The first thing Alex noticed was the sound a slow, rhythmic ticking echoing faintly against polished stone.
Then came the scent of herbs and healing ointment, heavy and sharp.
When his eyes opened, the ceiling above him shimmered with faint runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
[ Vitality Restored: 42% ]
[ Status: Stable. Recovery Time Remaining — 6 Hours. ]
He groaned, turning his head slightly every muscle ached as though molten lead ran through his veins bandages wrapped around both his arms, faint traces of black residue seeping through the linen.
"You're awake," came a voice from the corner.
Mira sat by the window, the morning light outlining her hair in gold. She looked exhausted dark circles under her eyes, uniform crumpled, but relief softened her expression when he met her gaze.
"You scared everyone half to death," she said quietly.
Alex managed a crooked smile. "Seems I'm getting good at that."
Her lips twitched, but she didn't smile back. "You don't understand, Alex that flame you used it wasn't normal even the instructors couldn't suppress it. If the Headmaster hadn't activated the null field, the entire coliseum might have"
"Exploded?" he finished dryly "Yeah, that sounds about right."
Mira's fists tightened on her lap. "You can joke about it, but people were terrified even Elder Seraphiel looked… shaken."
Alex sat up slowly, the sheets rustling. "Then maybe it's time they start seeing what's really out there."
She blinked, surprised by the edge in his tone he looked down at his hands, the faint scale-pattern scars glowing softly under the light. The Dragon's power was still there silent, but alive.
[ Shadowflame Synchronization: 22% → 23% ]
[ Instability Level: Moderate. Recommend mental restraint training. ]
The System's calm voice reverberated in his mind. He ignored it.
"Did Kael and the others make it through?" Alex asked after a pause.
"They're fine," Mira said. "A few bruises and burns, but no serious injuries. The healers worked through the night."
He nodded in relief, sinking back against the pillow "Good."
For a moment, the room was quiet except for the soft ticking of the mana-clock. Outside, faint cheers echoed the Academy celebrating the victors of the second round.
"They're calling you the 'Flame of Balance,'" Mira said, half-smiling now. "Light and shadow in one strike even the news terminals in the city are replaying your fight."
Alex frowned "Flame of Balance, huh? Sounds more poetic than it felt."
Her gaze softened. "It was still victory, Alex even if it nearly killed you."
He didn't answer. Victory… yes, but at what cost? Somewhere deep inside, that ancient voice stirred again low and rumbling, like distant thunder.
You wield what was never meant to coexist, it murmured. Each use will draw you closer to my hunger.
Alex clenched his fists under the blanket. "Then I'll master it," he whispered under his breath. "Before it masters me."
Mira tilted her head. "Did you say something?"
He forced a small smile. "Just thinking out loud."
At that moment, the door slid open, and Elder Seraphiel entered his presence commanding, his eyes sharp and calculating. Behind him, two assistants carried crystal tablets and parchments filled with readings from the previous day's battle.
"So, the hero awakens," Seraphiel said, his tone unreadable. "Do you feel proud, or simply alive?"
Alex looked him straight in the eye. "Both, maybe. Depends on what happens next."
The Elder's lips curved faintly not quite a smile. "Good answer." He placed a glowing crystal orb on the bedside table, its light scanning Alex's mana flow.
"Your performance has… drawn attention from the Council. They want to understand what exactly you are."
Mira tensed. "He's human, same as us"
"Human," Seraphiel interrupted, "and something else." His gaze returned to Alex. "Tell me, boy when you stood in that arena, did you feel yourself losing control?"
Alex hesitated. "For a moment, yes."
"And if it happens again?"
"Then I'll control it better," Alex said firmly.
The Elder studied him a moment longer, then turned toward the door. "We'll see. Rest while you can, Alex. The Council's inquiry begins tomorrow."
When he left, Mira's worry returned tenfold. "The Council? Alex, they're not like the instructors. If they think your power is dangerous…"
"I know," he said quietly. "But hiding won't change what's already inside me."
Outside the infirmary window, the sun began to rise half golden, half obscured by cloud a fitting mirror to him.
The Council Hall was cold unnaturally so.
Mana runes glowed faintly along the marble pillars, their blue light reflecting off the circular table at the center. Seven figures sat behind it, each draped in ceremonial crimson robes embroidered with gold thread.
At the far end of the chamber, Alex stood alone.
He could feel their eyes on him heavy, assessing, and sharp enough to cut through armor his wrists still ached beneath the bandages. The faint trace of shadow energy pulsed quietly under his skin like a heartbeat waiting to be noticed.
"Alexander Kael," intoned the eldest councilor, a man with silver hair and eyes like frost. "You stand before the Council of Flames under suspicion of wielding unregistered power during the tournament explain yourself."
Alex bowed slightly. "There's nothing to hide, sir. I used the flame that answers to me no one else."
A murmur rippled through the room one of the younger councilors, a woman with narrow crimson eyes, leaned forward.
"That 'flame' reacted to nullification wards it consumed pure elemental fire something only high-level draconic synchronization can achieve you expect us to believe that's normal?"
Alex stayed silent his System flickered briefly in his vision
[ Mental Stability Check: Passed maintain composure. ]
"I didn't ask for this power," he said finally. "But I won't reject it either."
The silver-haired elder studied him. "And yet you refuse to name the source are you bonded?"
The words hung in the air like a blade Alex's breath hitched he knew the rule all dragon bonds had to be declared but his wasn't normal it wasn't even supposed to exist.
"I'm… still figuring that out," he answered carefully.
The elder's expression hardened. "Dangerous words, boy the last student who hid a bond"
"Was devoured by it," another councilor finished grimly.
Before Alex could reply, the tall double doors at the rear of the chamber opened with a low creak.
A woman entered not dressed in council robes, but in dark armor etched with silver veins her eyes gleamed like cold fire, and a serpent-shaped sigil marked her left gauntlet.
Even the councilors stiffened.
"Lady Valen?" the elder murmured. "We weren't expecting your… presence."
She smiled faintly. "The Council isn't the only one interested in this boy."
Her gaze locked on Alex, calm but piercing like she could see the dragon sleeping inside him.
Alex's heart thudded once, the shadow within stirring in answer.
Who was she?
The elder cleared his throat. "Very well this session is adjourned until further notice. We'll reconvene tomorrow with additional reports."
As the council dispersed, Lady Valen lingered by the door, watching Alex in silence. Then, almost imperceptibly, she mouthed three words before leaving:
"We are watching."
A chill rippled through him the kind that wasn't just fear something about her presence had felt… familiar.
[ System Warning: Unknown Mana Signature Detected origin ??? ]
Alex exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing the victory that had lifted him up was already casting new shadows.
The hallway outside the Council Hall was dim, its torches burning low with blue fire instead of gold. The air smelled faintly of ozone a sign that powerful wards had just been activated.
Alex leaned against the wall, trying to steady his breathing. His palms were clammy, and the faint pulse of the Shadowflame still flickered just beneath his skin.
Lady Valen's words wouldn't leave his mind.
We are watching.
"Alex!"
He turned to see Mira jogging toward him, a mix of relief and frustration on her face. Her hair was loose now, sweat clinging to her temple she'd clearly run from the training grounds.
"I heard they summoned you to the Council," she said, grabbing his arm. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."
He gave a weak chuckle. "Close enough. They're… suspicious about my flame."
"Suspicious?" She frowned. "They should be giving you a medal you've done nothing but prove yourself since the first round."
"I wish it worked that way." He rubbed the back of his neck. "They think my power's connected to something forbidden. They're not wrong… but they're not right either."
Mira hesitated, then lowered her voice. "You mean the dragon, don't you?"
Alex froze.
Her eyes softened. "Don't bother denying it I've seen the signs the markings, the way your aura shifts I study draconic energy in elemental theory, remember?"
He exhaled, half in defeat. "Then you know why I can't tell them if they find out, they'll take it take him away."
Mira's gaze darkened with understanding. "The woman who walked into the Council… who was she?"
"I don't know," Alex admitted. "But my bond reacted to her the Shadowflame stirred when she looked at me."
"That's not good."
Before he could respond, the System flickered again:
[ New Quest Unlocked: Trace the Serpent. ]
[ Objective: Identify Lady Valen's origin. Reward: ??? ]
Alex stared at the glowing text, jaw tightening. "Then I guess I just found my next fight."
Night descended quietly over the Academy of Fire.
The tournament grounds, once roaring with crowds, now lay silent under the flicker of rune-lamps. Only the faint hum of mana barriers remained, vibrating like a sleeping beast beneath the earth.
Alex moved through the corridor shadows, cloak drawn close he wasn't supposed to be here students were confined to dormitories after dusk but the System quest glowed faintly at the edge of his vision.
[ Quest Active: Trace the Serpent. ]
[ Progress: 12% Following target's energy trail. ]
He followed the thread of golden light only he could see, weaving between the walls like a whisper. It led not toward the Council chambers but beneath them to the restricted levels, where sealed archives and forbidden relics were kept.
The air grew cold as he descended the runes etched into the stairwell pulsed faintly, warning intruders to turn back he hesitated for a moment, feeling the familiar pulse in his chest the dragon's heartbeat.
Stay alert, the voice whispered the scent of danger lingers here.
He reached the end of the stairwell and froze two voices drifted from the shadows beyond the archway low, urgent.
"the headmaster won't interfere this time," one murmured. "Lady Valen made sure of it."
"Good the Eclipse Order moves at the next full moon once the catalyst awakens, the Academy will fall under our shadow."
A chill ran through Alex's spine he pressed closer to the wall, straining to see the speakers through the half-light.
They weren't guards they were instructors both wore crimson robes marked with the crest of the Academy. One was Master Rael, a combat instructor the other… he didn't recognize.
"Still," Rael whispered, "the boy worries me the one from the lower ranks. His flame carries resonance."
"Then he dies first," the other replied flatly. "Before the Eclipse begins."
Alex's heart slammed against his ribs.
A rune suddenly flared at his feet an alarm trigger the two men turned sharply, eyes locking on the shadows.
He ran.
Fire burst behind him, searing the corridor walls as he sprinted up the stairway, the System flashing warnings across his vision.
[ Alert: Detected by hostile forces. ]
[ Quest Updated: Survive and report findings to Mira. ]
The last blast of flame grazed his shoulder as he burst back into the moonlight, cloak smoking the Academy tower loomed above, peaceful and oblivious.
Alex pressed his back against the stone, panting the night air burned cold in his lungs. "The Eclipse Order," he muttered. "So that's what they're hiding…"
The dragon's voice stirred faintly within and they want you dead.
Alex clenched his fists. "Then they'll have to try harder."
The shadows rippled once more, then went still.
The infirmary lamps burned low when Alex slipped back inside, his cloak torn and soot clinging to his sleeve the halls were empty too empty. He had expected guards or patrols, but there was nothing almost as if someone wanted him to roam unseen.
Mira was waiting by his bed, arms crossed, eyes sharp with worry. "Where were you?" she hissed. "You're supposed to be resting!"
Alex closed the door quietly behind him. "Mira… something's wrong."
She froze at the tone in his voice. "What happened?"
"I heard them," he said, lowering his voice. "Two instructors talking about something called the Eclipse Order they said the Academy will fall at the next full moon they mentioned a catalyst… and me."
Mira's expression hardened. "You're sure?"
"I wish I wasn't."
She paced the room, the color draining from her face. "I've heard whispers of them before a secret sect obsessed with fusing dark mana and divine fire but if they're inside the Academy…" She stopped, meeting his eyes. "We can't tell anyone. Not yet."
Alex frowned. "Why not?"
"Because if instructors are involved, we don't know who's safe even the Headmaster might be compromised."
He wanted to argue, but the dragon's voice stirred in his mind again, low and cautious. The girl is right trust must be earned, not assumed.
Alex nodded slightly. "Then we find proof before the full moon."
Mira hesitated, then gave a small, grim nod. "All right but you don't move alone anymore whatever they want, it's tied to your flame."
Before Alex could reply, the air in the room shifted a faint ripple of mana passed through the walls, so subtle it almost felt like a sigh.
[ System Alert: Magical Surveillance Detected. ]
[ Source: Unknown. ]
Mira looked up sharply. "Someone's listening."
Alex grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the window. They slipped outside just as a faint light pulsed within the infirmary a crystal rune, hidden beneath his bed, shattered into ash.
"Too close," Mira whispered. "They're already watching us."
Alex looked back at the faint glow fading in the room. "Let them watch i'm done hiding."
The dragon purred faintly inside him, its voice curling like smoke then prepare, little flame shadows move faster than light.
High above, in the Headmaster's tower, Seraphiel stood before a scrying crystal he had seen everything the fight, the chase, the name Eclipse Order. His reflection shimmered within the orb, his eyes cold and unreadable.
"So," he murmured, "they've finally begun to move."
Behind him, a figure cloaked in blue flame stepped from the darkness. "Shall I eliminate the threat?"
Seraphiel shook his head slowly. "No. Let him play his part the dragon stirs, and fate gathers its pieces."
Far below, Alex and Mira vanished into the night, unaware that the game had already begun.