"The strongest powers lie not in light, but in what survives without it."
---
**Entry One: Fire and Ice**
The air in the training hall was thick with heat, not from the weather—but from Kael.
Blue fire curled around his arms as he demonstrated advanced control techniques to the second years. The flames didn't burn the way normal fire did. They shimmered like ice and cracked like thunder.
He was beautiful and terrifying all at once—just like the legends said.
I stood on the edge with the other first years, feeling the sting of his power from across the room. He didn't even glance our way. That didn't stop me from watching him, though. Or from noticing when his gaze did flicker toward me, sharp and unreadable, just for a second.
Like I was a puzzle he hadn't decided was worth solving yet.
---
### **Entry Two: Shadows Under Pressure**
After training, I stayed behind to practice alone.
I didn't have fire. Or light. Or strength like Lyra was starting to unlock. I didn't even have healing like Nia's soft glow.
I had shadows. They flickered beneath my feet, clinging to me like whispers. But they never obeyed. Not fully. Not yet.
So I trained.
I let the academy fade around me and pushed deeper into myself. I imagined the stone chamber. The maze. The blood on my hands and the silence of Seris's voice. I thought of the voices that whispered I didn't belong here.
That was when it happened.
The shadows curled up around me—not like smoke, but like armor. A low hum pulsed through the stone under my boots.
And then—
A voice.
"You shouldn't be here."
Kael.
---
### **Entry Three: Fire Meets Shadow**
I turned, startled, shadows pulling back from my arms like startled birds.
Kael stood a few feet away, watching me with arms crossed. His tone was sharp. Cold. But something in his eyes was too focused to be indifferent.
"I thought the captain said this wing was off-limits," he said, motioning to the practice area.
"I'm not afraid of rules," I replied, my voice sharper than I meant.
He raised an eyebrow. "You should be."
I stepped forward. "And you should mind your own business."
His expression didn't change, but I saw something flicker in his eyes. Not anger. Curiosity.
"Not many first years challenge me. Or anyone."
"Then maybe they should," I said. "You're not a god, Kael."
"No," he said, his voice dropping low. "But you're not ready to treat me like an equal, either."
There was no flame between us, no attack. But I felt heat all the same. His presence was overwhelming. Like standing too close to lightning, not sure if it would strike or not.
Then, without warning, he stepped closer—invading my space, testing me.
I didn't move.
"You don't have to pretend to be strong," he said softly.
"I'm not pretending."
He stared at me for a moment longer. Then turned and walked away.
---
### **Entry Four: The Talk with the Girls**
Later that night, Lyra and Nia cornered me in our dorm's common room.
"You were *with* Kael?" Lyra asked, half shocked, half thrilled.
"It wasn't like that," I muttered, picking at a thread on the couch.
Nia leaned in. "Did he... say anything to you? Like—actual words?"
I sighed. "He told me to leave."
"And you didn't?" Lyra looked impressed.
"I told him to mind his business."
Both girls stared at me like I had just grown wings.
"Okay, I *knew* you weren't normal," Lyra said, laughing. "But that confirms it. You've got guts."
"Or a death wish," Nia added, giggling.
But I didn't laugh. Because I couldn't stop thinking about that moment—the intensity in Kael's voice, the way he hadn't looked at me with hatred, but like I was something *unknown*.
Something dangerous.
---
### **Entry Five: The First Touch**
The next morning, I went to the main practice hall early. Too early.
Kael was already there.
Of course he was.
He didn't say anything as I entered. Just turned his back and continued sparring with a flame target. I tried to stay quiet, but when I accidentally knocked over a blade rack, he turned sharply.
"Do you always crash into things when you're nervous?"
"I'm not nervous."
He smirked. "Then you're clumsy."
I ignored him. "Why are you here so early?"
He paused.
"Sometimes... sleep is worse than being awake."
The quiet in the room turned heavy.
I stepped closer, more curious than cautious now. "You don't seem like the haunted type."
"I'm not. But lately... something's off. Around *you*."
My pulse quickened.
"Me?"
"You're tied to something," he said, voice lower now. "Something old. It pulls at me when I get too close."
He reached out—slowly—and brushed his fingers near my wrist.
It wasn't a touch. Not really.
But it felt like lightning had crawled across my skin.
Kael's eyes snapped to mine. "There. You felt that."
I nodded, too stunned to speak.
He stepped back. "Whatever this is... it's not normal. Stay away."
But even as he said it, he didn't move. He didn't walk away.
And neither did I.
---
### **Entry Six: A New Rank**
At the end of the week, we were called to the main stone again.
The **Soul Stone**, they called it. It pulsed when touched, revealing your true magical alignment—and your growth since arrival.
We lined up, one by one, hands shaking, hearts racing.
Joren stepped forward. The stone glowed **silver** for him. Strong. Stable. A good leader.
Lyra followed. Her color flickered between **red and white**—signs of potential and awakening.
Then it was me.
I stepped forward.
I felt the whispers before my hand even touched the stone.
**"Still no magic?"**
**"Is she cursed?"**
I pressed my palm flat.
Nothing.
Silence.
Then—
The shadows in the room twisted.
The stone cracked slightly under my touch.
A surge of black and violet light burst from its center.
Gasps filled the hall.
"Impossible," someone whispered.
The stone had only ever glowed in **white, silver, gold, and red**.
Never **violet-black**.
And never with that much force.
Kael stepped forward from the back of the hall. His expression was unreadable.
But I saw it—the way his hand twitched toward his weapon, then slowly fell away.
Not out of fear.
Out of respect.
---