Nyx bolted the heavy wooden door to her miserable little dorm room. The lock was a pointless gesture, she knew. If Lucian wanted to find her, a simple lock wouldn't slow him down. Her body was still humming, buzzing with the leftover energy from their clash the raw, electric cold of his Thunder wrapped around the pure, terrifying light of her Celestial power. It felt like her insides were trying to tear apart and then instantly knit back together.
He's the only one who felt it, she thought, sinking onto the hard cot. The only one who knows what kind of bomb I am.
She stared at the chipped stone wall. She was supposed to be focusing on the Static Decay, the sickness that was eating the world. She was supposed to be a spy for her kingdom, Atgeren. But all she could think about was the way his Shadow energy had felt right against her light. It had been chaotic, yes, but also silent. She had never been silent before.
A sudden, loud, and dramatic argument erupted right outside her door. It wasn't angry shouting it was high-speed, sharp, political banter.
"You can't just Copy my notes, Iliana! I spent three hours organizing that! You think this is funny, trying to get me blamed for the mess?" a warm, exasperated voice, thick with Southern charm, demanded.
"No, Zyon, I think your notes on Fire's restorative properties are politically naïve, and I was making a statement on how easily you can be replaced," a sharp, cool female voice shot back. "And I didn't Copy them. My Mirror Self simply observed them and then duplicated the damage you were about to do!"
"I wasn't going to damage them! I was going to dry them with a Warmth burst! I'm trying to be helpful, you high-strung politician!"
The door suddenly flew inward, hitting the stone wall with a crash. Standing in the doorway were two people, framed by the dim light of the corridor. One was a tall, muscular guy with bright, curly red hair that looked like soft embers Zyon. He looked genuinely stressed, his large hands gesturing wildly. The other was an elegant girl with sharp, bright eyes and perfect blonde hair Iliana.
Iliana wasn't arguing with Zyon she was arguing with a fading, dissolving copy of Zyon that was quickly turning into a puddle of shimmering water on the stone floor.
"See? That was my Mirror Self dissolving. You wasted the energy, Zyon!" Iliana declared, pointing at the puddle with disdain.
"Wait, I'm the real Zyon!" the muscular guy protested, looking utterly bewildered. "And I'm supposed to be checking on the new students on this wing!"
Iliana ignored the confusion. She looked past Zyon and saw Nyx, frozen in her doorway. Iliana's sharp eyes, which missed nothing, instantly took in Nyx's pale face and the faint, silvery energy still clinging to her coat.
"Look at that. Fresh meat, and already tainted," Iliana said, crossing her arms and surveying Nyx. "You must be Nyx. The girl who failed the test by vaporizing the flag with a Starlight Flare. Impressive failure. Now get up. We're going to the Mess Hall."
Nyx stood up slowly. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm not looking for trouble."
"Trouble already found you, genius," Iliana countered, stepping into the room. She surveyed the small, miserable space with a sneer. "You have a volatile, rare element. You openly clashed with Lucian, the Shadow-slinger, in a public forum. You are already a political target. You are now going to survive with us."
Zyon stepped in too, instantly radiating a comfortable Warmth that eased Nyx's tension. "Hey. Don't listen to her. She's bossy. But she's right. I'm Zyon. I'm Phoenix. I can heal you. We are a good team. Iliana knows the politics of this fortress she can shield us with Reflection and illusions. I can fix the wounds. You look like you haven't eaten a decent meal since you left your kingdom."
"We know you're not Wind," Iliana whispered, lowering her voice. "We don't care. We only care that you're powerful. You have no idea what you're facing here. The six kingdoms hate each other. They'll use you. We'll use them first. We're going to the Mess Hall. Now. Move."
Nyx had never been ordered around with such casual, smart authority. She looked from the political mind of Iliana to the open heart of Zyon. They were loud and messy, but they were honest about their self-interest. Nyx pulled her coat back on and followed them.
The three walked through the chaotic corridors toward the massive Mess Hall. Nyx, despite her reluctance, found herself listening to Iliana's non-stop, high-speed political analysis.
"The biggest problem isn't the Static, it's the Silent Pact," Iliana explained, effortlessly weaving them through a crowd of older students. "They're the rich, non-elemental humans from Caelvran. They hate magic. They fund the Pyren military to cause chaos. They want the Aether Cradle to stay asleep so they can rule with money and armies."
"They're not the problem the Corrupt Witches are the problem," Zyon argued passionately. "The Witches are trapping our healers, casting Curse spells on the Basic element users in the North. We need to save people, not worry about who's counting their gold."
"We worry about both," Nyx said quietly, speaking for the first time. "The Witches cause the chaos, and the Pact pays for the chaos. They work together without knowing it."
Zyon looked surprised but pleased. "See? Smart! We need more of that!"
Their walk brought them to the Mess Hall. The moment they stepped inside, Nyx spotted Kian. He was already sitting at a small, isolated table, meticulously organizing his study materials. He looked up, and his pale, icy eyes narrowed in disapproval at the sight of the loud trio.
"We need a treaty," Iliana announced, pulling up a bench next to Kian. "Nyx is with us now. You will stop talking about her being a liability, and I will stop talking about your terrible fashion sense."
Kian's low, smooth baritone was like grinding ice. "I didn't invite you, Iliana. And my style is practical. The girl is a liability. And she's a fool if she thinks hanging around a Phoenix healer and a political spy will fix her control problem."
"She has enough power to scare Lucian, Kian. That's a good trade," Iliana countered.
Before Kian could offer another cold, tactical assessment, the entire Mess Hall went silent. The unnatural quiet was immediate and profound, sucking the air out of the room. Every student from the timid Basic element users to the arrogant Complex tiers turned toward the main entrance.
A low, furious sound a vibrating baritone that made the stone floor hum echoed from the main entrance.
"I told you to get your fucking hands off me, Valerius! You don't have the clearance!"
It was Lucian.
He was pinned against a wall by Valerius, the large, arrogant Gravity user from Pyren, clearly trying to enforce some kind of Academy rule. Valerius was foolishly trying to restrain Lucian's arms.
Valerius sneered, his voice loud for the crowd to hear. "I'm doing my duty, Shadow-slinger. The Grand Council sent me. You're too dangerous to wander..."
Lucian moved with frightening speed. He didn't use his hands. His dual power simply detonated outward. The Shadow around him didn't just grow it solidified, turning the area into a dense black mass. Then, a fast, silent spike of dark Thunder Black Lightning shot out. It didn't hit Valerius it hit the wall right beside Valerius's head.
The stone wall exploded. Chunks of thick rock and powdered masonry flew outward with the force of a high-impact shell. Lucian's Shadow instantly pulled most of the shrapnel away from him and the nearby crowd, forming a brief, dense shield of non-light. The blast sent the Gravity user staggering backward into a stone pillar.
Valerius hit the pillar hard. Blood immediately ran from a deep, jagged cut on his forehead where a piece of flying stone had struck him. He slid down, clutching his head, groaning in shocked pain.
The Mess Hall erupted into chaos. Students were screaming, pushing, and scrambling to get out of the way.
Lucian calmly straightened his dark coat, stepped over the wounded Valerius, and walked out. He had made his statement. He used the sharp, precise Thunder to wound and warn, and the cold, vast Shadow to defend himself from the collateral damage.
Nyx felt the familiar, terrifying pull in her own core. Her Celestial power was singing a chaotic duet with the residual Shadow energy.
Kian was shaking, losing his glacial control. "Chaos! That bastard could have killed him! He's not just a danger; he's a political weapon now!"
Iliana, however, was already grabbing Nyx's arm, her sharp eyes shining with dangerous excitement.
"Trust him? No," Iliana whispered, her political mind already working the angles.
"But he just started a war, Nyx. Valerius is a high-ranking Pyren student. Lucian just embarrassed them and walked away clean.
The council will be scrambling to cover this up. We need a bomb like that on our side. He's the perfect, violent decoy."
Zyon, meanwhile, was already leaping up, Phoenix energy glowing gently around his hands. "Someone's bleeding! I gotta go use some Phoenix Tear and heal him before a teacher gets involved! See you guys!"
Nyx watched Zyon run toward the chaos. He was the only one in the room thinking about saving the victim, not analyzing the politics. She looked from Iliana's calculation to Kian's rigid fear. They were right they were her best chance.
But before any of them could move, a figure approached their table. He was a tall man, dressed in the dark, heavy robes of a High Administrator of the Silverlight Academia. He was one of the faces Nyx had seen on the assessment platform. He stopped directly in front of Nyx.
"Nyx of Atgeren," the Administrator said, his voice quiet but carrying the cold weight of high authority. He ignored Iliana and Kian entirely. "Your failed assessment was highly... unusual. The Grand Council demands an immediate, private meeting. Now. They have information concerning your lineage and the spreading Static Decay."
He leaned in, his gaze cold and focused only on her. "It concerns a place called the Aether Cradle. Do not speak to anyone. If you refuse, we will force you."
Nyx felt a cold dread settle in her gut. She had tried to hide her power, but the assessment and Lucian's explosive presence had forced her into the open. The quest to save the world, the quest she was not ready for, had just started.
They knew all along.
"Lead the way," Nyx said, standing up. Her voice was steady, but her golden eyes were blazing with the promise of the coming conflict.