The sun dipped low over Celestara Spire, staining the floating city in molten orange as the aftermath of the morning duels settled into excited whispers. Students filtered toward their next evaluations, instructors barked reminders, and the dueling platforms dimmed one by one.
Caelum Vale didn't move.
He stood at the balcony overlooking the plaza, hands resting lightly on the cool railing. His silver hair caught the fading light, scattering it in pale gold sparks. The excitement of the duel with Lyra had worn off, replaced by a lingering tension deep in his chest.
The Starfire Arcana pulsed faintly. Too faintly.
He frowned. "That resonance earlier… it wasn't normal."
He had always been good with mana—gifted, according to most. But the surge during the fight had come unasked, a flash of celestial force bending through him like a falling star.
Not dangerous. Not yet.
But not planned.
Before he could analyze further, footsteps approached.
"You shouldn't be alone after a resonance spike," Seraphine Frostveil said calmly. "It can cause instability. Or emotional impulsiveness. Or spontaneous floating."
Caelum glanced over. "Have you… witnessed spontaneous floating before?"
"Yes," she answered. "It was catastrophic."
"…Catastrophic floating?"
She nodded gravely.
He sighed. "I appreciate your concern. But I'm fine."
"No," Seraphine said. "You are pretending to be fine. Statistically, that is different."
She joined him at the railing, her presence cool and precise. Her breath fogged slightly in the warm evening air—her mana leaking from overfocus.
"You're worried," she said.
"I'm thinking," Caelum corrected.
"Thinking," Seraphine echoed. "Which for you is simply worry at higher speed."
Caelum laughed softly. "You really have been studying me."
"Yes." She paused. "I find you interesting."
Before Caelum could respond, the balcony door burst open.
Lyra Ignis marched out, still bristling with leftover indignation. "There you are!" she snapped. "I've been looking everywhere."
"Sorry," Caelum said. "I needed air."
Lyra crossed her arms. "I'm not here to talk about the duel."
"You're not?" Caelum blinked.
"No," she said quickly. "Because I'm not upset. Or embarrassed. Or thinking about it at all."
Seraphine tilted her head. "Your face is heating."
"It is not!" Lyra shouted.
"Yes," Seraphine said, "your mana signature is rising. Likely from emotional—"
"Stop analyzing me!"
Caelum raised a hand. "Everyone calm—"
The sky rumbled.
A deep, low vibration rolled across the academy. Wind reversed direction, spiraling upward. The clouds parted as if pushed by invisible hands.
Lyra's flames flickered nervously.
Seraphine narrowed her eyes. "A mana distortion?"
Caelum looked up.
Something was falling.
A single streak of violet light tore through the clouds, growing brighter, faster, heavier, until it slammed into the northern side of the Spire with a resonant blast that shook the entire academy.
A shockwave rippled outward. The balcony floor trembled beneath them.
Students screamed in the distance.
Caelum's hand tightened on the railing. "Impact near the Astral Gardens."
Lyra's flames roared. "We need to go."
Seraphine nodded. "Agreed."
They sprinted down the staircase, weaving through corridors as the floating academy groaned from the shock. Instructors yelled orders. Alarms shimmered in the air, glowing runes signaling emergency.
When they reached the gardens, the air smelled of crushed stardust and torn grass.
Vines trembled. Crystals had shattered. The floating pond rippled violently.
And at the center of a smoking crater stood a girl.
A girl wrapped in crackling violet energy.
Elowen Thorne knelt beside her, attempting to heal her with glowing green sigils—but each time she touched the girl, a burst of energy knocked her back.
"Elowen!" Caelum rushed forward, catching her before she fell.
She winced. "Caelum… I can't stabilize her. Her mana is… spiraling."
Lyra frowned. "Who is she?"
Seraphine observed quietly. "Unknown. But her power level is unusual. Extremely unusual."
The girl lifted her head.
Her eyes were starless voids—deep, swirling purple like the night just before dawn.
She looked at Caelum.
"You…" she breathed. "You're the one."
Caelum stilled. "The one… what?"
Before she could answer, a surge of violet lightning erupted around her, cracking through stone and sky. Lyra shielded her face with fire. Seraphine conjured a barrier of ice. Elowen's vines whipped up like frantic guardians.
Caelum stepped forward.
His Starfire Arcana pulsed again—stronger this time.
The gravity around him bent. Starlight flickered at the edge of his vision.
He raised his hand.
And the violent storm around the girl slowed.
Just slightly.
But enough.
The girl gasped. Energy crackled off her, unraveling. She collapsed forward—but Caelum caught her gently.
Her breathing steadied.
Her eyes fluttered open long enough to whisper: "They're coming."
"Who?" Caelum asked.
Her voice thinned to a desperate whisper. "The ones who want the crown."
Caelum froze.
Lyra frowned. "Crown? What crown?"
Seraphine's gaze shifted to Caelum. "You know something."
He swallowed. "It's… nothing I can explain yet."
Elowen studied the unconscious girl. "We need to bring her to the infirmary."
"Wait." Lyra touched Caelum's shoulder. "What did she mean by the crown?"
Caelum hesitated.
He could lie. Shrug it off. Pretend.
But a strange certainty pulsed within him.
The path had already begun.
He met their eyes—Lyra's fiery intensity, Seraphine's cold precision, Elowen's quiet sincerity.
"I think," Caelum said softly, "this is the beginning of something much bigger than a tournament. Bigger than the academy."
Wind swirled around him again.
Almost bowing.
As if recognizing something.
Or someone.
Seraphine spoke first. "Then we stay with you."
Lyra nodded. "Obviously."
Elowen smiled. "Always."
Caelum exhaled.
The floating academy hummed with new tension.
Far above them, storm clouds began to gather.
And somewhere deep within Celestara Spire, something ancient stirred.
The path to the Arcane Crown had truly begun.