The storm had passed, but thunder still rolled faintly across the horizon as Nova stepped into the ruins of the Old Crown Forge.
The air was thick with the scent of rust and old mana. Every surface glowed faintly with dying runes, flickering like candlelight on the brink of going out. His boots echoed against the steel floor, each step answered by the hollow groan of the massive chamber beyond.
"So this is what they built over Father's designs," Nova murmured.
The forge stretched out before him — a cathedral of metal and silence. Rows of shattered furnaces lined the walls, their chimneys blackened with soot. Chains hung from the ceiling, swaying faintly in the stale air. In the center stood a massive anvil, cracked straight through, runes carved deep into its surface.
He approached it carefully, brushing dust away with his glove. Beneath the grime, a familiar crest shone faintly — the sigil of House Grey.
His breath caught.
"You were here…"
There were papers scattered around the worktables — diagrams, blueprints, and notes scrawled in rushed handwriting. Nova gathered a few, laying them under the pale light of a rune lantern. The sketches showed more than weapons — they showed living conduits. Human outlines connected by threads of mana. The words beside them were unmistakable:
"Soulforged Project — Prototype Phase."
He traced the edge of the parchment, his expression hardening. These weren't just weapons. They were experiments — attempts to merge human essence with forged magic.
His father's final work.
The deeper he read, the more the words twisted into madness — diagrams of hearts encased in steel, veins replaced by channels of pure mana, notes about "resonance instability" and "catalyst bloodlines."
At the bottom of one page, a single line was underlined three times:
"If the royal line fails, the Phoenix Crest will activate through the Grey blood."
Nova froze.
The Phoenix Crest — the royal symbol of Terra, said to protect the kingdom in times of great peril. But if it was tied to the Greys… then it wasn't divine magic at all. It was forged.
By them.
By him.
A whisper broke the silence — not a voice, but a resonance. A hum of mana, faint but steady, coming from beneath the cracked anvil. Nova knelt and pressed his hand to the floor. The runes beneath his palm flared to life, spreading out like veins of fire across the chamber.
The ground trembled.
From the cracks, a low vibration rose — the sound of a machine awakening after decades of stillness.
"I shouldn't have come alone," he muttered.
The forge doors slammed shut behind him. Chains rattled as the central platform began to descend, carrying him into the depths below.
At Silvercrest Academy
The dueling arena was quiet, save for the low murmur of the gathered crowd. Sorra stood in the center, her blade lowered, waiting. Across from her stood her next opponent — a senior adept, older, confident, the kind who looked at her like she was still a child.
Headmaster Verden watched from above, arms crossed. He hadn't planned to attend this match, but something in Sorra's last duel had drawn his attention — the way her power flared in rhythm with her heartbeat, her blood responding to mana like living fire.
"Begin."
The signal rang out.
Sorra moved.
Wind erupted around her as Wind Boost propelled her forward, the air itself cracking from the speed. Her blade met her opponent's magic barrier in a burst of flame and light. He countered with a surge of lightning, forcing her to roll back, sparks tearing across the floor.
But the storm didn't scare her — it reminded her of Nova.
She gritted her teeth, her crimson eyes burning. Inferno Cage. Flames rose like a living wall, curling around her opponent. Then, with one swift motion, she summoned Blood Spear — crimson energy forming from the cut on her palm.
The spear struck true, shattering the barrier.
The crowd roared.
But as the flames died down, Sorra's hand trembled. For a moment, the blood on her wrist shimmered gold — faint, like molten metal.
Verden's eyes narrowed. "So… it awakens in her too."
Beneath the Old Crown Forge
The platform stopped with a thunderous clang. Nova stepped off cautiously, his eyes adjusting to the gloom. The lower chamber was vast — lined with dormant machinery and empty containment pods, each large enough to hold a person. Some were broken open. Others still pulsed faintly with light.
He walked past them, his breath steady but his pulse quickening. The deeper he went, the louder the hum became, like a heartbeat buried beneath stone.
Then he saw it — a sealed chamber at the far end, protected by a barrier of shifting runes. In its center stood a forge unlike any he'd ever seen: half-organic, half-metal, veins of molten mana running through it like arteries.
And hanging above it, suspended in chains, was a weapon.
A sword — black as night, its edge shimmering faintly with red light.
"Total Destruction…" Nova whispered.
He felt it before he even touched it — the other half of his power.
But something was wrong. The air around the blade pulsed with a presence. A fragment of will, ancient and bound. When Nova reached out, the sigil of House Grey on his hand flared in answer.
A voice echoed faintly in his mind — distant, like the echo of a forge bell across time.
"My son… if you've come this far… then the Phoenix is already burning."
Nova's breath caught.
His father's voice.
The forge came alive. Light erupted from the floor, flooding the chamber in blinding radiance as the sword broke free of its chains, hovering before him like a living flame.
The storm outside roared in answer.
At Silvercrest
At that same instant, Sorra dropped to her knees mid-duel, clutching her chest. Her eyes widened, glowing faintly gold for a heartbeat. A ripple of mana swept through the Academy — faint but unmistakable.
Verden stood abruptly. "The resonance…" he whispered. "It's begun."
In the Depths
Nova stared at the sword, its point aimed toward him. Lightning crackled along the walls, feeding the growing energy in the chamber.
He took one step forward, hand trembling slightly as he reached for the blade.
"Father…" he breathed. "What did you do?"
The sword's light intensified, flooding the forge with fire and shadow.
And when Nova's fingers closed around the hilt —
the world itself seemed to shatter.