The dawn after the attack came gray and heavy, the sky veiled in mist.
The once-proud spires of the Academy of Fire stood quiet, their crimson banners torn and scorched by the previous night's blast.
Charred marks still marred the courtyard where the Null Order's sigil had burned into the earth a wound that refused to heal.
Alex stood at the edge of it, silent his uniform smelled faintly of smoke. The air around the crater still hummed with residue mana, a whisper of that forbidden power that had nearly consumed the academy.
He extended a hand toward the ground, trying to feel for his bond.
Nothing.
The space that once throbbed with the living pulse of Shadowflame was eerily silent.
[System Notice: Synchronization status — 0%.]
[Bond Connection: Interrupted.]
[Warning: Shadowflame entity sealed under forced stasis.]
Alex's jaw tightened. It had been hours since the explosion, and every attempt to reconnect had failed. The System couldn't bypass the Null Order's curse. Even his inner flame felt weaker, dimmer like a fire that had lost its air.
A footstep broke his focus.
Mira approached slowly, her cloak fluttering in the morning wind. Her hair, normally bright and full of color, looked subdued against the pale light. She carried two practice blades under one arm.
"You've been out here since dawn," she said softly. "You're not going to find answers staring at the crater."
Alex didn't turn. "They tried to take him from me."
Mira hesitated. "Shadowflame."
He nodded once. "I could feel him reaching out… and then the link snapped. Like someone slammed a door between us."
She stepped closer, placing one of the practice swords at his side. "Then let's make that door shake."
He frowned slightly. "Training?"
Mira met his gaze, steady and determined. "You won't reconnect by sitting still. Your body, your mana they're the bridge. If your flame's broken, we'll rebuild it together."
A faint smile touched his lips, though it didn't reach his eyes. "You sound like a drill instructor."
"Good," she said. "Because right now, you need one."
They moved to the sparring yard a circular platform surrounded by protective wards. The field still smelled faintly of burnt ozone from the recent battles.
Mira took her stance, blade raised. "Let's start light. Focus on your mana flow don't fight it guide it."
Alex mirrored her movement, drawing a slow breath. His flame flickered weakly across his palms no longer the brilliant gold and shadow mix, just a faint, unstable red.
"Your core's trembling," Mira noted. "You're pushing too hard."
"I can't feel him," Alex muttered through clenched teeth. "It's like fighting with half a heart."
"Then fight with what's left!"
Their blades met.
Sparks flared, brief and beautiful Alex's control wavered; his flame sputtered, breaking formation. Mira's follow-up strike caught him off guard, knocking him backward.
He landed hard, breath leaving his chest. The flame around his hand flickered out completely.
"Again," he said hoarsely, forcing himself up.
"Alex, you"
"Again."
Mira hesitated, then nodded grimly.
They clashed once more faster, sharper this time. Alex's movements grew erratic, his mana unstable, flickering between fire and void. The heat around him turned cold at the edges, a whisper of shadow bleeding into the light.
[Warning: Unstable Fusion Detected.]
[System Suppression Active.]
The System's voice cut through his focus, but he ignored it. He swung, the practice blade igniting mid-strike with faint black sparks.
Mira deflected it, twisting away. "You're losing balance! That's not fire anymore it's the same shadow that nearly consumed you before!"
"I don't care!" he snapped, voice breaking. "If it leads me back to him, I'll take the risk!"
The next clash cracked the air like thunder. The wards flickered.
A flash of pain shot through his chest then everything stopped.
The fire died instantly the blade fell from his hand, clattering against the ground. Alex dropped to one knee, clutching his chest, gasping. The world spun in and out of focus.
"Alex!" Mira was beside him in an instant, catching his shoulders. "Hey! Stay with me!"
He coughed, the faint taste of iron in his mouth the System's interface flickered weakly before stabilizing.
[Critical Mana Drop Detected.]
[Stabilization Recommended: Breath Control.]
Mira pressed a hand to his back, guiding his breathing slowly painfully his heartbeat steadied.
When he finally looked up, the courtyard shimmered faintly again not with light, but with shadow. For the briefest moment, he felt something a heartbeat, distant but alive.
Shadowflame.
"I… felt him," Alex whispered, trembling. "Just for a second."
Mira exhaled slowly, relief softening her expression. "Then that's our start. We'll build from that heartbeat."
He nodded weakly, a spark of determination flickering in his exhausted eyes.
Behind them, in the distance, the academy bells tolled the attack had shaken everything the staff, the wards, the faith of the students but Alex knew that wasn't the end.
Something darker was coming.
And next time, he wouldn't be fighting with half a heart.
By midday, the academy no longer felt like a sanctuary it felt like a fortress.
The courtyards that once buzzed with students sparring and laughter were now eerily quiet. Guard drones hovered over the rooftops, scanning every movement.
The banners that once shimmered with the Fire Academy's crest now hung limp and tattered, blackened by last night's attack.
Alex and Mira walked side by side through the eastern corridor, their footsteps echoing against the marble walls. Everywhere they looked, instructors whispered in tight groups, their faces tense. The air was heavy with unease like the whole academy was holding its breath.
"Feels wrong," Mira muttered, glancing at a squad of armored guards marching past. "We used to be free to roam anywhere. Now we need clearance just to enter the training wing."
Alex nodded silently his body still ached from their earlier spar, the faint burn marks on his arm hidden beneath his sleeve. The System was quiet now no alerts, no warnings but the silence itself was unsettling.
They reached the Hall of Embers, the vast chamber that once hosted initiation ceremonies. Today, its grandeur was dimmed; the great crystal torches burned with low light.
At the far end stood Professor Seraphiel, his silver hair glowing faintly beneath the flickering flames he was speaking with two other instructors, but when he saw Alex, he dismissed them with a nod.
"Alex , Mira You're early."
"We figured you'd call for me soon," Alex said, his voice steady but low.
Seraphiel studied him for a long moment. "You look like someone who hasn't slept."
Alex tried to smirk. "Sleep's overrated."
The elder's lips curved faintly. "So is pride" he gestured toward the circular rune at the center of the floor. "Step inside."
Alex obeyed, standing in the middle of the sigil as soon as he did, golden lines flared to life around his feet, crawling up in intricate spirals that pulsed like veins.
[System Sync Chamber Activated.]
[Caution: Energy stability below safe threshold.]
The voice echoed in Alex's mind, softer this time, as though the System itself were uncertain.
Seraphiel clasped his hands behind his back. "Your link to Shadowflame was forcefully severed during the Null Order's strike. Their curse blocked half your mana pathways. It's a miracle you're even standing."
"I felt him earlier," Alex said. "Just a flicker."
Seraphiel raised a brow. "Good. Then we'll turn that flicker into fire."
He tapped the ground with his staff, and the sigil's glow intensified. The floor beneath Alex trembled faintly as ancient runes spiraled outward. The heat surged not painful, but overwhelming.
"Focus on your breathing," Seraphiel instructed. "Let the light flow through the cracks the darkness left behind."
Alex shut his eyes the System's hum filled his mind, faint static blending with the sound of his heartbeat.
One breath ,Two ,Three.
And then darkness.
He saw it again: a vast void filled with crimson fire, and deep within it, a chained dragon with eyes like eclipses. Its wings twitched weakly, shadows crawling up its scales.
You shouldn't have come back so soon, a voice rumbled.
The seal isn't broken yet.
"Shadowflame," Alex whispered under his breath. "You're alive."
Alive… but caged the Null Order's seal binds not just me but us the closer you reach for me, the tighter it holds.
Alex's fists clenched. "Then I'll break it."
The dragon's eyes glowed brighter, amused yet sorrowful.
And if the seal breaks the wrong way? You'll free me and destroy yourself.
A flash of pain burned through Alex's chest. The vision shattered.
He dropped to his knees inside the glowing circle, gasping. Mira rushed forward, but Seraphiel held out a hand.
"Don't," he warned. "If you interrupt now, he'll lose the progress."
Alex's breathing steadied again barely the sigil flickered, and then stabilized. His eyes snapped open, glowing faintly amber and shadow.
The elder gave a faint nod. "Good you're regaining partial resonance but the curse is still binding you."
"What kind of curse can block a System bond?" Mira asked, frowning.
Seraphiel's expression hardened. "One born from the inside the Null Order didn't just attack the academy they infiltrated it. Someone here let them in."
The words sent a chill through the chamber.
Alex's hands trembled. "You're saying… there's a traitor among the staff?"
"Or the students," Seraphiel replied grimly. "The enemy no longer hides outside our walls. They've been watching you from within."
The torches flickered. Somewhere deep in the academy, a low alarm echoed a warning tone that made every heart freeze.
Mira's eyes widened. "That's the east tower alert."
Seraphiel's gaze darkened. "They're moving faster than I thought."
He turned to Alex, his voice suddenly firm. "Find your strength, Shadowflame bearer. Because before this day ends… the academy will burn again."
The first explosion shook the academy before head master Seraphiel could even finish his sentence.
A deafening roar rolled through the stone halls, and the tremor that followed made the hanging lanterns sway violently. Dust rained from the ceiling as students screamed in the distance.
Mira instinctively grabbed Alex's arm. "That came from the east tower!"
Seraphiel's staff flared with golden light. "Move now!"
They sprinted down the corridor, the elder's robes sweeping through the air as arcs of magic lit the path ahead. The once peaceful academy had become a warzone.
The floor was cracked, smoke coiling through the hallways, and the distinct scent of burning mana crystals filled the air.
[System Alert: Academy Integrity 76%]
[Multiple Hostile Energy Signatures Detected.]
[Warning: Null Energy identified.]
Alex's heart pounded null Energy… the same from the arena attack.
As they rounded the corner, a blast of dark mist surged through the hall, cutting off their path. Shadows writhed and twisted into humanoid forms cloaked figures with glowing blue marks on their faces. The insignia of the Null Order burned faintly on their wrists.
"Students of light," one hissed, its voice distorted and layered, "you cannot protect what's already fallen."
Mira unsheathed her twin blades, the silver edges glowing faintly blue. "Yeah?" She stepped forward. "Watch me try."
Alex's hands burned with sudden heat he could feel the faint whisper of the dragon again like fire waking under his skin. The System pulsed urgently.
[Skill Activated: Ember Rush Lv.3]
[Attack Speed +15%]
He lunged forward, dodging a shadow bolt and countering with a clean strike to the creature's core. The impact sent the figure crashing into the wall, where it dissipated into black smoke.
"Alex behind you!" Mira shouted.
He turned just in time to block another attacker's curved blade. The clash rang through the air, and for a brief second, their eyes met dark irises flashing faintly red. Alex froze.
It wasn't a stranger. It was another student.
His mind reeled. "Wait you're from Class C! What the hell are you"
The boy's expression twisted, shadow veins crawling up his neck. "You… don't understand… they promised freedom…"
Before Alex could respond, the corrupted student screamed and swung again, faster, stronger. The magic running through him wasn't his own it was the Null Order's curse consuming him.
Seraphiel raised his staff, and a pulse of golden energy erupted through the corridor. The blast sent all the shadow-corrupted attackers flying back, dissolving into tendrils of smoke.
When the light dimmed, silence fell. Only the distant alarms and the hiss of burning mana remained.
Mira panted, eyes wide. "Students… they're using students as vessels?"
Seraphiel's face was grim. "It's worse than I thought. The Order isn't just infiltrating they've infected the academy itself."
Alex clenched his fists. His mind was racing, images flashing his classmates, the dorms, the laughter in the courtyards. How many of them are being used right now?
[System Update: "Infiltration Detected."]
[New Quest: Defend the East Tower.]
[Objective: Protect the Arcane Core from Null Breach.]
[Time Limit: 00:14:59]
Alex's eyes widened. "They're targeting the Arcane Core!"
"That's the academy's heart," Mira breathed. "If they corrupt it"
"The entire barrier falls," Seraphiel finished grimly.
Without hesitation, he slammed his staff into the ground, summoning a shimmering gate of light. "This portal will take us directly to the base of the tower.
From there, you two will ascend and defend the Core while I coordinate the evacuation."
Alex hesitated. "We're going alone?"
Seraphiel's eyes glowed faintly gold. "You're not alone, Alex you have her and the fire inside you trust it."
The dragon's voice echoed faintly in Alex's head again, ancient and calm.
Let me burn them, little flame. Let me remind them what light truly is.
Alex's grip tightened around his sword. "Then let's end this."
He and Mira stepped into the portal, their forms vanishing into light and reappearing in the storm of chaos.
The east tower was already under siege dozens of corrupted figures swarmed the entrance, shadows crawling up the walls like black fire.
The sky above had darkened unnaturally, clouds spiraling around a single crimson tear in the heavens.
Mira drew her blades again, her eyes hard. "We hold them here."
Alex nodded, fire igniting around his hands. "Until the last breath."
And as they charged forward together, the System flared.
[Battle Mode Engaged.]
[Synchronization: 27% → 31%.]
[Warning: Shadowflame Reactivity Rising.]
The battle for the academy had begun.
The courtyard before the East Tower had become a battlefield.
Sparks and smoke painted the air red and black as explosions rippled through the marble ground.
The Null Order's agents cloaked in darkness charged like a tide, their weapons forged from corrupted mana. Each swing of their blades tore the air apart with shrieks of distortion.
Mira darted forward, spinning through the chaos her twin blades glimmered like streaks of lightning, cutting down the first wave of enemies. "Alex! Keep the right flank sealed!"
"Got it!" Alex shouted back, thrusting his palms out fire burst in twin spirals, forming a blazing wall that split the courtyard. The heat seared through the ground, forcing several attackers back.
But the moment the flames touched their bodies, Alex saw something that made his blood run cold.
The shadows didn't burn.
They absorbed the fire.
He barely had time to react before one figure a tall man in a jagged mask stepped through the inferno as if walking through water. His eyes glowed like cracked stars.
"Your fire," the man said, voice low and distorted, "is tainted with the same darkness we wield. Why resist it?"
Alex's pulse raced. "Because I choose how my flame burns."
He swung his arm a lance of mixed gold and black fire erupted from his hand, cleaving through the enemy's barrier and throwing him backward. But the blow had a cost the shadowfire in Alex's veins pulsed violently, crawling up his arms in black patterns.
[Warning: Synchronization Unstable.]
[Shadowflame Reactivity: 61%]
"Alex!" Mira's voice broke through the static of battle. "You're losing control again pull back!"
He gritted his teeth, forcing his breath steady. The dragon's voice rumbled faintly in his mind, half-growl, half-command.
Control the hunger, or it controls you.
He slammed his fist into the ground, releasing the excess energy in a shockwave of red-black light. The blast scattered the corrupted soldiers, and for a brief moment, the battlefield fell silent.
Then came the next wave.
Dozens of masked figures surged from the tower entrance. At their center stood a woman cloaked in violet shadows, her presence freezing the air around her.
Mira's blades flickered uncertainly. "Who is that?"
Alex stared, his heart sinking as the System identified her.
[Target Identified: Null Commander — Lira Vane]
[Former Academy Graduate. Element: Voidfire.]
"Lira…" he whispered. "She was one of us."
The commander smiled beneath her hood, her eyes cold and knowing. "Once. But I outgrew their chains."
As the next explosion shook the tower, the two sides faced each other across the burning courtyard flame and void, teacher and traitor, past and future about to clash in the most violent battle the academy had ever seen.
The courtyard burned like a war-torn crater.
Flames twisted with black smoke, and shattered stone floated in the air, suspended by raw mana distortion.
Alex and Mira stood side by side, battered and scorched, facing the woman who had once worn the same academy crest they now defended.
Lira Vane Null Commander. Her violet aura pulsed like a dying star, draining color from the air.
"Lira," Mira said, breath heavy. "You were a top student a flame wielder like us why this?"
Lira tilted her head slightly, eyes gleaming under her hood. "Because I learned the truth the fire we worship here is a cage. They teach control, but they mean submission the world doesn't need another 'Sun Knight.' It needs those who can break the cycle."
She raised her hand Voidfire rippled around her fingers cold, violet-black flame that devoured the light it touched.
"Break the cycle?" Alex's voice hardened. "By destroying everything?"
"Sometimes," she whispered, "ashes are the only way to start again."
Her palm snapped forward the courtyard detonated.
The shockwave hurled Alex across the ground his ribs screamed in protest. Mira caught herself mid-roll, planting her blades to stop the slide sparks burst beneath her feet.
"Alex!" she called out.
"I'm" He coughed, fire and blood mixing in his throat. "I'm fine."
The System flashed warnings across his vision.
[Synchronization: 67%]
[Mana Stability: Critical]
[Overload Threshold Approaching.]
The dragon's pulse thundered inside him hot, alive, feral.
Let me fight.
Alex clenched his fists. "No… not yet."
He leapt back into the fray, meeting Lira's next attack head-on.
Their flames collided gold and violet, fire and void the impact split the sky in half. Students screamed from the barricades, and the wards around the academy began to crack under the pressure.
Mira joined him, her lightning blades flashing through the haze. Together, they forced Lira back a step but her smirk never faded.
"You've improved," she said softly. "But power borrowed from a dragon can't save you from your own weakness."
Her next strike was merciless the voidfire speared through their combined defenses and detonated behind them, shattering the east tower's lower floors.
Dust and flame rained down.
Mira fell to one knee, panting Alex staggered beside her, one arm glowing faintly with the dragon's scales.
Lira stepped through the wreckage, eyes calm and cruel. "This is only a taste of what's coming. The Academy will burn and from its ashes, a new order will rise."
She raised her hand again, preparing a final spell but a horn echoed across the grounds.
Alarms the entire academy roared to life.
Lira's smirk widened. "Too late."
She vanished into the smoke.
Alex and Mira stood amid the ruin, the sound of chaos spreading through the night the first signal of the terrorist attack that would soon engulf the Academy of Fire.
The war had begun.