The sky cracked open.
A spear of light fell through the clouds, striking the academy courtyard with a thunderous roar. The ground shattered — and from the crater rose a figure made entirely of luminescent fragments, its form shifting between man and void.
Lyra covered her eyes, her voice trembling.
"Arven… that's the same energy as last night—!"
Arven didn't answer. His eyes glowed faint blue, his breath steady but sharp. The sigil on his palm pulsed again, resonating with the being before them.
> "Unit Kaelis_01," the entity spoke, its voice overlapping like broken echoes. "Protocol Genesis—reactivating."
The air around them vibrated. Mana lines across the courtyard twisted, ripping the barriers apart. Daren raised his weapon — a gauntlet of compressed metal plates — and slammed it to the ground. A shockwave burst outward, dispersing the pressure for only a moment.
"Whatever that thing is," Daren gritted his teeth, "it's not here to talk!"
He dashed forward, the ground cracking under his steps. The gauntlet glowed red as he threw a punch — only for his fist to pass through the being's chest like smoke.
A flash.
The entity's arm morphed into a blade of light and pierced through Daren's shoulder.
"Daren!" Lyra screamed, firing a burst of azure mana. The blast tore through the air, burning the ground, but the entity regenerated instantly — no trace of injury.
Arven raised his hand.
The light from his palm flared so bright it drowned all sound. Symbols — unknown, ancient, alive — spiraled from his arm, wrapping around his body.
His voice, calm but unhuman, whispered through the static.
> "Override limit—access granted."
The courtyard trembled. The sigil in his hand expanded, forming a ring of energy that split the light being in half — only for both halves to reform again, stronger, denser, faster.
The entity tilted its head.
> "Incomplete code… unstable vessel."
Arven's heartbeat pounded like thunder. "Then let's test how unstable I am."
He clenched his fist — and the world blinked.
In less than a second, he appeared behind the being. A trail of blue sparks followed his movement. The air warped, space rippled, and the next blow shattered the entity's core — scattering fragments of light across the courtyard.
But before it vanished, the fragments rearranged into words that burned in the air:
> "Phase One – Awakening achieved.
Phase Two – Retrieval begins."
The light dispersed.
Silence followed — heavy and suffocating.
Lyra rushed to Daren, healing him with trembling hands. Arven stood alone among the drifting dust, staring at his palm.
The sigil was fading.
But deep in his chest, something else was awakening — a pulse not of light, but of memory.
And far beyond the clouds, unseen eyes watched through the light itself…
…whispering in languages older than stars.