Sebastian's POV
The floor stops glowing but my heart won't stop racing.
Five gathered. Five needed.
I don't believe in destiny. I don't believe in prophecies or magical voices or any of that nonsense. But I can't deny what just happened. We all heard it. We all saw the symbols.
And now I can't stop thinking about it.
The next day, I have combat class. I hate combat class. Not because I'm bad at it—I'm too good. That's the problem. Every time I use my shadow magic, professors watch me like I'm about to explode. Like I'm dangerous.
They're not wrong.
Master Chen is already in the training arena when I arrive. He's a strict man with cold eyes and a scar across his cheek. He doesn't like me. The feeling is mutual.
Other students file in. They give me space like I'm diseased. Fine. I prefer it that way.
Then Olivia Hart walks in.
She looks tired. Dark circles under her eyes. Her uniform is slightly wrinkled like she slept in it. But her chin is up. Her shoulders are back. She's trying to look confident even though everyone can see she's terrified.
Something twists in my chest. I ignore it.
"Pair up!" Master Chen barks. "Today we practice combat dueling. Basic offensive and defensive spells only. No one dies in my class. Understand?"
"Yes, Master Chen," everyone responds.
Students immediately grab partners. I watch Olivia stand alone as everyone avoids her. The Null-Spark. The weakest student in the academy.
"Hart!" Master Chen points at her. "You're with Thornwood."
My stomach drops.
Olivia's face goes pale. She walks toward me slowly. When she gets close, she whispers, "I'll try not to embarrass you."
"You should worry about yourself," I say coldly.
Her jaw tightens but she nods.
We move to an empty section of the arena. Around us, other pairs begin dueling. Spells flash. Students shout. The air crackles with magic.
"Basic rules," Master Chen says, watching us. "First to land three successful hits wins. Shields are allowed. Lethal force is not. Begin!"
I don't move. I wait to see what she'll do.
Olivia raises her hand. Her face scrunches in concentration. She's trying to cast a shield spell.
Nothing happens.
She tries again. Still nothing.
Around us, other students notice. They start to whisper and point.
"Hart, if you're not going to participate, step aside," Master Chen says impatiently.
"I'm trying!" Olivia's voice cracks with frustration.
Something in her desperation bothers me. She's not lazy. She's not giving up. She just can't do it.
But why?
"Thornwood, engage!" Master Chen orders.
I sigh and summon my shadows. They rise from the ground like living smoke, coiling around my arms. I send a tendril toward Olivia—gentle, not meant to hurt. Just to tap her shoulder and score a hit.
She sees it coming and tries to dodge. Too slow. The shadow tendril wraps around her wrist and pulls. She falls hard on the mat.
Students laugh.
My shadows retreat. "One to zero," I say quietly. "Get up."
She gets up. Her knee is bleeding but she doesn't cry. Doesn't complain. Just sets her stance again.
"Try the shield spell," I tell her. I don't know why I'm helping. "Visualize a wall. Make it solid in your mind."
She nods and tries again. Her hand glows faintly but the shield doesn't form.
I send another shadow tendril. This time she dodges. Good. She's learning.
But my shadow curves in mid-air and catches her ankle. She falls again.
"Two to zero," Master Chen announces.
More laughter. Someone calls out, "End it quick, Thornwood! Stop playing with her!"
Anger flares in me. Not at Olivia. At them. At this whole rotten system that labels people weak or strong before giving them a real chance.
Olivia stands up again. Blood drips from her knee but her eyes are determined. Not afraid. Determined.
"One more time," she says.
She's not giving up. After everything—the humiliation, the pain, the laughter—she's not giving up.
I feel that twist in my chest again. Stronger this time.
"Come on then," I say.
She raises both hands. Closes her eyes. Takes a deep breath.
I send my shadows forward—faster this time, aiming for her shoulder. It'll be the final hit and we can end this nightmare.
At the last second, Olivia's eyes snap open. Her hand shoots out. She catches my shadow tendril in her bare hand.
The entire arena goes silent.
My shadow touches her palm and then... vanishes.
Not pulled back. Not blocked. Absorbed. My shadow magic disappears into her skin like water into sand.
"What—" I stumble backward.
Olivia stares at her hand in shock. For just a moment, her hand glows with dark energy. My energy. Then it fades.
Master Chen is frozen, his eyes wide. "Stop! Match over!"
But I'm not listening. I'm staring at Olivia Hart, the Null-Spark who supposedly has no magic, who just absorbed a Level Seven shadow spell like it was nothing.
"How did you do that?" I demand.
"I don't know!" She looks terrified. "I just... I felt your magic coming and I wanted it to stop, and then—"
"Silence!" Master Chen storms over. His face is red. "Both of you, out of the arena. Now!"
"But Master Chen—" another student starts.
"Everyone else, continue practicing!" He grabs Olivia's arm and mine. "You two, come with me."
He drags us out of the arena into an empty hallway. Then he rounds on us.
"What was that?" he hisses.
"I don't know," Olivia says. She's shaking.
Master Chen looks at me. "Did you pull your shadows back?"
"No." I'm still trying to process what happened. "She absorbed them."
"That's impossible. Null-Sparks can't absorb magic. They can't do anything with magic."
"Well, she just did," I snap.
Master Chen paces back and forth, running his hand through his hair. He looks scared. Why would a professor be scared?
"This needs to be reported," he mutters. "Director Thorne needs to know. Both of you, wait here."
He rushes down the hallway, leaving us alone.
Olivia slides down the wall and sits on the floor. Her hands are trembling. "Sebastian, what's happening to me?"
I sit down across from her. For once, I don't have a cold response ready. "I don't know."
"Everyone says I'm weak. Everyone says I have no magic. But yesterday, the voice said 'five gathered.' And today I absorb your shadows. What if..." She looks up at me with frightened eyes. "What if I'm not a Null-Spark at all?"
Before I can answer, the hallway goes dark.
All the lights die at once. Emergency red lights flicker on, casting everything in an eerie glow.
An alarm blares. Loud. Deafening.
"LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL INITIATED," a mechanical voice announces. "ALL STUDENTS REMAIN IN CURRENT LOCATION. SECURITY BREACH DETECTED IN SECTOR SEVEN."
Olivia jumps to her feet. "What's Sector Seven?"
I feel my blood run cold. "The North Tower."
Her eyes widen. The place Director Thorne warned her about. The place where students don't come back the same.
The place that just triggered a full academy lockdown.
Metal doors slam down at both ends of the hallway, trapping us inside.
And through the walls, I hear screaming.