With a surge of excitement, I rushed to the kitchen, the glass clutched tightly in my hand. I turned on the tap and filled it to the brim, water sloshing as I hurried back to my room. Carefully, I sprinkled droplets onto the spellbook, page by page, watching as hidden ink bled through the paper like something alive.
Handwritten spells unfolded before my eyes.
I sat down slowly, shoving my pillow aside and placing the book beside me. My hands trembled as I turned back to the first page, where VULCANIS was written boldly at the top. A flicker of fear crept into my chest. I had never properly read a spell from a real spellbook before, not like this. Not without guidance.
I hesitated.
But excitement swallowed the fear whole.
I took a deep breath and began to read the spell, clumsy and slow, forcing each word out carefully, afraid of making a mistake.
The moment I finished, the room fell… blank.
"Nothing?"
Silence pressed down on me, thick and heavy, like the air itself was waiting. No spark. No reaction. Not even a ripple in the water.
Disappointment gnawed at me, but I tried again, this time firmer, louder, my voice steadier.
"Per aquam revelo,
Per voluntatem fingo.
Quod latet, surgat.
Scriptum… nascere."
Still nothing.
My thoughts spiraled instantly. Was I saying it wrong? Was I not good enough? Was this book just another cruel joke? I was a full-time overthinker, always had been.
Anger crept in, hot and sharp.
With a frustrated motion, I threw my left hand out to discard the book.
And the air burned.
Blue flames erupted from my fingernails, wild and unnatural, crashing into my cabinet and igniting it on impact. Wood blackened instantly as flames leaked upward.
I stumbled back, heart pounding, breath caught in my throat.
"What... what was that…?"
I had just created flames for the first time in my life. And instead of being exhilarated, my heart was pounding in fright. It felt unreal, like my body was moving ahead of my thoughts. I stood there staring at my hand, half expecting the fire to vanish.
I walked closer to the cabinet, now pitch black, thin smoke curling toward the ceiling.
"It actually burned down… this is not a dream."
My chest tightened. For the first time, I felt dangerous.
A strange mix of confidence and tension rushed through my veins. I wasn't my usual self anymore. Something had shifted. I picked up the spellbook with shaky hands and smiled softly, chanting the spell again, this time with intent, my eyes glowing with excitement.
A wave of flame burst from my fingertips, stronger than before.
I jumped back in shock, my breath catching but I wasn't afraid this time. Instinct kicked in. I raised my hand, trying to slow it down, trying to control it. The flames twisted and curled, shrinking until they rested on my palm like a living thing.
It obeyed me.
The heat was intense, yet it didn't burn. The fire pulsed gently, reacting to every small thought in my head. When I focused, it grew. When I calmed myself, it settled.
It felt less like casting magic… and more like guiding it.
Like the flames were waiting for me to decide what they should be.
I closed my fist, and the fire vanished instantly, leaving only a faint warmth behind. I stared at my hand in silence, my breath uneven.
"So this is creation magic…" I whispered.
Meanwhile, Lyra sat cross-legged on her bed, pen tapping lightly against her lip. A large cardboard sheet was spread out in front of her, half-filled with rough sketches and messy lines. She sighed, staring at it like it might magically arrange itself.
"This is pointless…"
She leaned back and looked out the window. The academy grounds were quiet, bathed in moonlight.
"What an idiot," she muttered.
A brief pause.
"…Still."
Her cheeks flushed as she quickly looked away. She shook her head, annoyed at herself, and leaned forward again, forcing her focus back onto the sheet. Squares, circles, arrows, escape routes, safe spots, blind corners. Anything to keep Moses out of Draven's reach.
As she marked another section, a soft hum filled the room.
A holographic image flickered to life on the holo-cell resting on her table.
Kael.
Her pen froze mid-air.
The holo-cell, a wireless communicator created by early Aetherion Tech mages, projected Kael's image in a pale blue glow. Every dorm had one, but Lyra rarely received calls this late.
Her eyes narrowed.
"What does he want… now?"
The call rang again. And again.
Lyra exhaled slowly, unease creeping up her spine. Still in her nightwear, she grabbed a jacket and slipped it on, her gaze never leaving the flickering image. After a brief hesitation, she walked over to the cabinet.
"This better be important," she muttered, reaching for the control rune.
I kept reading more spells from the book with growing enthusiasm. Slowly, I was getting addicted to this feeling. The power. The control. I glanced at the clock, it was a few minutes to midnight. I ignored it. The thin smoke from the flame embers curled toward the ceiling, and instead of coughing, I inhaled it, almost enjoying the burn in my lungs as I read another spell out loud, completely overlooking the caution written faintly at the side of the page.
"Umbra pulsa
Caecum frange
Nox Fulgar."
At the slightest movement of my arm, the room went blank.
Dark.
Every light went out at once.
My heart skipped. I rushed to the window, and the only light outside was the moon, pale and distant. That's when fear hit me like a truck. I hadn't just shut down my room, I had sent the entire academy into a blackout.
My hands trembled as I tried to steady my breathing. I reached for the lamp, conjuring a small flame just to see, the fire flickering weakly in my palm. I turned back to the spellbook, dread pooling in my stomach, and this time I noticed the warning scribbled beside the spell.
Caution: High-voltage elemental spell.
Usage only with electro-repulsive barriers.
"How didn't I see this?" I cried out, my voice cracking.
The whole academy was dark. And somehow, I knew this would lead back to me. It always did. I could already imagine the whispers by morning, the mocking laughs, the looks of disappointment. Another reason for them to see me as the useless mage who couldn't do anything right.
I dropped onto my bed, clutching my head, trying to think, any solution, any excuse but nothing came together. Frustration turned into anger, anger into something heavier. I was tired. So tired. Just when I felt like I was finally making progress, disaster showed up like it always did.
Am I cursed? I asked myself.
"You probably are," a voice replied softly. "Why not let me show you the light?"
I answered without thinking. The rage had clouded my mind, drowning out reason. All I felt was hurt, bitterness, and a burning desire to prove everyone wrong.
"What light?" I snapped. "There's no light in me. I'm weak. Useless. I can't get anything right."
"Take my hand, Moses," the voice said again.
It sounded like me.
This time, I could see it, a dark, shadowed hand stretching toward me from a figure suspended in thin air. I didn't understand what was happening. My thoughts felt empty, numb, as if logic had abandoned me entirely. Without knowing why, I reached out.
My fingers drew closer.
Closer.
Almost touching.
Suddenly
The lights snapped back on.
I jerked back, gasping, my heart racing as the room returned to normal. The shadow was gone. The hand... gone.
"What just happened?" I whispered, panic flooding in.
"Who was that?"
No answers.
I decided it was time to go to bed. This night was getting too long, and too many strange things were happening all at once. I gently lay down, staring at the ceiling, hoping sleep would pull me away from everything.
It didn't.
My eyes stayed open. My thoughts wouldn't slow. Every time I closed them, that shadowed hand flashed in my mind. The voice. The blackout. The way it sounded like me.
I turned on my side, then my back again, exhaling slowly. Whatever that was… it wasn't over.
Meanwhile, Lyra finally answered Kael's call.
"I really hope you have a good reason for ringing me this late at night."
Kael clearly wasn't expecting that tone. He hadn't thought this through, he never did. He always jumped straight into things.
"Well… uh… I just wanted to check if you're alright," he stammered, forcing the lie.
"O…kay," Lyra replied, disbelief heavy in her voice. "I'm fine, as you can see. So can I go back to bed now?"
Kael swallowed. Sweat dotted his forehead. He wasn't used to conversations like this, especially not with someone as sharp as Lyra. Intimidation wasn't working. Control wasn't working.
"Uh… given that you sneaked Moses out earlier today..."
She cut him off immediately.
"I knew it." She sighed, annoyance clear on her face. "So you call me past midnight just to make a fuss about Moses? How is his well-being your business, Kael?"
He froze. She had already seen through him. Through the blue holographic glow, Lyra could tell he was scrambling.
"It's not what you think," he muttered. "If you'd just let me explain"
She hesitated. Lyra was impatient, but she was also fair. With a small gesture, she signaled him to continue.
Kael seized the opening.
"So, uh… would you be free for lunch tomorrow?" He paused. "My treat."
Lyra blinked. That wasn't what she expected.
A trap? A distraction? Or something else?
Kael had always liked Lyra, quietly, carefully. Not boldly. Not confidently. And now, under Draven's instructions, he was trying something reckless. Anything to pull her toward the Titanar hideout.
Lyra stayed silent, her mind racing. Too many possibilities. Too many angles.
After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"I'll think about it."
Kael's eyes lit up. "Lunch break cool with you?"
"Don't get any ideas," she snapped. "I said I'll think about it."
"Okay...okay," he replied quickly, backing off.
Lyra exhaled, already done with the conversation. "Can I go back to sleep now? You do know it's past midnight, right?"
Kael nodded, frustration flickering across his face. Before he could say another word, Lyra pressed down on the hologram.
The image collapsed. Silence returned.
She walked back to her bed, sitting down slowly, staring at the wall.
Why would Kael suddenly ask her out to lunch?
Something felt off.
And she hated that she couldn't tell what it was yet.
Back at the Titanar dorm, Draven had just gotten off a call with Kael, who briefed him on his encounter with Lyra and the plan. Draven was pleased with the information. He felt no guilt, he was a soulless bully who terrorized weaker mages without conscience.
But for some reason, a strange feeling crept in. Pity. Remorse. Maybe even guilt.
What he was about to do went beyond oppressing a weak student. This was straight-up trafficking. Did he really have to go this far just to get back at someone over an accident?
"It's all that cocky girl's fault," he muttered to himself. "Why did she step in for that loser?"
Still, it felt wrong. He paced around his room, running through different outcomes, different consequences. Eventually, exhaustion won. He slumped onto the couch, thoughts tangled, and drifted into sleep.
Morning broke as sunlight filtered through the academy towers, chasing away the shadows of the night and stirring the world awake.
My alarm rang loudly, stabbing at my ears. I felt weak, unwilling to get out of bed, but the old clock was relentless. I reached out with my left hand, missing it completely, like I had forgotten the position of the clock I'd used for over a year. With a groan, I rolled over and slammed my hand down on it, finally silencing the noise.
I lay there for a moment, eyes heavy, trying to fall back asleep. It didn't work. Once the alarm rang, my body refused rest.
I sighed and looked toward the cupboard or what was left of it. Burnt, crumbled, pitch-black wood lay scattered on the floor. The memories of last night rushed back all at once.
So it wasn't a dream.
I stood there with my arms akimbo, staring at the wreckage, wondering what to do with it. Then I heard noise outside, other students already preparing for class. Panic kicked in.
I hurried into the kitchen, slid a few slices of bread into the toaster, and waited as it hummed softly, knowing I didn't have much time before I had to leave.
Returning to my room, I noticed the spellbook lying beside the burnt cabinet. Without thinking, I grabbed it and shoved it under the bed before almost sprinting into the bathroom. I showered faster than I ever had. I needed to get to class early, early enough to avoid Draven and his goons.
Ting! The toaster popped, springing the bread into the air and breaking the quiet of the kitchen.
I rushed over, grabbed the butter and a knife, spreading it hastily over a slice while throwing myself into my academy uniform. Everything felt rushed. Messy. Urgent.
I swallowed a piece of bread whole and almost choked.
"Arrgh!" I gasped, grabbing a glass of water and gulping it down. "That was a close one."
I was ready.
I walked back into my room and switched off the lamps, plunging the space into darkness—when suddenly, almost on instinct, the holo-cell flickered to life. Lyra's image filled the room with a soft blue glow.
She had never called me before.
I rushed over and answered immediately.
"Hey… uh… Moses," she said shyly. "I see you're already dressed for class."
"Hey, Lyra," I replied, scratching my head. "Uh… yeah. I wanted to leave early, to avoid Draven and his goons. So… how are you?"
"About that… hehe… last night I got a call from..."
The hologram cut out.
I froze, staring at the device. Droplets of water clung to its surface.
"Seriously?" I muttered.
I rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a napkin, and wiped it down carefully. Almost immediately, the holo-cell rang again. The blue image popped up, startling me.
"Sorry about that," I said quickly. "I think some water got on it."
"It's okay," Lyra replied. Her tone shifted, more serious now. "I just wanted to tell you to be careful. Kael called me last night and made a strange proposition."
My chest tightened.
"I don't know what he's planning," she continued, worry lacing her voice, "but please try to stay out of trouble."
I nodded, moved by her concern. Lyra was always kind, but this felt… different.
"Alright," I said softly. "I'll be careful."
I wanted to ask what Kael had said, but I didn't want to seem intrusive.
"Okay, Moses," she said after a pause. "I need to finish getting ready. I'll see you at school."
"Yeah," I replied, smiling awkwardly. "You will."
"Take care of yourself," she added before ending the call, her cheeks flushed.
As the hologram faded, it was clear, whether she admitted it or not, Lyra cared more than she let on.