The high-pressure ceremony in the plaza left Chase drained, but the stolen light digesting inside the [Scabbard of Broken Oaths] was turning into a volatile, dark energy. His veins throbbed with a cold heat, and the [Whispers] were no longer murmuring—they were demanding payment.
[Contract Status: Active] Current Resonance: Unstable. Required Action: Feed the Scabbard before midnight to prevent internal Mana-Backlash.
He couldn't return to his room. His body felt too light, his senses razor-sharp. He could hear the beat of a moth's wings three corridors away and feel the heat radiating from the mana-lamps in the ceiling.
Into the Green
The Forbidden Arboretum was a sprawling glass dome suspended from the underbelly of Aetheria's main floating island. While the rest of the Academy was bathed in cold moonlight, the garden below was an choked jungle of bioluminescent flora and weeping vines.
Chase slipped through a loose iron grate near the lower maintenance access, his small frame gliding through the narrow opening without a sound.
[Location Discovered: The Forbidden Arboretum] Zone Type: Wild Mana / Restricted Area. Warning: Lunar Sentinels are active.
The air was dense and sticky, smelling of wet earth, copper, and crushed orchid petals. Luminescent blue moss carpeted the stone paths, flickering whenever a shadow fell across it.
The Hunter and the Beast
Chase moved along the outer rim, his eyes fixed on the glowing map projected in his mind by the [Ledger of the Usurper]. Deep within the heart of the garden, past the dense canopy of ancient willows, lay the target.
"The blood of a light-fed beast..." the Scabbard hissed against his thigh. "Offer it to the steel, or it will drink from your own heart."
A rustle in the ferns made Chase freeze.
Out of the misty undergrowth stepped a Glimmer-Stag—a creature native to the high-magic zones, its coat shimmering like spun silver and its antlers glowing with soft, holy light. It was a peaceful beast, but to the Scabbard, it was a vessel of condensed mana.
Chase pulled a simple iron shortsword from his belt—a standard-issue training blade he had taken from the arena racks. He held the scabbard in his left hand and the bare steel in his right.
"Forgive me," Chase murmured softly.
He activated [Abyssal Step].
His form dissolved into the surrounding shadows, reappearing directly above the creature. Before the stag could sense the intrusion, Chase struck, channelling the dark resonance stored in the relic straight down the length of the blade.
The Price Paid
The strike was silent. The stag didn't even scream; its holy glow was instantly pulled toward Chase like water down a drain. The scabbard drank greedily, absorbing the silver light until the creature dissolved into a fine, sparkling dust that settled into the soil.
[Relic Nourished] Bond Strength: 12% (Stabilized) HP Restored: +25 Mana Fully Replenished.
Chase landed softly on his feet, his chest heaving as the dark mana settled into his core. He felt strong—stronger than he had since his reawakening. But as he turned to leave, a dry, clapping sound echoed from the dark branches above him.
An Unexpected Spectator
"Remarkable control for a seven-year-old," a smooth, raspy voice said.
Chase's hand flew to his sword, his eyes flaring with gold as he looked up.
Perched on a thick willow branch was Professor Haze, his smoky form flickering in the moonlight filtering through the glass ceiling. He wasn't wearing his formal academic robes, and his pupil-less eyes were fixed entirely on the dark leather sheath hanging from Chase's waist.
"I wondered how the Sun-Glaive turned blue today," Haze said, dropping from the branch to land as lightly as a feather on the moss. "A pillar of light doesn't change color for a child, Chase. It changes color when it encounters an abyss."
Chase backed away, his hand tightening on his weapon. "Are you going to call Inquisitor Vane?"
Haze chuckled, a sound like dry leaves scraping together. "Vane is a dog who only knows how to bark at the sun. I am a scholar. And I have waited forty years for someone to open the door to the Under-Halls."
Haze stepped closer, pointing a smoke-shrouded finger toward the center of the garden, where a massive, ancient willow tree twisted toward the sky.
"The blade you're looking for isn't hidden in a chest, boy," Haze whispered. "It is buried in the heart of that tree. But to take it, you'll need more than a stole scabbard. You'll need an ally who knows how to break the roots."