Kael woke to the sound of static.
The dorm lights flickered, then dimmed into a low red hum. His breath came shallow, each inhale edged with the metallic taste of ozone. Across the room, Aria stood at the window, still in her academy uniform, gaze fixed on the courtyard below.
"They've increased surveillance," she said quietly without turning. "After your… anomaly."
Kael rubbed his temples, the faint glow still pulsing beneath his eyelids. "It wasn't intentional. I didn't even activate the Sight this time."
She looked at him then—expression unreadable. "Doesn't matter. You triggered a system override. The Headmaster called for us."
Kael stiffened. "Now?"
"Now."
---
The observation deck stretched open above the academy, surrounded by holographic panels displaying trial data—streams of red code twisting through the air like veins of light. At the center stood Headmaster Valen, hands clasped behind his back, eyes reflecting the same faint crimson that haunted Kael's own.
"Pair Twenty-Seven," Valen said softly. "Approach."
They stepped forward. Kael's chest tightened.
The memory of the shattered mirrors flashed behind his eyes—the man in the circle, the words echoing through him like a pulse: The Threshold calls.
Valen studied him. "You saw something in the simulation. Something that wasn't projected."
Kael hesitated. "A man. Standing inside a circle of light. He… spoke."
Valen's gaze sharpened. "What did he say?"
Kael swallowed. "He said the Threshold calls."
The silence that followed was colder than fear. Even Aria's breath stilled.
Valen finally spoke, voice low. "The Threshold isn't a myth, Kael. It's the origin of every Sight this academy studies. But it isn't meant to speak back."
He stepped closer. "Whatever responded to you isn't part of the academy's system. It's something older."
Kael's heartbeat quickened. "Then what is it?"
Valen's eyes met his—steady, unnervingly calm. "A memory that doesn't belong to this world."
---
The walls around them dimmed. A projection flickered to life—static resolving into an ancient recording: a red field under stormlight, symbols forming circles across a barren plain. Figures stood within them, eyes burning with the same light Kael had seen.
> "These were the first bearers," Valen said. "They opened the Threshold to see beyond human sight… and were consumed by it."
Kael's head pounded. The light from the holo burned into his vision, syncing with the rhythm of his pulse.
Then, just for an instant—one of the figures in the recording turned its head. Looked directly at him.
Kael stumbled backward. "He saw me—he saw me!"
The projection collapsed. Valen's composure cracked for the first time. "That's impossible. It's a sealed archive."
Aria took a step closer to Kael, her usual detachment slipping into sharp alertness. "Headmaster, what does that mean?"
Valen didn't answer immediately. "It means," he said finally, "something on the other side recognizes him."
---
Later that night, Kael sat alone on the training field, staring at the crimson glow of the academy spires. The hum of energy in the air seemed to match the pulse in his chest.
The Threshold wasn't calling anymore.
It was listening.
And somewhere in the static between worlds… the man in the circle whispered again.
> "You're almost ready."
---