Let's keep the slow-burn escalation going.
Chapter Thirty-One — Eastern Ward Breach
Location:
Valerius Imperial Academy – Eastern Defensive Ward
Time: Minutes after Chapter Thirty
The sky split.
Not with lightning—but with distortion.
Above the eastern wall of the academy, the air twisted inward like a wound refusing to close. Runes carved into the battlements screamed as they overloaded, their glow flickering between blue and red.
"Incoming breach!"
"Instructors to the wall!"
Celsius stood atop the arena steps, eyes fixed on the rupture.
That's not Kael's power alone.
Eridiaries stirred.
Eridiaries: Something answered the call.
Scene 1 — The First Tear
The distortion widened.
A claw emerged.
Black. Chitinous. Too large to belong to any beast of Kuasha.
Then another.
The wall shattered as a Void-Touched Monster tore itself into the world, its body dripping shadow and warped mana.
Students screamed.
Archers fired.
Blades rang.
Nothing slowed it.
Celsius was already moving.
Lyra grabbed his arm.
Lyra: "You're not an instructor!"
Celsius: "I'm Valerius."
He stepped forward.
Shadow gathered at his feet.
Scene 2 — Clash at the Wall
The monster roared, sound bending reality.
Guards were flung aside like dolls.
Celsius leapt.
Midair, he drew his sword.
Shadow wrapped the blade—not fully, but enough.
One strike.
The monster's arm severed.
Black ichor splashed across the stone, sizzling where it touched.
The creature screamed—then adapted.
Its wound sealed.
Students stared in horror.
Instructor Marek: "It's regenerating!"
Celsius landed, breathing steady.
Celsius: "Then we don't give it time."
Scene 3 — First Command
Without turning, Celsius spoke.
Celsius: "Formation delta. Draw it inward."
The guards hesitated—then obeyed.
Why?
Because his voice carried authority.
The monster lunged.
Celsius stepped directly into its shadow.
For an instant, he vanished.
Then—
The creature froze.
Its shadow detached, pinned to the ground by an unseen force.
Celsius reappeared behind it.
Celsius: "Stay down."
The blade fell.
The shadow was severed.
The monster collapsed—lifeless.
Silence followed.
Scene 4 — Witnesses
Students stared at Celsius as if seeing him for the first time.
An instructor whispered:
"…That wasn't swordsmanship."
Duke Magnus arrived moments later, surveying the wreckage.
His gaze settled on the corpse.
Magnus: "Void-class."
He turned to Celsius.
Magnus: "How did you know how to kill it?"
Celsius met his father's eyes.
Celsius: "Because this isn't the first time they've tried to take me."
Magnus said nothing.
But something in his expression shifted.
Scene 5 — A Bigger Threat
Far beyond the academy—
In a ruined forest.
A hooded figure knelt before a pulsing rift.
Kael's voice echoed from the shadows.
Kael: "Good. The seal weakens."
A distorted voice answered.
"The Shadow Heir has revealed himself."
Kael smiled.
Kael: "Then hunt him."
The rift widened.
And more claws reached through.
End of Chapter Thirty-One
Next chapter
Chapter Thirty-Two — Monsters Within the Walls