CHAPTER 54 – THE BREAKING POINT
Seryn held the gray crystal in his palm as its vibration aligned perfectly with the rhythm of the crack in his chest. With each pulse, the gray flow expanded as if the crystal were drawing breath, and then it contracted again. The vibration did not touch his skin—it seeped directly into his soul.
Kai had been holding his breath while watching the crystal.
"This thing… feels alive."
Rien was more cautious.
"Or it wants you alive," he murmured.
Lyra's eyes traced the silver veins spiraling along the crystal's surface.
"It feels like… a memory stone. Ritual structures aren't limited to storing energy—some carry fragments of spirit. But this one… it's different."
Seryn didn't feel the heat of the stone, but its depth—its resonance. It was as if the crystal were communicating with the echo within his crack.
And the crack… was answering.
The gray flow trembled sharply for a brief moment, and Seryn's breath hitched.
Kai took a quick step back. "Hey! What was that!?"
Seryn tightened his fingers around the crystal to suppress its resonance.
"It's not me. The stone… is reading me."
"Reading?" Rien repeated. "That doesn't sound good at all."
Lyra gently touched Seryn's arm.
"If it's trying to read you… it might also be trying to take something."
Kai lifted his eyebrows. "Take what? He's already dealing with the damn crack!"
Rien frowned.
"Maybe to stabilize the crack, it needs to bind to him first."
Seryn felt that sharp, cutting tremor again inside the gray flow.
The rhythm of the stone… was beginning to command the rhythm of the crack.
And that did not feel good.
His fingers suddenly relaxed—the stone became a dead weight in his palm, though its vibration still echoed deep within.
If I use this… will it strengthen me, or shatter me?
As the question echoed in his mind, the courtyard began to stir.
Students were moving aside along a narrow path—someone was approaching, and the invisible pressure spreading through the air was unmistakable.
Kai glanced back. "Oh great, someone else is coming?"
Rien fell silent. Then a rare expression of shock appeared on his face.
"No… this aura—"
A voice rose from within the crowd.
Young. Calm. Confident.
"Seryn!"
Seryn lifted his head.
A tall young man stepped through the parted crowd. His Daskal-styled dark navy coat, the silver emblems on his shoulders… The Academy fell into instant murmurs.
Aleric Daskal.
And, as always… a faint chill of aura accompanied his footsteps. Not anger. Not hostility.
Just the familiar, measured weight of House Daskal.
Kai whispered, "Who the hell is this? Another noble?"
Rien elbowed him sharply. "Use your brain. This is… Seryn's cousin."
Kai's eyes widened. "That cousin!? The one on the imperial rankings—"
Lyra silenced him with a look.
Aleric stopped before them. His gaze swept from Seryn to the crystal in his hand.
There was shock in his eyes—subtle, but there.
"…You really were restored," he said quietly.
Seryn lowered the crystal slightly.
"Aleric. I didn't expect you here."
Aleric exhaled slowly.
"I didn't expect the Duke to descend upon the Academy last night. Even in the North, people were talking. Things like that… don't stay hidden."
Kai, Rien and Lyra eased back—not too far, but far enough to show respect. They were used to standing beside Seryn, but Aleric carried a different kind of presence. A presence with political weight.
Aleric narrowed his eyes, studying Seryn carefully.
"The crack in your chest…" he said, as if he were looking at a physical wound.
Seryn stiffened.
"You… can sense the crack?"
Aleric dipped his head slightly.
"Not directly. But like the wind changing its direction… I can feel the break in your aura lines. This—" his gaze sharpened, "—is not power that belongs to you."
Kai muttered, "Yeah yeah, everyone keeps saying that."
Aleric shot him a cold glance. Kai instantly shut up.
Rien stepped forward slightly.
"Why did you come to see Seryn?"
Aleric's tone softened just a little.
"I came here on behalf of the family. Lord Caerus's visit was diplomatic. Mine is not."
His eyes hardened.
"I wanted to see you myself."
Something warm flickered inside Seryn for a moment. Aleric was not one to show emotion easily. For him to say that… held weight within the family.
Aleric's gaze drifted to the crystal.
"This thing will either erase the fracture in you entirely… or break you from the inside."
Seryn lifted the crystal.
"What do you know about it?"
Aleric inhaled deeply.
"That stone is no common enhancer. It comes from the deepest ritual chambers of the house. The last ones to use it… were my grandfather and Caerus."
He looked directly into Seryn's eyes.
"It may help you control your crack, but… there will be a price."
"A price?"
"Yes. A spiritual price. If the stone synchronizes with you, there is no problem. But even if it does… it will still take something from you."
Kai tensed. "Take what? His life!?"
Rien's voice dropped.
"A fragment of his soul… perhaps a piece of his will…"
Lyra whispered,
"Or it may alter his fate-line. The gray flow is tied to ancient things…"
Aleric nodded. "Exactly."
Seryn turned the crystal in his hand again. The thin gray veins seemed to move, dancing along the rhythm of the crack.
Aleric stepped closer.
"Seryn, listen to me. If you use this stone, do not use it for the sake of gaining strength. If you let the crack guide your decisions… even being a Daskal won't save you."
At those words, the mana currents in the courtyard stilled. Even the wind felt muted.
Seryn looked down at the crystal—the crack's rhythm was accelerating. The stone was speaking to him, but its language was beyond comprehension.
"I will fight," Seryn said quietly, "so I do not break."
For the first time, something like pride flickered across Aleric's face.
"That's what I wanted to hear."
Then, more solemnly—
"I need to speak with you privately tonight. There are things you must hear—things Lord Caerus didn't tell you. There is more behind the crack than you know."
Kai raised his hand. "Do we get to come?"
"No," Aleric replied, completely flat.
Kai shut up again.
Aleric faced Seryn.
"Meet me in the inner courtyard this evening. You must learn the truth about this stone… and the real origin of your crack."
Seryn bowed his head.
"All right."
Aleric turned to leave—but stopped.
"Seryn… seeing you again is good. But also… unsettling. You're not who you used to be."
Seryn closed his eyes for a moment.
"I feel that too."
As Aleric walked away, the eyes of the entire courtyard returned to Seryn.
Kai stretched. "Dude… your family gatherings are way more dangerous than ours."
Rien shrugged. "Just being here is dangerous."
Lyra's eyes remained on the
crystal.
"That stone… will shape you."
Seryn closed his fingers around it tightly.
But what if I cannot be shaped?
The thought sliced through him like a blade.
But no one heard it.