Lightning flashed over the spires of the academy as the rain began to fall—a slow, steady sheet of cold mist that veiled the world in silence. Deep beneath the central keep, far below the lecture halls and training chambers, a vault sealed by runes older than language flickered open.
Kalen walked into the darkness.
The mirrored mask was gone. His silversteel arm dripped faint light, veins of dark energy pulsing through it. His eyes were bloodshot—not from pain, but from rage. He had seen Brent.
And Brent was alive.
The revelation should have shaken him.
Instead, it ignited something darker.
At the heart of the vault stood Vaelrick—not as the charming, stately Headmaster students saw, but cloaked in living shadows, the runes along his arms glowing with pale flame.
He didn't turn when Kalen approached.
"You failed," Vaelrick said flatly.
"No," Kalen said, voice sharp but controlled. "I succeeded. He's alive."
That made Vaelrick pause.
"Brent…" he said slowly, like chewing on a curse. "That damn child... The Light chose him."
Kalen's jaw clenched. "You said the Gate would silence everything. That I'd be more than him."
Vaelrick turned then, his eyes glowing like twin suns suffocating in fog.
"Everything has its order, Kalen. The Gate was never about you."
Vaelrick's True Plan
With a gesture, Vaelrick summoned a map—not of the academy, but of the continent. Lines of ley energy pulsed beneath it like veins. At the center sat the academy, atop a spiraling vortex of power.
"The first Gate has almost awakened," Vaelrick said. "But it is only one of seven. Each must be opened in blood and betrayal. Each must consume a Lightborn before the end."
He pointed to a sealed circle at the center.
"The final Gate… the Throne of Hollow Suns. Only one being can open it—one born of Light and brokenby Shadow."
"You mean Brent."
"I mean the key. And yes. Now that we know he lives…" Vaelrick's grin twisted. "We must let him grow."
Kalen looked stunned.
"Why? Why not destroy him now?"
"Because the final Gate requires hope before despair," Vaelrick murmured. "You cannot break what has not first been lifted."
Kalen's Body is Dying
Kalen's arm trembled. He gritted his teeth and dropped to one knee.
Vaelrick gave a cruel smile.
"The silversteel is not a gift. It's a wager. One you are slowly losing."
"What are you talking about?" Kalen hissed.
"The enchantment came at a cost, Kalen. You gave your soul to empower it. And now? You only have months. Perhaps less."
Kalen's breathing turned ragged.
"But there is a cure," Vaelrick said smoothly. "One that lives inside Brent's evolving system. If you kill him… and harvest it..."
The implication was clear.
Kalen stood, swaying, but with something new in his eyes: desperation and hunger.
"I'll bring you his heart."
"No," Vaelrick corrected. "Bring me his hope. Shatter it. And then, when the final Gate opens… watch what he becomes."
A Hidden Observer
Unbeknownst to them, a set of silver eyes blinked from a small shadow in the corner of the vault. The reflection shimmered once—and then vanished into the stone.
Far away, in a broken greenhouse of twisted roots and old magic, the Seer gasped and fell to his knees.
"He knows… The Headmaster knows the boy lives."
Behind him, the thorn vines began to bloom black flowers.
System Update (Brent's System – Passive Trigger):
Warning: "Fated Breakpoint" approaching
If Hope is lost during this stage, system may fracture.
New Affinity Path Unlocked (Hidden):
Light Reborn / Eclipseborne Ascension – Conditions Unknown