Chapter XXXIII – The Silver Veins
The forest was dead.
Where there had been trees, only a crater remained; ash frozen midair, flame buried beneath ice. The explosion had erased everything living in the clearing. Steam rolled off shattered trunks, frost and fire locked in glassy stalemate.
Lyara crouched in the wreckage, her hands trembling over her brother's face. Theren's chest rose in uneven jerks, each breath shallow and wet. The burn marks across his jaw still smoked.
"Lunar Mend," she whispered, voice breaking. Silver light bled from her palms, tracing the edges of his wounds. "Don't you dare leave me. Not yet."
Her light flickered. Her mana was nearly gone. But she kept going.
A few meters away, the smoke shifted.
The monster was still alive.
Half of its body was frozen solid; one arm snapped off entirely, the torso riddled with ice burns. Yet it crawled forward, dragging itself through the ash, its one good hand clawing trenches into the dirt. The green fire that burned in its core pulsed weakly, refusing to die.
Opposite it, Lucian moved. Slowly.
He was standing, but barely. Frost webbed across his arms and jaw like veins of glass. His breath came out in short, shaky bursts. The silver runes etched beneath his skin glowed faintly through torn flesh. Every movement sent cracks through the frost coating his body, light spilling through like leaks in porcelain.
The announcer's voice broke through the static; hoarse, disbelieving:
"He's still standing! Lucian Arvel,the pretty boy from the north, still standing after a full infernal blast!"
The arena erupted. A wave of screams and cheers tore through the noise. Some shouted his name. Others whispered the same words over and over
"Those runes…"
"has house arvel regained connection with him…"
Lucian took a single step forward. The frost spread underfoot with each stride, a ripple of silver through the blackened soil. His fingers trembled, but his eyes stayed fixed on the creature.
The monster straightened slowly, the cracked armor shifting with wet sounds. Its jaw was gone, its tongue a blackened stump. Still, the distorted voice echoed through the clearing, layered and broken.
"You think frost can bury flame?"
Lucian's reply came low, cold, unshaken.
"No. But it can silence it."
They moved at once.
The creature raised its stump of an arm. Mana surged; dark, sick, pulsing green. "Corruption Torrent."
A flood of energy screamed through the air, twisting into a storm of rotting tendrils.
Lucian lifted both hands. "Frozen Pulse."
Frost expanded midair, exploding into a wall of ice that met the corruption head-on. The impact shattered the shield instantly, sending shards flying. One tore across Lucian's shoulder; blood spilled, freezing as it hit his skin.
He didn't flinch.
He sidestepped, driving his hand into the ground. Silver light crawled outward in a circle runes tracing themselves across the dirt in precise arcs. Each line hummed, synchronizing with his pulse.
The creature charged, its remaining arm engulfed in flame. Lucian moved with it, circling, cutting new symbols into the ground with every step.
The frost spread outward, connecting. A lattice of glowing veins.
The monster bellowed, voice warping into a bestial shriek. "Die, human!"
Lucian whispered the command.
"Silver Seal—Frost Veins."
The runes erupted.
Frost surged upward from the earth, running not only through the ground but through Lucian himself. His body became conduit and weapon both, veins lighting silver, his breath turning white-hot from the cold.
The frost burst outward like a heartbeat.
The creature's charge faltered. The flames around its body guttered. Every step it took left its own flesh freezing behind it.
Still, it roared and pushed through, closing the gap with sheer force.
Lucian met it halfway.
No spells now. No distance. Just survival.
He drove his fist into its chest, frost exploding on contact. The monster swung back, claws raking his side, splitting through cloth and skin alike. They both screamed. The frost and flame tangled, the air between them howling.
Then, silence.
A flash of white swallowed everything.
When the light faded, the creature stood frozen, mouth open in a soundless roar, its arm raised mid-swing. Crystals spread across its body, up through its neck, through its eyes.
A statue of ice and death.
Lucian stood over it, his breath ragged, frost still curling from his lips. The silver light in his veins flickered erratically, fading with every heartbeat.
He looked down at the frozen corpse.
"Not bad," he said quietly. "For a corpse."
Then his knees buckled, and he fell.
Lyara screamed his name as she ran to him, sliding across the frost. She pressed her hands to his chest, pouring what little mana she had left into him.
"You idiot," she whispered, her tears freezing on her cheeks. "You absolute idiot."
His pulse was faint. Barely there. But it was there.
Theren groaned weakly beside them, the burns on his face now sealed under layers of silver light. He blinked once, dazed, then smiled faintly at the sight of Lucian lying unconscious beside him.
"He won," he rasped.
Lyara laughed through tears. "Yeah. He did."
Around them, the forest was gone; only a wasteland of frost and ash remained. Trees stood frozen mid-collapse, their branches sheathed in glassy ice. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Cut to the arena —
The projection flickered back to life, static clearing into a grainy image of the frozen crater.
The announcer's voice broke with awe.
"By the stars! Lucian Arvel has neutralized the interference threat beyond his power! The Ironwood Expanse is safe again! Someone record this; ARE WE WITNESSING THE BIRTH OF A NEW ACADEMY LEGEND!"
The stands erupted. Cheers. Applause. Fear.
Rodrik sat among them, silent. His arms were crossed, his jaw set tight. The crowd's celebration washed over him, meaningless. His eyes were fixed on the frost spreading across the screen.
He didn't cheer.
He only watched, the corners of his mouth tightening. Pride, and something colder beneath it.
In the VIP chamber above, the student council remained seated, silent.
The prince spoke at last, his tone unreadable.
"He shouldn't have survived that."
One of the council members nodded slowly. "No. But he did. And now everyone knows what sleeps in his blood."
******
Night crept over the Ironwood.
Frost glowed faintly in the moonlight, painting the ruined clearing in silver. Lucian sat slumped against a half-frozen tree, his right arm bandaged tightly, the faint pulse of the runes still visible beneath the cloth.
Lyara sat beside him, her staff propped against her shoulder, its light dim and steady. A few feet away, Theren slept, his breathing slow but strong.
For the first time since the trial began, the forest was quiet.
Lyara glanced toward Lucian. His eyes were half-open, distant but alive.
"Sleep," she murmured. "You've done enough."
He exhaled weakly, his voice rough as gravel. "Still… more to do."
She smiled faintly. "Then rest before you freeze again, frost vein."
He blinked once, amused despite himself. "Frost vein?"
"Fits you," she said softly. "The boy who freezes fire."
Lucian didn't answer. His head tilted slightly, eyes closing. The frost on his skin began to melt under the faint warmth of her healing spell.
Above them, the Ironwood trees stood silent, branches coated in silver light. The air was still, untouched, as if even the world held its breath.
The frost veins beneath Lucian's skin dimmed, pulsing one last time before settling into stillness.
The storm was over.
Author's note: Guys, please add the novel to your collection