The next morning, sunlight barely broke through the heavy mist that hung over the Academy.
The grand banners that once bore Elen Damari's family crest now fluttered half-torn, their golden insignias stained with dust from the arena's chaos.
Inside the noble dormitory, silence reigned until a crystal goblet shattered against the marble wall.
"HE STOLE MY WIN!" Elen's voice cracked with fury. His once-perfect hair was disheveled, his uniform still torn where Alex's Shadowflame had grazed him. "That peasant he humiliated me in front of everyone!"
A nervous attendant knelt by the door. "S-sir, the Damari family has already requested an inquiry. The Council"
"The Council can burn!" Elen snarled. He slammed his fist on the table, sending mana crackling through the air. "My father promised that no commoner would ever rise above me, yet here we are mocked by some orphan with a cursed flame!"
Across the room, a figure leaned lazily against the window Lucien Vareen, another noble heir, known for his calm cruelty. "You're losing your composure, Elen rage won't restore your pride."
Elen's glare shot toward him. "Don't you dare lecture me!"
Lucien smirked. "I'm not i'm offering you a solution."
Elen paused, chest heaving. "A solution?"
Lucien turned, eyes glinting like polished ice. "I've heard whispers of a group that seeks balance between light and shadow. They don't care about bloodlines only power the Eclipse Order."
Elen frowned. "You think I'd join some cult?"
Lucien shrugged. "Call it what you want but if they can grant you the strength to crush Alex… would you really refuse?"
Elen said nothing for a long moment then, slowly, his fury began to still. "If they can help me erase him… tell me more."
Lucien's smirk widened. "Good. I'll arrange a meeting."
As he left the room, the sunlight finally broke through the mist outside sharp, cold, and colorless.
The day had begun, and so had the next game of power.
By midday, the Academy buzzed like a hive that had been struck by lightning.
Every corridor whispered Alex's name.
["Did you see that flame?"
"It wasn't just fire it was alive!"
"They say the system itself intervened."
"No, no he must've used forbidden magic!"]
The gossip spread faster than wildfire some students spoke in awe; others in fear.
Even the instructors had grown uneasy inside the faculty chambers, murmurs overlapped as several teachers gathered around a projection orb replaying Alex's final attack.
The image flickered black and gold flames twisting together into something that shouldn't exist.
"That fusion," Professor Ren muttered, stroking his beard, "is impossible light and shadow reject each other by nature."
"Unless…" headmaster Seraphiel's calm voice cut through the noise. "Unless the wielder bears a soul that bridges both."
A silence followed, heavy and uncertain.
"Do you suspect divine interference?" another asked.
Seraphiel's gaze darkened. "No something older."
He turned away from the orb, the reflection of the mixed flame still burning faintly in his silver eyes. "Keep watch on the boy he's no longer just a student he's a variable."
Outside the hall, Mira leaned against a pillar, having overheard just enough to chill her blood.
A variable that's what they were calling him now.
She clenched her fists, watching the sunlight scatter through the stained glass. "If they see him as a threat, they'll come for him," she whispered.
A familiar voice hummed behind her. "Then we'll make sure they regret it."
She turned Lyra, the sharp-eyed archer from the Wind Division, stood there with a knowing smirk.
"You're not the only one who believes in him," Lyra said, resting her bow on her shoulder. "If trouble's coming, we'll be ready."
Mira's lips curved faintly. "Good. Because trouble's already here."
Alex had hoped that after a few hours of rest, the chaos would calm down.
He was wrong.
When he stepped into the main hall the next morning, the entire place went silent.
Dozens of eyes turned toward him some wide with admiration, others narrowed with resentment. A few students actually took a step back as he passed, as though he carried the flames still burning under his skin.
"Look, it's him," someone whispered. "The Sun-Shadow hybrid."
"Or the monster who nearly burned the arena down," another muttered.
Alex tried to ignore it, keeping his head low Mira walked beside him, chin high, daring anyone to speak louder.
Old master Kael caught up from behind, slinging an arm around Alex's shoulder. "Congratulations, hero you've officially become the Academy's number one topic. The nobles are furious, the commoners are inspired, and the teachers… well, they're pretending not to panic."
Alex forced a dry smile. "That's comforting."
"Don't be," Kael said with a smirk. "Half the first-years are planning to challenge you in the training grounds just to prove themselves guess you're their new mountain to climb."
Before Alex could respond, a voice echoed across the hall.
"Alex, the Head Council requests your presence."
It was Instructor Vale, his sharp gaze giving nothing away. The surrounding students fell into hushed murmurs again as Alex nodded and followed him out.
As they walked, Alex noticed something strange faint glyphs shimmered across the hallway walls, like veins of light pulsing in rhythm. The System flickered faintly before his eyes.
[Environmental Scan Detected.]
[Source: Unknown. Surveillance Layer Active.]
His pulse quickened. "They're watching me," he murmured under his breath.
Vale didn't even look back. "Of course they are you wield a power that shouldn't exist the Council wants to understand it… before they decide whether to fear it."
Alex's hands tightened at his sides the dragon's faint heartbeat thrummed beneath his ribs, calm yet aware like a predator sensing eyes on its back.
He straightened his shoulders. "Then they can watch all they want. I'm not hiding."
For a brief moment, even Vale's cold expression flickered with something like respect.
The council chamber was nothing like Alex expected no grand banners, no golden thrones only a wide, circular room carved of white stone, etched with old sigils that pulsed faintly with light.
Seven figures sat around a table shaped like the Academy's emblem the Sunburst Sigil each cloaked in different shades of authority.
Headmaster Seraphiel was among them, his expression unreadable. Beside him sat Headmistress Lyssara, her silver hair gleaming beneath the floating crystals that lit the chamber.
The others were strangers to Alex, but the air around them carried pressure enough to make the dragon within him stir uneasily.
"Alex Eryndor of Elderleaf," Lyssara began, her voice calm but edged with steel. "Your performance in the tournament was… unprecedented the System recorded an anomaly a fusion of light and shadow mana such an occurrence has not been seen in over a century."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Explain yourself."
Alex stood tall. "It wasn't something I planned. The Shadowflame… it reacted when I pushed beyond my limit. I didn't lose control"
"Didn't you?" interrupted a man robed in deep crimson, one of the councilors. "You blackened half the arena, nearly burned your opponent alive, and disrupted the System's mana flow in the sector. That's not control that's chaos."
The words stung. Alex clenched his fists but kept his composure. "I stopped when I could have gone further if it were chaos, none of us would still be standing."
The councilor scoffed, but Seraphiel spoke softly before the tension grew sharper. "The boy is right his restraint was… remarkable, given the nature of that flame."
Lyssara leaned forward. "Then tell us, Alex do you understand what that power is?"
Alex hesitated. He remembered the voice the dragon's voice and the heat of that second heartbeat in his chest.
"No not fully," he admitted. "But it's connected to me and I intend to master it."
A flicker of energy rippled through the room the sigils along the walls pulsed faster. One of the councilors whispered something under his breath, and the System chimed faintly in Alex's vision.
[Attention: Restricted Query Detected.]
[Warning: Attempt to access Host Synchronization Core denied.]
Lyssara's eyes widened slightly. "Enough" The light dimmed as she raised her hand. "The council has heard enough for today."
Her gaze locked with Alex's. "You are permitted to remain in the Academy but under supervision you will report for weekly evaluations and undergo control training. If your power endangers anyone…"
She didn't need to finish the sentence.
Alex bowed his head slightly. "Understood."
As the doors opened and he stepped out, Seraphiel's voice followed him.
"Remember what I said, Alex light and shadow cannot exist without balance if one consumes the other… it will not be the world that breaks first. It will be you."
The warning echoed through him, heavy as chains.
The hall outside the council chamber was silent, lit only by torches flickering with cold blue flame Alex's footsteps echoed softly on the stone floor as he descended the spiral stairway, his thoughts tangled in the echo of Seraphiel's words.
Light and shadow cannot exist without balance.
The phrase refused to leave his head each repetition made his heartbeat sync with that second pulse the dragon's pulse steady, deep, and ancient.
[ Synchronization: 23% ]
[ Status: Stable — Resting Phase ]
He exhaled in relief for now, the dragon slept.
When he reached the bottom of the staircase, the corridors stretched empty, lined with tall windows that looked out into the moonlit training fields.
The faint sound of night insects hummed beyond the glass he almost let his guard down until the torches flickered, one by one, as if a shadow passed between them.
A whisper followed soft too soft for an ordinary ear.
"Interesting… so you're the one they're watching."
Alex froze his senses sharpened instantly, mana flowing through his fingertips. "Who's there?"
A faint laugh echoed from the dark corner of the hall then, from the shadows, a figure stepped forward tall, hooded, face hidden beneath a half mask of obsidian. The air around him pulsed faintly with mana, dark and smooth like still water.
"Relax," the stranger said. "If I wanted you dead, the council would already be cleaning ashes."
"Who are you?" Alex demanded, taking a defensive stance.
"Someone who's seen that kind of flame before," the man replied. "Shadowflame rare, unstable, but powerful enough to burn gods dangerous in the wrong hands… or in hands too afraid to use it."
Alex's eyes narrowed. "You sound like you know more about it than the council."
The stranger chuckled softly. "Let's just say the Academy doesn't tell its students everything. There are other fires in this world and others who want yours."
"Others?"
The man took a step closer, his presence heavy but not hostile. "They'll come for you soon. When they do, remember this power isn't evil cowardice is."
Before Alex could respond, the torches flared, blinding him for a moment. When his vision cleared, the corridor was empty again.
Only a faint scent of burnt air remained.
[ System Notice: Unknown Entity Detected — Signature Classified. ]
[ Advisory: Avoid confrontation until system analysis completes. ]
Alex exhaled slowly, heart pounding.hoever that was, they weren't ordinary.
He turned toward his dorm, gaze dark and thoughtful.
"Others who want my flame…" he murmured. "Let them come."
Outside, the moonlight dimmed behind a drifting cloud.
Somewhere beyond the Academy walls, cloaked figures watched from the shadows silent, patient, waiting for the spark that would set everything ablaze.