The next morning, Aria awoke to an unusual stillness.
No bells. No bustling footsteps. The Academy grounds, usually alive with energy even before dawn, were oddly silent.
She sat up slowly, feeling a prickling sensation along her spine — a tension in the air, like the pause before a storm.
Her dream still clung to her mind: fragments of gold threads unraveling into black voids, voices whispering in languages she didn't understand, and a symbol she recognized all too well —the mark of the Sealbearers.
Aria swung her legs off the bed and dressed quickly, opting for a simple tunic and cloak instead of her usual uniform. Something told her today wasn't going to be normal.
As she stepped outside, she caught sight of Riven leaning against a stone column, arms folded, waiting.
"You felt it too," he said without preamble.
She nodded grimly. "Something's wrong."
He motioned for her to follow.
They moved quickly through the deserted courtyards, the air thick with magic so dense it felt like wading through water. Aria noticed faint distortions at the edges of her vision — ripples in space, like heat haze, but far more unnatural.
Finally, they reached the dueling fields. It was there she saw it:
A tear.
A gash, hanging in the air itself, oozing dark mist into the world.
Standing before it were the professors — a half-circle of power and fear — casting layers of containment spells around the wound. Lines of runes burned across the ground, trembling under the strain.
Elric stumbled into place beside her, panting. "I overslept— WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
Aria didn't answer. Her gaze was locked on the tear.
Because she recognized the energy spilling from it.
It was the same feeling she had sensed in her dream — the same that had haunted the old tomes in the forbidden library.
The Sealbearers.
"They're probing," Riven said, voice low. "Testing the boundaries."
Aria shivered. "They know I'm here."
He nodded grimly.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then, in a voice too low for anyone else to hear, Riven added, "Your awakening — your bending of reality — it's drawn their attention sooner than expected."
Aria clenched her fists at her sides, golden light flickering faintly from between her fingers.
Not yet.Not here.Not where innocent students could get caught up.
She tamped down the rising energy, forcing herself to breathe. She had promised herself — no more mistakes.
Professor Valemir, his white robes torn and bloodstained, turned to address the small crowd of students who had gathered despite the danger.
"This," he said, voice booming across the grounds, "is not your concern. Return to your dormitories. You will be protected."
His eyes met Aria's for the briefest moment.And she knew —He wasn't just speaking to the crowd.He was speaking to her.
Telling her to stay out of it.
Aria exhaled slowly, steadying herself.
Not yet.
But soon.
As she turned to leave, a flicker of motion caught her eye — a figure in the distance, standing at the very edge of the Academy walls, just outside the protective wards.
Clad in black.Silver insignia gleaming at his chest — an open eye encircled by chains.
A Sealbearer.
Their gaze locked across the distance.
He lifted two fingers to his temple — a mock salute — before vanishing into mist.
Elric noticed her stiffen. "Aria? You good?"
She forced a smile. "Fine," she lied. "Just... thinking."
Thinking about how little time she had left before the real war began.
Later that night, when the Academy finally settled again, Aria sat by her window, staring out into the dark.
She didn't feel fear.Not anymore.
Instead, she felt a kind of grim excitement.
They were coming for her.
But this time —This time she was ready to tear the rules apart if she had to.
She flexed her fingers, and the world around her shivered slightly, bending in tiny, almost imperceptible ways.
This time, she wouldn't just survive.
She would rewrite the game itself.