The air in the academy felt heavier than ever as Rayan lay on his bed, still reeling from last night's chaos. Every breath stung with the blade's curse, the relentless hum of his katana echoing like a reminder of fate's inexorable pull. The Timeless Blade was more than just a weapon—it was a burden passed through ages, its dark legacy gnawing at the edges of reality.
The Hidden Tome
Driven by an urgency he couldn't quite explain, Rayan found himself drawn once more to the academy's Restricted Wing. The corridors were silent and oppressive, adorned with statues of blindfolded archmages and forgotten heroes. In a secluded, dust-choked corner, he discovered a hidden niche behind a crumbling statue of an ancient seer. There, ensconced in shadows, lay the Tome of Severance.
Its cover, cracked and bound in iron, bore cryptic runes that pulsed like a heartbeat. As Rayan opened it, the ritual of Severance unfolded before his eyes—a rite demanding that one sever the soul from the shackles of mortal fragility. Kurogane, the blade's first wielder, had attempted this long ago, and the failure had cost him everything. A single, inescapable line glowed on the tome's cover:
"To break the chains of weakness, to own the true might of the blade, you must confront your deepest fear—only then may you choose: blade or soul."
The Descent Into Trial
No sooner had the words registered than the air around Rayan began to distort. Shadows lengthened into twisted specters, and the floor beneath him fractured with a deep, resonant groan. With a sudden pull, Rayan was dragged into darkness, his body and spirit torn asunder by forces beyond mortal ken.
When the void faded, he found himself in a barren wasteland. Howling winds whipped across cracked earth beneath a blood-red sky. Before him stood a plateau, and on it, a figure—a dark, mirror image of himself. This twisted reflection sneered with the coldness of forgotten regrets.
"You dare wield the Timeless Blade? You are naught but a transient ghost, doomed to repeat the tragedies of the past!" the figure spat, its voice echoing with the weight of ancient failures.
Rayan's heart pounded. Every detail bore the mark of Kurogane's final, tormented stand—the relentless battles against demons and curses that had cost him his soul. Memories surged: the valor and the agony of a warrior who had confronted his own mortality only to see his spirit shatter.
"Sever your ties to weakness! Sever your humanity if you wish to claim true power!" the figure hissed, raising an arm as if to deliver a fatal blow.
Confrontation and Revelation
Clenching his fists, Rayan looked the spectral self in the eye. "I am more than my fears," he declared, voice trembling with both defiance and dread. "I will not become the echo of a doomed past. I choose my people, my memories—and yes, even my pain."
As he drew his katana, its blade flared with a spectral, ethereal light. With a steady swing, Rayan aimed at his dark mirror. The act was not one of destruction, but of acceptance—a fusion of past torment and present resolve. The reflection shattered, dissipating into glowing motes that danced away with the wind.
In that instant, the barren wasteland collapsed around him. He was swept back through the void of time, emerging once again in the quiet sanctuary of the Restricted Wing. The Tome of Severance lay closed before him, its cryptic message now etched in his soul. Something fundamental had changed. The Timeless Blade, rather than a curse, pulsed in his hand like a living legacy reborn through his resolve.
Aftermath Among Friends
Later that day, back in the dorms, Rayan's friends noticed his silence and the resolute set to his features. Yeon, ever the sharp observer, remarked quietly, "I can feel it… he's not just carrying the blade; he's carrying its history—and his future."
Cezar and Tonio exchanged worried glances, aware that this transformation was not without cost. Yet, they sensed a new strength in him, a hardened determination that promised both triumphs and heartbreak.
Far Across the Veil
Unbeknownst to Rayan and his companions, worlds beyond the academy were stirring with ancient memories and grudges.
In the midst of the charred, floating citadels of Aethralis—the Demon Realm—a shadowy court gathered. The Emperor of Demons, a towering figure clad in obsidian scales and crowned with ember-like eyes, listened intently to whispers carried on scorching winds. It was said that the Timeless Blade had once claimed the life of his own brother, an act of betrayal that had fractured the realm's hierarchy. Now, as the blade's current bearer embraced its cursed legacy, the Emperor's voice trembled with dark recollection.
"The blade... it stirs once again," the Emperor murmured, his tone heavy with both wrath and regret. His loyal minions, fiendborn and ashwalkers alike, bowed silently as murmurs of ancient vengeance spread through the cavernous halls of his dark palace.
Far away, in the Majestic Glowing Vast of the Elven Realms—a land of luminous forests and living starlight—the Emperor of the Elves surveyed a realm blooming with untold beauty. Yet even in these serene groves, a tremor of unease had passed among the ancient trees and their ethereal guardians.
The Elven Emperor, regal and ageless, stood upon a balcony woven of living vines and glass. "The tremble of destiny reaches even us," he declared in a voice as clear and sorrowful as a twilight bell. "The blade that ended an unholy feud in the Demon Realm now awakens a legacy that may tip the balance of all our worlds."
A New Dawn
Back at the academy, as twilight gave way to starlight, Rayan gazed at his katana with a renewed understanding of its dual nature—a tool forged in tragedy, now tempered by his own determination. The Trial of Severance had changed him; he had embraced the blade's curse without succumbing to its despair.
Yet in his heart, he knew that far beyond the safe walls of Arcania, ancient powers were stirring—and that the legacy of Kurogane, the betrayal of a demon prince, and the trembling warnings of elven wisdom would soon converge into a conflict that could reshape all realms.
As the final strains of night whispered around him, Rayan murmured quietly, "I will carry this burden… and one day, I will set things right."
End of Chapter 10