The sky was tearing apart.
Ether bled through the clouds like liquid night, forming a spiral of light and darkness that twisted above the crystal forest. The rift pulsed in rhythm with Kael's heartbeat — each thrum resonating deep within his chest, echoing the same void that once devoured his life on Earth.
> [Warning: Dimensional instability rising — 87% and climbing.]
The blue-haired scout shouted over the roaring wind, "Captain! The readings are off the charts! We need to retreat!"
But Lira Valen Astrae didn't move. Her silver eyes were locked on Kael — the boy who stood at the center of the anomaly, untouched by the violent winds that shredded trees around him. Ether spiraled toward him, bending and folding, as if the laws of nature were struggling to decide whether to obey or flee.
"Kael!" she shouted, voice sharp. "Whatever you're doing — stop! You'll collapse the entire field!"
"I'm not—" Kael's words were torn away by the storm. "It's pulling me!"
The mark on his chest burned. His vision blurred. Reality fractured like glass. Through the cracks, he glimpsed another sky — black stars, violet fire, something ancient watching him.
> [Dimensional Core Sync: 112% — Overload Imminent.]
Then he felt it — the rift calling to him.
Kael reached out. Ether screamed.
Void answered.
A sphere of darkness bloomed in his palm, small yet infinite, devouring the raging storm. Space folded inward like collapsing fabric until, with a thunderous shockwave, everything went still.
The rift — gone. The sky, silent.
Only Kael remained standing amid a crater of crystallized glass, breathing hard, steam rising from his skin.
---
Lira approached slowly, sword still drawn. "How did you—"
Kael's legs gave out. He collapsed, half-conscious, his Ether signature flickering erratically between black and silver.
"Get him to the ship," Lira ordered. "Now."
The scouts moved quickly, placing Kael on a containment stretcher as a shimmering barrier sealed around him. Lira glanced back at the crater. The Ether density there was… wrong.
The forest hummed with residual Void energy, a phenomenon believed to have been erased from history centuries ago.
> "Void shouldn't exist," she whispered.
---
✦
When Kael awoke, the air smelled of sterilized metal and humming energy. The ceiling above him glowed faintly blue — an Ether resonance pattern. He was inside a chamber lined with runic glass walls, each etched with geometric sigils.
> "Where…" he murmured. "Am I?"
A calm, mechanical voice replied:
> [Location: Aetherion Academy – Containment Wing.]
[Status: Observation Level 3. Energy stabilization in progress.]
Kael blinked. "The Academy?"
From behind the barrier, a figure approached — silver hair cascading down her back, eyes reflecting the room's glow. Lira.
"You're awake," she said, her tone measured. "That's… good."
He sat up slowly, his body still aching. "What happened to the rift?"
"You closed it," Lira said. "Or maybe it closed because of you. Either way, it nearly tore a dimensional fault through the sector."
Kael exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "That sounds… bad."
She hesitated, studying him through the barrier. "Kael, no Ether user can manipulate Void. It's an extinct element — sealed centuries ago after the Dimensional Collapse. Yet your affinity readings are—"
She stopped. "—undefined. Like the world doesn't know what you are."
Kael gave a small, weary smile. "That makes two of us."
For the first time, Lira looked uncertain. Her usual composure cracked just slightly.
"The Council wants to question you," she said finally. "Until then, you're to remain under observation. Don't try to break the barrier — it's reinforced by Ether locks."
Kael leaned back, letting his eyes drift upward. "Lira… that rift — I think it wasn't just an accident."
"What do you mean?"
"When it opened, I saw… something. Like a memory that wasn't mine. A world collapsing. Voices whispering… names."
Lira frowned. "You're saying the rift was connected to your arrival?"
Kael's gaze hardened. "I think something followed me here."
---
Far above them, in the shadowed halls of the Academy's central spire, two figures stood before a glowing Ether map of the planet.
One, cloaked in black, murmured, "Void resonance confirmed."
The other turned, eyes hidden by a silver visor. "Impossible. That energy was erased in the Age of Fracture."
"Then explain this," the first replied, pointing to the signature. "The boy carries a Dimensional Core — something only the lost civilization of Vaelion ever wielded."
A long silence.
Finally, the second figure said, "Then history… is repeating itself."