The training grounds roared with energy. Flames snapped against stone. Blades of light and shadow collided in arcs that dazzled the eye. Dozens of initiates tested their strength, their Resonance flaring like bonfires against the pale sky.
Kael Ardyn stood at the edge, his group around him. Darius smirked as his flames licked high, drawing cheers. Rynna's light whips cut with precision, Serran's shadows split into a dozen blades, and Jorek stood like a wall of stone.
Only Kael had not stepped forward.
"Ardyn," Master Orin barked. "Show me."
Kael hesitated, heart thudding. His Resonance had never come willingly. It stirred when it wanted—like a beast that barely tolerated its cage.
Still, he nodded and stepped into the ring.
He drew a breath. Tried to reach inward. Tried to will it awake.
Nothing.
The crowd shifted, murmurs rising. Darius snorted. "What a waste—"
And then it happened.
The world snapped still.
Every flame guttered low. Every shimmer of Resonance flickered as though a windless void had swallowed them. Rynna gasped as her light dissolved mid-strike. Serran's blades crumbled into shadowed mist. Even Darius staggered, his fire choking to embers.
The noise of the training grounds collapsed into absolute silence.
Kael's eyes widened. He hadn't pulled it forward—it had erupted. He felt the weight pressing out of him, crushing the air, suffocating sound itself.
Students clutched at their throats, shivering. The masters stiffened.
"Control it!" Orin barked.
"I—I can't—!" Kael's voice cracked. He reached inward to shut it down, to rein it back, but the silence only deepened. A girl training nearby screamed without sound, her lips moving in panic, unheard.
The stillness spread outward like black water.
Kael's chest burned. His head rang. He thought it would tear him apart—until suddenly, mercifully, the silence broke.
Sound rushed back. Resonance flared again across the field, a dozen powers reigniting with chaotic force. Students collapsed to the ground, coughing, shaken.
Kael stood in the center, trembling, sweat pouring down his face.
The other initiates stared at him—not with admiration, but with fear.
"What… was that?" Rynna whispered.
Darius's voice was low, venomous. "He didn't earn that. He's a curse walking."
Kael wanted to speak, to defend himself, but Master Orin's gaze pinned him in place. The old warrior's eyes weren't angry—they were sharp, assessing, troubled.
"Ardyn," Orin said slowly, "your Resonance isn't just Silence. It's an abyss. One misstep, and it will swallow not only your enemies… but everyone beside you."
From across the grounds, Veyron leaned against the wall, arms crossed, golden Resonance shimmering faintly around him. Unlike the others, he didn't look afraid. He looked thrilled.
He smiled—predator to predator.