Chapter 13
The floating battlefield dissolved into starlight, piece by piece, returning to the celestial vaults above Sanctum Astrae. Astern stood still, his breath slow, the last traces of his burst aura fading into the wind. The crowd hadn't cheered. They hadn't booed either.
They were stunned.
What they had seen… wasn't normal.
"Dual aura. Impossible."
"Is that—shadow and light?"
"Did you see the glyph burn? It reacted like it feared him."
From the stands to the dormitories, the rumors spread like wildfire.
---
In Dorm D, the silence was heavier than ever.
Kaela sat upside down on a sofa, tossing her dagger from hand to hand. "You're making things complicated, Astern. Even I don't know how to defend you now."
Astern sat across from her, head bowed, hands clasped.
"I didn't mean to release that much," he muttered.
Lunaria leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her gaze unreadable. "You didn't just release power. You answered a call."
Eryss sat near the window, his usual cheerful tone dulled. "The instructors are probably going to call a meeting. Maybe even suspend you."
"I don't care about that," Astern said. "But I do care about what that glyph was. A demonic sigil? In a sanctioned school match?"
"Someone let it slip through," Lunaria said. "Or wanted it seen."
They were no longer students just trying to prove themselves.
They were pawns caught between forces with ancient grudges.
---
In the cathedral hall that overlooked the academy's highest spire, Seraphon stood before a group of robed figures. The High Ascendants of Sanctum Astrae.
"You saw it," one said, hood shadowing their face. "The Umbrenox bloodline awakens."
"He is still a boy," Seraphon replied. "We have time."
Another figure stepped forward. "The glyph user was planted. That was no mistake. The demons suspect. The ghoul king will stir soon."
"And the other academies?"
"Two have requested full lineage scans before the next match. They want Astern tested."
Seraphon raised a hand. "Denied."
"You're protecting him."
"I'm protecting the Accord," he said, voice firm. "If the world learns too soon, this era will bleed."
---
That night, Astern was called to the obsidian room beneath the academy—a place few first-years even knew existed.
Waiting inside was Selkyr.
She didn't speak at first. She simply tossed him a wooden sword.
"Duel me."
"What?"
"No aura. No enchantments. Just steel. Prove to me you still fight like a boy, not a bloodline."
The duel was fierce, faster than any they had shared in class. Selkyr moved like lightning, striking at every weakness, every hesitation.
Astern blocked. Slid. Reacted.
He wasn't faster.
But he adapted.
In the end, they stood, blades crossed. Neither had landed a final blow.
Selkyr lowered her sword.
"You're still you," she said quietly. "Good."
Astern breathed hard, sweat on his brow. "Why does that matter?"
"Because when the time comes to choose between who you are and what you are, you better choose right."
---
Above, in the endless skies beyond the stars, the Ghoul King opened his eyes for the first time in fifty years.
The binding sigil that kept him asleep had cracked.
He smiled.
"Found you, little heir."