Eryndor swallowed once, steadying his heartbeat as he looked between Rein Clark and Principal Seraphina Caldris. Rein's eyes stayed sharp, measuring, almost too intent—while Seraphina's gaze held that unsettling calm, the kind only someone who sat at the peak of the academy could maintain.
"Walk with us," Seraphina said. Not a request — a gentle decree.
Eryndor nodded.
They moved through the long marble hall, their footsteps echoing faintly. Students passing by instinctively shifted aside — not because of Rein, not even because of Eryndor's growing reputation.
But because she walked there.
Principal Seraphina Caldris was a living furnace wrapped in skin and grace.
When they reached the quiet upper wing, she finally stopped and turned toward Eryndor.
"Storm affinity," she said. "Your display earlier… it was natural, controlled. Rare."
Her voice carried no praise — only observation. "But talent alone is never the complete story. So tell me, Eryndor… how did you grasp ether that quickly?"
He hesitated. "I—entered the Astral Sky. From there, I tried to feel the difference between elemental energy and something purer… something unaligned. Once I separated instinct from habit, the ether responded."
Rein's eyes narrowed with something close to surprise.
"You separated instinct from habit?" Rein murmured. "Most high-rankers can't even articulate that."
Eryndor shrugged lightly. "It just… clicked."
Rein let out a slow exhale and exchanged a brief, unreadable look with the principal.
Seraphina stepped closer — close enough that Eryndor felt the faint pressure of her heat aura warming the air.
"You entered the Astral Sky… without strain? Without a medium?" she asked.
"Yes."
Rein blinked. "That's— that's not normal."
Seraphina lifted a hand slightly, silencing him.
Then her expression softened. Not gentle — but thoughtful.
"Eryndor," she said, "there is something you should know. Rein here is one of the academy's prodigies. He awakened early, broke three elemental barriers by fifteen… and yet—"
She tilted her head toward Rein.
"Even he cannot enter the Astral Sky as naturally as you."
Rein crossed his arms but didn't deny it.
"And that," Seraphina continued, "is precisely why we stopped you."
Eryndor straightened. "What do you mean?"
Seraphina's eyes shimmered a bright, heated gold.
"You're advancing too smoothly. Too fast. Almost as if something… or someone… is aligning your path."
Eryndor felt a pulse in his chest — the echo of that dream, the Black Sun looming over the higher realms.
Rein noticed his change in expression. "What was that?"
But before Eryndor could answer, Seraphina lifted a hand.
"The reason we stopped you," she said, "is because Rein Clark has requested something."
Rein stepped forward.
"I want to spar you."
Eryndor blinked. "…What?"
"Not a challenge," Rein clarified. "A test. I saw you in Ether Studies today. I saw how fast you grasped something people struggle with for months." He leaned slightly closer. "I need to know your baseline. And the principal agrees."
Seraphina folded her arms behind her back and nodded.
"This is not punishment," she said. "Not competition. Just… confirmation."
Eryndor inhaled slowly. "And if I refuse?"
Rein smirked faintly. "You won't."
Seraphina added, voice low:
"The academy watches the promising. But it studies the exceptional."
Eryndor's heartbeat quickened — not with fear, but anticipation.
"Fine," he said. "I accept."
Rein grinned. "Good."
Seraphina lowered her head slightly, satisfied.
"Then tomorrow at dawn," she declared, "you two will meet at the Ember Arena."
The heat around her flared just a little — enough to warm the corridor and make Eryndor's skin prickle.
"And Eryndor…?" she said.
"Yes, Principal?"
Her golden gaze sharpened.
"Come prepared. Rein doesn't hold back."
Rein cracked his knuckles with a small smirk.
"Not even for new stars."
Eryndor's eyes narrowed, a faint spark of lightning flickering behind them.
"Good," he said. "I wouldn't want you to."
Seraphina's lips curved — not a smile, but something close.
"Dismissed," she said.
Eryndor bowed slightly and turned to leave. As he walked down the hall, he could feel their eyes on his back… analyzing, predicting, measuring.
But he didn't slow down.
Tomorrow at dawn… he would stand in the Ember Arena.
Against Rein Clark.
And the entire academy would be watching.
A storm meeting a rising inferno.
And somewhere above them…
the Black Sun pulsed once.