury she could no longer afford.
Umbren unfolded from her shadow, stretching across the woven rug like spilled ink. He did not growl; he simply waited, violet eyes reflecting the candle's tremble.
---
The Mission Scroll
On the desk lay the Academy's reward—three items wrapped in plain linen:
• A jade plaque etched with 300 merit points
• Two Arcane Orbs the size of quail eggs, humming faintly
• A sealed scroll stamped with the Academy crest—permission to use any Tier-3 cultivation chamber for three days
She touched the scroll's wax seal and felt the faintest echo of Aurora's dying pulse through the parchment.
---
She knelt, pressed her palms to the floorboards, and pushed mana into the hidden sigils carved beneath the rug. Lines of violet light flared, then sealed the room in absolute silence. No sound, no scent, no scrying eye would find her tonight.
She set the Arcane Orbs at three points of a triangle, placed the scythe across her knees, and opened the system interface.
< System Tier-3 Advancement – initiate? >
"Yes."
---
Mana erupted—not warm, but cold and absolute. Shadows condensed into black petals that rotated slowly around her spine. Each petal bore a single rune: Vengeance, Night, Path, Dawn, Silence, Storm. They spun faster, blurred together, then sank into her skin one by one.
Her meridians widened, burned, then cooled to tempered steel. The bottleneck between Core Bloom 5 and the shadowy threshold beyond cracked wider than ever before.
< System Tier-3 Advancement – complete >
< Mana pool +50 % >
< Zephyr-Dark fusion: Tier-3 stable >
---
Interface
< Serena Valen – Core Bloom 5 >
< System Tier: Tier-3 (High) >
< Mana: 100 % >
< Night-Sewn Path – Master (3/9) >
< Next move: Whisper of the Hollow Moon (locked) >
< Perks: Mandate Leech active >
She exhaled once, slow and steady. Outside the array, the Academy slept. Inside, the shadows hummed a promise.
< 18 days remain >