The days after the discovery of the Codex were strange, full of heavy silences and restless nights. Aria's eyes, once a deep violet, now shimmered with an inner gold that made her feel both more alive and more cursed. She could feel the shift within her—like an endless tide had begun to pull at her soul. Every movement, every thought, seemed to ripple with something deeper.
It wasn't until the third day after the incident that she began to understand the true nature of the power she had awakened.
The courtyard outside her dormitory was quiet that morning. Birds called lazily from the trees, the soft chatter of other students murmuring in the distance. But none of that reached Aria's ears. The air around her felt... thicker, charged with an energy she couldn't explain.
She stood at the center of the courtyard, letting the golden light in her eyes settle. She had to test it again. She had to understand what was happening to her.
Aria extended her hand slowly, feeling the delicate tendrils of magic curl at her fingertips. It was a delicate thing, fragile as a thread. But beneath it was something darker, something stronger—something ancient.
She closed her eyes, and for a moment, she could almost hear the voice from the Codex again. The whisper that had lingered in her mind ever since.
"Power is a prison. And you—are its keeper."
Her fingers trembled, and a spark of golden light shot from her hand, scorching the ground in front of her. It didn't stop. The light spread outward, tracing symbols in the air, symbols she'd never seen before but instinctively understood.
"Just like that..." she whispered to herself, fascinated. The light wove together in intricate patterns, creating a lattice of golden energy that swirled like a living thing.
Suddenly, she felt something tug—sharp and sudden. A burst of energy surged from her chest, and for an instant, she saw images flashing through her mind—visions of her past life, of battles, of loss, of power.
Then, the ground cracked beneath her feet.
The magic she had summoned surged out of control, the golden light spiraling wildly into the air like a storm. She could feel it, too—a heavy presence stirring inside her. Something was coming.
With a fierce effort, Aria snapped her hand forward, pulling the chaotic energy back into herself, forcing it to comply. But the force was too great. The air around her warped, bending as if the very fabric of reality was warping in the wake of her magic.
And then, it stopped.
Silence.
Aria panted, her chest heaving. Her hand was still raised in the air, but the power was gone, locked back inside her, quiet for now. She could feel the heat radiating from the ground where her magic had burned through the stone, the faint outlines of her sigils still glowing.
"I—" she murmured, staring at her hand, still tingling with the residual power. "I can't control it."
Her breath was still uneven, her mind a swirl of thoughts. What was this power?
She was aware of the eyes on her before she saw them. A sharp cough cut through the stillness. "Quite the display, Aria," said a voice she knew all too well.
Riven.
He leaned against the stone wall, his arms crossed, a casual expression on his face. But his eyes… those were watching her carefully, calculating. "You've got quite the talent for trouble, don't you?"
Aria straightened, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. "It's not what it looks like," she snapped, trying to brush off the unease swirling inside her. She didn't want to explain. She didn't even understand it herself.
"Really?" Riven raised an eyebrow. "Because it looked like you just nearly incinerated this entire courtyard." His voice was still casual, but there was an edge to it now. "What was that? Some kind of summoning? Magic you can't control?"
"I'm not a child anymore," Aria shot back, her golden eyes flashing with defiance. "You think I don't know how to handle magic?"
Riven didn't answer right away. He stepped closer, his eyes not leaving hers. "No. I think you're scared of what's inside you." His voice lowered, becoming quieter but no less cutting. "Whatever that thing is, you can't keep controlling it like this. You're going to break something."
For a long moment, Aria stood frozen. The words stung, but they were true. She could feel it—the raw power thrumming beneath her skin, fighting against her attempts to keep it contained. What was happening to her?
"Then teach me," she said, her voice suddenly calm, focused. "You've seen it. You know what I'm capable of. Teach me how to use it."
Riven's lips curled into a faint smile, but there was no humor in it. "So now you're willing to listen?"
"I never said I wouldn't," Aria muttered, casting her gaze down at her hands. "But I'm not going to sit around pretending like I don't have a choice in this."
Riven's smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Good. Because you don't have a choice anymore."
For a second, Aria felt a strange chill. Was he warning her? Or was it something more?
"I'll teach you," he said. "But it won't be easy. Control is the first lesson."
"Then start teaching." Aria didn't flinch. There was no room for fear in her anymore.
Riven chuckled darkly, stepping back. "All right. But don't say I didn't warn you."
As the days passed, Aria felt the weight of her power more keenly. The golden light in her eyes no longer flickered when she was agitated. Instead, it burned steadily like an eternal flame, never fully extinguishing, always there, always watching.
She could feel the ancient energy stirring inside her like a dormant beast, biding its time. And now, under Riven's careful training, she began to learn control—not just over her magic, but over herself.
But there were moments, late at night, when she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondered if she was still the same person who had entered the Magi Core Academy. Or if she had become something… something else.
The Codex had told her she wasn't meant to exist.
But now, with every passing day, she felt more alive than she ever had before.
And that, she realized, was the most dangerous thing of all.