Next," Professor Iris called, his voice low but clear. "Taveer Ilyan."
Taveer exhaled slowly. He stepped forward in a quiet and composed way like someone walking toward something they'd already dreamed about.
Nola watched him walk towards the centre with utter confidence.
He didn't look afraid.
But he didn't look steady either.
Just tired and bored.
He stepped into the circle, and the air thickened instantly.
The light that rose from the relic was dark red. It was like wine left too long undisturbed flashing with a light. A hush spread through the chamber.
No sparks. No violence.
Just silence.
Then the world around him changed.
He stood in a candlelit hall. It was wide and made out of marble. Velvet curtains were dancing to the soft wind.
It was not a battle scene.
Just music.
A waltz played gently from a string quartet in the corner.
Taveer looked down at himself, dressed in black, regal, far more formal than he ever was.
And across from him, stepping toward him in a flowing crimson gown, was a woman with chestnut hair and eyes like twilight.
She smiled.
It wasn't a haunting smile. It wasn't seductive either.
It was real.
It hurt how real it was, Taveer felt like it was his own memory.
"This is my regret." A voice said.
Taveer turned and saw him. He was tall, regal, pale like frost under moonlight.
Vlad Drăculea.
The Will within him.
Vlad stepped forward, not as a king, not as a monster.
But as a man.
"This night was the greatest moment of my life," Vlad said softly. "And the worst."
Taveer couldn't move. He couldn't speak.
"I danced with her beneath a ceiling of stars. I believed then that the world was something I could shape. I believed love was enough to keep the darkness away."
Vlad's voice cracked.
"And hours later, I learned it wasn't."
The memory froze.
The woman's smile stayed as she suspended mid-turn.
"I never danced again," Vlad said. "And I never forgave myself for living longer than her."
Taveer looked down at the scene.
His hands clenched.
"I don't want this pain," he whispered.
Vlad placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Then turn it into something worthy."
The light faded.
Taveer opened his eyes slowly.
The relic was glowing in his hand, it was a dark wooden stake, etched now with tiny symbols he hadn't seen before. The tip was red again.
But the color didn't frighten him now.
He stepped back from the circle in silence.
Nola didn't ask what he'd seen. She just looked at him.
And that felt like enough.
Maika opened her mouth to speak, but then Professor Iris clapped his hands lightly.
"That concludes today's bonding session. If you feel unwell, consult the infirmary. Do not attempt to activate your relic unsupervised."
The students began filing out.
Nola adjusted the strap on her back, where the katana rested. Maika pocketed her bottle. Taveer said nothing, walking behind them.
They stepped into the long stone corridor leading back to the dorms and that's when they saw her.
Brielle.
She stood at the edge of the hallway near an old display case. Her hands hovered over something inside. It was a golden orb, nestled in soft velvet and barely lit by the torches above.
She reached in and picked it up.
Her expression… wasn't right. Her eyes were riddled with dark circles.
Her eyes were blank and unfocused. Not confused, but far from herself.
"Brielle?" Maika called.
She didn't look at them.
She turned on her heel and walked down the hallway. She was fast, almost robotic.
"Hey, wait!" Nola called out, taking a step forward.
Then they heard it.
A sound. It was distant and unnatural.
Like a flute being played underwater.
It slithered through the air. It wasn't loud, but it was cold. A chill ran through Nola's spine.
Maika clutched her ears. "What is—what is that?"
Nola's knees buckled slightly. Her head throbbed.
The music grew sharper.
It was wrong.
Everything tilted.
The hallway blurred and twisted. The stone beneath their feet pulsed like it was breathing. Nola tried to focus, to grab Maika's arm, but her hands didn't listen.
A shadow flickered at the end of the hall.
It was crooked and twisted. It approached them.
Then a flash of silver.
Armor clinked as a figure moved fast. Wind blasted through the corridor.
And the music stopped.
Nola gasped.
Maika collapsed beside her with a groan.
Taveer stood with his stake half-drawn, breathing hard.
Before them, framed by the floating light of her twin crescent blades, stood a woman in full Moon Legion armor. Her helmet was off, revealing short silver hair tousled, her breath steady.
"That's enough," she said, not to them, but to whatever had been pulling at the seams of the world.
And whatever it was, had vanished.
The wrongness left with it.
Nola blinked. The world righted itself. Her heartbeat was still off-rhythm.
"What was that?" she breathed.
The Moon Legion member glanced at them. "That was what we're here for."
Maika coughed. "Excuse me—here for what? Because I vote we move away from it."
The woman sheathed her blades and stepped closer.
Her voice softened. "You students weren't told yet, I know. We came to Eldhollow because we detected a rift forming. Something from the Inverted Tower slipped through."
Taveer's skin prickled. "But the wards—"
"Wards don't stop what shouldn't exist." She knelt, checked Maika's pulse gently. "You three are lucky."
"Brielle," Nola said suddenly. "She touched a golden orb. She was acting really weird. She headed left."
The Moon Knight's face darkened.
"I'll find her. You three, follow me."
She stood, then gave Nola a look.
Long. Thoughtful.
Then she sped ahead as they followed.
Maika heaved heavily as she struggled to catch up to them with her short legs.
They saw Brielle hold the golden orb above her head. Her face lit in a bright smile as she muttered something.
"You! Stop it now." The legion member screamed as she threw a dagger at her.
Taveer and Maika gasped as Nola tried to tackle the woman.
BOOM!!!