veryone at Ignis Academy had fire in their blood literally. Red hair, glowing eyes, sparks flying from their fingertips like magic was their birthright.
And then there was me: black hair, no glow, no sparks. Just me, Aaro, the academy's annual disappointment.
"Combat Assessment begins now," Instructor Vorn barked, voice like crushed gravel. "You know the drill. Show us what you've got."
One by one, my classmates stepped forward. Flames danced, swords clashed, even one girl summoned a burning phoenix that winked at the crowd before bursting into a firework.
Then came my turn.
Silence fell.
I stepped forward. My boots felt heavier than usual. Or maybe that was shame pressing down.
I raised my hands. Focused. Prayed to any element listening.
Nothing.
Not even heat.
Someone coughed. Someone else laughed. Kia, class champion, didn't even bother hiding her eye-roll.
"Still broken, huh?" she muttered.
I clenched my fists. The ground beneath me didn't crack. The air didn't tremble. Just silence, and my own heartbeat punching against my ribs like it wanted to escape this body.
Then just for a moment the shadows around my feet moved.
Not like regular shadows.
They twitched, Almost like the breathed
I blinked. They stopped.
No one else seemed to notice.
I turned to walk off, wishing I could disappear.
And then I heard it.
A voice. Not loud. Not close.
Inside my skull.
"You are not empty. You are sealed."
I froze.
"What?"
No one responded. Everyone was watching the next student blast holes in the training dummies.
But behind them, up on the instructor's platform, I saw a figure.
Tall. Hooded. Unfamiliar. Not a teacher.
They weren't watching the fights.
They were watching me.
And then I blinked gone.
I sat back down, trying to pretend that didn't just happen.
But then I saw it: a thin, black crack had formed under my bench. Like something under the ground had... split the surface.
And rising slowly from that crack, where no one else could see, was a single black flame.
Cold. Silent.
It hovered. Then vanished.
Before I could process it, my vision flashed white. The training ground, the students gone.
In their place, a ruined city burning under a blood-red sky. Corpses in red uniforms. Shadows crawling across walls like insects.
And in the center… me. Standing alone. Eyes glowing pitch black. The same cold flame in my hands.
Then,
I snapped back.
Everyone was clapping for the next performance.
I was sweating like I'd run a marathon. My hands are still trembling.
Then, the voice whispered again:
"You were hidden for a reason."
I didn't know if I should feel terrified…
…or excited
I didn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that hand stretching from the crack, clawed and slow, like it had all the time in the world to grab me.
But when I opened my eyes? Nothing.
No crack. No shadow. Just my dorm ceiling and the sound of Juno snoring like a possessed vacuum.
By morning, I was barely holding it together. The moment I entered the cafeteria, a chunk of fire-roasted toast smacked me in the face.
"Breakfast of the powerless!" someone jeered.
I didn't even react. I just peeled it off and sat down. Same table, same spot back corner, two chairs from the trash chute. My throne of irrelevance.
Juno dropped his tray next to me and leaned in.
"You okay? You look like you saw the Headmaster's tax report."
"I saw something," I muttered.
He paused. "Define something."
I hesitated. I wanted to tell him about the voice, the crack, the hand but how do you explain that without sounding like your brain's leaking?
Before I could answer, the cafeteria lights flickered.
Everyone paused.
Then something exploded.
From across the room, a flash of red power burst up from a rival student's table Leo, the flame show-off. His palm had lit up mid-toast and incinerated his entire tray.
"Again?" someone yelled.
But this time, the flames didn't go out.
They twisted and spiraled and then snapped toward me.
Everyone turned.
Leo's fire was reaching.
I barely had time to react. I threw my hands up
And the fire stopped.
Not because I blocked it.
Because something else did.
A shimmer of black rose in front of me like a curtain smooth, tall, and completely silent. It swallowed the flames like water over a spark.
Gone.
When it faded, the room was dead quiet.
Everyone stared at me.
Even Leo looked stunned. "What the hell was that?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't. My hands were still shaking. Not from fear. From whatever that was.
Juno leaned closer. "Aaro… your shadow just moved."
I looked down.
It was flat.
Perfectly still.
But only now did I realize something worse
The figure from the arena yesterday?
The hooded one?
They were standing at the cafeteria door.
Watching me.
Again.
I stood up, heart pounding.
They raised a single finger pointing straight at me.
Then they mouthed something, slowly:
"They'll come for you tonight."
And vanished.
This time, I knew I hadn't imagined its.
"They'll come for you tonight."
The words stayed with me all day.
Not echoing. Not fading.
Waiting.
By evening, Ignis Academy felt different. Too quiet. The usual hum of power in the air crackling flames, heated laughter was muted, like the world was holding its breath.
Juno wouldn't stop talking.
"Okay, seriously," he said as we walked back to the dorms, "since when do you block fire? And don't say 'accident' because that was not an accident."
"I didn't block it," I said. "It just… stopped."
"That's worse."
I agreed.
We reached the dorm hallway. Students passed us, some whispering, others staring outright. News traveled fast in Ignis Academy. Powerless Aaro eats flames wasn't exactly subtle.
My door creaked open.
Cold air spilled out.
Juno frowned. "Did you leave your window open?"
I hadn't.
Inside, the room was dark. Too dark. The light crystal by the door flickered weakly, like it was afraid.
I stepped in.
The door slammed shut behind us.
"Okay," Juno said slowly, "that's not normal."
The shadows in the corners of the room shifted.
Not fast. Not obvious.
Like they were… adjusting.
A pressure settled in my chest. Heavy. Familiar.
The voice returned.
"Do not panic."
My heart slammed. "You again."
Juno turned. "Again?"
I swallowed. "Stay behind me."
He laughed once. Nervously. "Aaro, you don't have to"
The shadows lunged.
They didn't attack him.
They went straight for me.
Instinct took over. I didn't even think,Didn't plan.
I reached out.
The air bent.
Darkness surged from my shadow, expanding outward like a tide. The room groaned. The walls creaked. The shadows froze mid-motion pinned, trembling like insects in amber.
I gasped. "What am I doing?"
"Remembering," the voice replied.
The shadows screamed.
Not out loud. In my head.
Then silence.
They collapsed into nothing.
The room returned to normal. Light crystal steady. Air warm again.
Juno stared at me.
Slowly, he backed away.
"Aaro…" he whispered. "Your eyes were black."
I looked down at my hands.
They were shaking.
But I felt something else now.
Not fear.
Control.
Outside the dorm, footsteps echoed. Heavy. Multiple.
A knock shook the door.
Then a voice I didn't recognize:
"Open up. Academy Enforcement."
The voice inside me spoke one last time, low and certain:
"This is where they take you… unless you run".