The awakening wasn't blissful.
It was cold.
He tried to stand.
"Lucifer, sit down,"
A healer said calmly, placing a hand on his arm.
He winced, looking over at the other healers, trying to decipher what they were saying.
It was mostly incoherent to him, yet he was able to pick up a brief snippet.
"We stopped it from killing him."
One said.
"We didn't remove it,"
Said another.
From these brief sentences and the 'dream' he had, he finally understood what had happened.
The umbral essence had bonded with his soul.
He is now a walking hazard.
A living bomb.
THUD!
That was the sound of Riven clattering into a nearby wall, the Elder Stonebeast had sent her barrelling like a spacecraft with a faulty guidance system with just a single shrug.
"Gk-hhk—!"
She coughed out.
She then convulsed, hacking until thick, foaming blood burst from her mouth and splattered the floor.
It was gory.
The spectators thought she was dead.
Meanwhile, Blaze sensed something terribly wrong.
A pressure. A pull. Like a hook sinking into him and dragging his body forward.
Someone needs help.
The thought wasn't conscious in his mind.
It just existed.
He arose, like he was possessed by a ghoul.
Maybe he was.
"You'll reawaken the corruption," a healer shouted. "It's not safe!"
"You're in no condition to leave," another voice snapped. "You'll—"
"I know." Blaze whispered
Before any of them could respond, Blaze was already stumbling into the corridor.
Three steps.
Stumble.
He caught himself against the wall.
Keep going.
His senses were slowly coming back.
Which meant the pain was slowly coming back too.
Every movement began to send fire throughout his veins. The umbral essence reacted with his innate instincts, like a living creature sensing danger.
Blaze dragged himself down the corridors like a body that hadn't realised it wasn't supposed to be moving.
It stretched endlessly.
Each step grew more and more agonising.
Each step, he grew more aware of the condescending gazes from passersby.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't stop.
Because voices echoed ahead.
Shouts.
Impact.
A scream.
Outrage.
His heart lurched out of his chest.
He broke into a sprint.
More of a stagger.
By the time he reached the entrance, he was shaking.
Blood had soaked back through his bandages.
His breath came in ragged gasps.
Guards turned.
"Infirmary patients aren't cleared—"
Blaze didn't stop.
He passed them.
He slammed straight through the doorway like a freight train.
The arena roared around him with gasps from the surrounding students.
There was smoke.
Dust.
And at the center.
Riven lay in a pool of her own blood, barely alive.
He grabbed his forgotten Soulflare without thinking, or even knowing that it was on the ground there.
The Elder Stonebeast towered over her, plates grinding, ancient eyes burning like dying stars.
It raised its limb.
The stands went silent.
Riven squeezed her eyes shut.
"Riven!"
His voice cracked.
She looked up.
A storm of shock crossed her face.
"Blaze?! You're—"
The limb came down.
Blaze moved, manifesting a shadow soulflare in his free hand mid-lunge.
There was no thought.
No plan.
No hesitation.
Just pure unadulterated instinct.
Light and shadow surged through him at once, tearing from his own soul in a violent rush. Both Soulflares screamed violently as he swung.
The impact cut through stone like butter.
The Elder reeled in agony.
Riven collapsed backward, gasping.
Alive.
Barely.
Blaze dropped to one knee.
His vision swam.
Dark veins pulsed violently beneath his skin now, spreading, retreating, spreading again.
He forced himself upright.
"I've… got it," he lied.
The beast didn't fall.
It adjusted.
Stone plates grinding, ancient muscles tightening.
It raised its other limb.
Twice as high.
Twice as fast.
The stands erupted.
"Blaze, move!" Kai shouted.
He couldn't.
His legs refused.
The Umbral curse flared, burning like ice in his blood.
The limb began to fall.
The air froze.
A pressure slammed down on the arena.
Not physical.
Authoritative.
Reality itself seemed to bow.
Five figures stepped onto the field.
Instructors.
Runes ignited beneath their feet.
Sigils spiraled into the sky.
Chains erupted from the stone, wrapping around the Elder's body, piercing armor, sinking into ancient flesh.
The beast howled.
Not in pain.
In fury.
It struggled.
It failed.
A massive seal burned into existence, layers of glyphs folding over each other like closing jaws.
With a final, thunderous crack, the creature was forced back into its gate.
Silence fell.
Smoke drifted.
Debris settled.
No cheers followed.
One instructor turned toward Blaze.
His gaze was flat.
"You were ordered to remain in the infirmary."
Blaze tried to answer.
Blood spilled from his mouth instead.
"I—she was going to—"
"Rules exist for a reason," the instructor interrupted.
Two guards appeared beside him.
Hands clamped onto his arms.
Rough.
Uncaring.
Riven struggled to her feet. "He saved me!"
No one looked at her.
"He interfered with an active trial," the instructor replied. "Endangering protocol."
Protocol.
Not her life.
Not his.
Protocol.
"Take him," the instructor said.
Blaze's sword slipped from his fingers.
As he was dragged away, his vision blurred.
The last thing he saw was Riven staring after him.
And the sealed gate still smoking.
The trial continued.
Blaze stood in the adjudication chamber alone.
No windows.
No banners.
Just stone and three instructors seated behind a curved desk.
He felt small.
One of them spoke.
"Blaze Lucifer."
Not his name.
His file.
"You interfered with an active trial."
Blaze clenched his fists. "She was going to die."
"That is not your decision."
Another instructor tapped a crystal.
An image appeared.
Him.
Running.
Striking.
Breaking formation.
"Your actions disrupted protocol," she said. "Risked structural collapse. Invalidated data."
"Data?" Blaze whispered.
"You are not here to be a hero," the first instructor replied. "You are here to be measured."
Before Blaze could respond, another instructor spoke up.
"We are assigning you to Hazard Training for the foreseeable future."
Blaze paled at the thought. hazard training was unheard of for a first-year, not even his dormmates had been through it.
"This will not only act as punishment, but shall give you real experience," the instructor stated calmly. "The details should be sent to you via mail by tomorrow morning."
They all then said in unison.
"Dismissed."