"Miss Vivian. Miss Florence. Stay behind after class," Professor Esther's voice rang out, sharp and deliberate.
The rest of the students froze for a heartbeat, then the room erupted into hushed whispers. I felt a dozen curious eyes dart between me and Vivian.
I exhaled slowly. Fantastic. What did she want now?
Vivian leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you think this is about the demonstration?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I kept my gaze fixed on Professor Esther as she neatly stacked her papers, every movement precise, controlled. It was the kind of calm that made my instincts bristle.
One by one, the other students left, leaving behind hushed whispers.
Vivian shifted uneasily beside me, but I stayed silent, watching.
Professor Esther finally set her papers aside and lifted her gaze. Her eyes were sharp, too sharp, like they could cut straight through every layer I'd built around myself.
"Miss Florence," she began, her tone calm but edged, "care to explain where you learned to construct a spell of that calibre without a visible magic circle?"
I kept my expression neutral. "Self-study."
Her lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Self-study does not explain that. I have taught for over twenty years, and I have never seen a student bend mana patterns that way, especially not someone who hasn't even registered a formal circle with the academy."
Vivian glanced at me, clearly unsure if she should step in.
Esther leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. "So… shall I assume you've been hiding your abilities on purpose?
"It's not like there's a rule that says we need to demonstrate the full extent of our abilities," I said with a slow, deliberate smirk.
Her jaw tightened.
I tilted my head, letting my tone drip with sarcasm. "Oh, but I suppose it must be difficult for you. An esteemed academy professor, unable to wrap her head around the abilities of someone with noble blood. Don't worry, Professor, your confusion is… adorable."
Her voice was calm, "Careful, Miss Florence," she said, her tone like the edge of a blade hidden beneath velvet. "Noble blood can certainly grant you power… but it can't save you from arrogance. And arrogance, in my experience, is the fastest path to irrelevance."
Her gaze didn't waver. "I've seen prodigies like you before burning bright, until they burn out."
I met her stare without flinching. "Then I suppose we'll see, Professor… whether I burn out" I let my smirk return, "or whether I set the whole world on fire."
MISS FLORENCE, you're overstepping your bounds!"
I took a slow step forward, the sound of my heel against the stone echoing in the sudden silence.
"Professor…" I said slowly, my voice cold, "I have yet to cross the threshold of those boundaries."
A faint shimmer of mana stirred the air around me, almost imperceptible but enough to make her take half a step back.
"Believe me when I cross it…" My eyes narrowed, the corners of my mouth lifting in a faint, dangerous smile. "You will regret it."
Her breath was caught. She parted her lips, but no words came. Who would speak after a warning like that?
"One more thing," I added, my tone dropping to something dangerous, final. "Do. Not. Lay a finger on Vivian."
Without waiting for a reply, I reached for Vivian's hand and turned away, leading her toward the exit.
Behind us, I could hear Esther's frustrated scream echo through the training hall. Fool. She thinks she can intimidate me. She has no idea I'm not the type to bend and I'm certainly not the type to bow.
We stepped out into the hallway, my grip on her hand still firm.
Vivian glanced up at me, her expression caught somewhere between shock and holy hell.
"That was both terrifying and amazing."
I arched my brow. "Terrifying?"
She nodded, eyes wide. "Cecilia, you looked like you were about to… I don't know… burn the whole room down."
A faint smirk tugged at my lips. "If she kept pushing, I might have."
Vivian laughed, "You know," she said, "most people would've just talked their way out of that."
"I'm not most people."
Her eyes softened, "No… you're not."
"Vivian," I said.
"Hm?"
"You don't need to attend her class anymore. She'll just target you to vent her frustration. If you want, I can teach you everything myself."
She tilted her head. "Tempting offer… but I'll have to refuse. If either of us skips, she'll think we're cowards, and I'm not giving her that satisfaction."
I smirked faintly. "Fair enough."
"But," she added, eyes bright with resolve, "can I still ask you to train me?"
"Don't expect me to go easy on you." I chuckled.
Her lips curved into a daring smile. "Did I ask you to go easy on me? I'll see you later after our classes."
"I might be late," I warned. "I'm heading to the library. Don't stay up waiting for me."
She gave me a mischievous grin. "You sound like a husband going off to work, telling his wife not to wait up."
"Do I?"
"You do. Now go, I don't want to be late for my next class. And…" her expression turned serious, "don't you dare beat anyone up, even if they provoke you."
"I'll try."
"Miss Florence, nice to see you again," Cassian said from behind me, extending his hand.
The moment I stepped into the training ground, the entire atmosphere shifted. Students stiffened, glancing at me from the corners of their eyes before quickly looking away. No one dared to get too close. Looks like they remembered.
"It's my pleasure," I replied, shaking his hand firmly.
Not long after, Instructor Cael strode in. "Pair up," he ordered, scanning the group. His gaze landed on me. "Cadet Florence, you'll sit this one out. Your abilities are… far beyond the rest of the cadets. I can't, in good conscience, pair you with anyone."
"But—"
"Give it up, kid," Nox cut in lazily. "No one's going to spar with you unless they're on your level. If you want, I'll spar with you later. Or maybe dig into those books and find my core."
I exhaled, shoulders dropping. Seriously… why is everyone here weaker than me? "I understand, Instructor Cael," I said, managing a polite tone. "If I can't participate, may I at least head to the library?"
He nodded. "As long as you don't disrupt class, do as you please."
Perfect. That meant I could dive into those forbidden texts without a single soul bothering me. My mood instantly flipped. Without wasting a second, I bolted toward the nearest library, practically vibrating with excitement. The thought of getting my hands on those ancient tomes made my heart race.
The heavy, rune-carved doors loomed before me, thrumming faintly as if sensing my mana. With a push, they swung inward silently, impossibly smoothly revealing a wave of cool, perfumed air, scented faintly of ink, candlewax, and magic older than kingdoms.
The moment I stepped inside, the world changed.
Columns of marble twisted upward into vaulted ceilings painted with constellations that shifted and glimmered as I passed beneath them. Shelves towered higher than any ladder could reach, each carved from enchanted darkwood that pulsed with an inner glow. Books were not merely stored here, they floated, drifting lazily between shelves as if browsing their neighbours, whispering in tongues long forgotten.
The air itself shimmered faintly, laced with strands of pure mana that danced like silk ribbons in a breeze, only a high-ranked mage could feel.
As I walked deeper, the runes along the walls flared briefly, and a faint hum resonated in my bones, a greeting, a warning, or perhaps… an acknowledgement.
In a far corner, a chained tome the size of a chest shuddered slightly, as though aware I was looking at it. Golden script swirled across its cover, rearranging itself into words I couldn't yet read.
A slow smile curled on my lips.
This was no library.
This was a living, breathing treasury of sorcery… and it had just opened itself to me.
My fingers itched. This… this is paradise.
A grin tugged at my lips as I walked deeper into the maze of knowledge. Every step felt like crossing into sacred ground. And in my mind, there was only one thought
No one's going to disturb me. Not today.
Let's see what I should read first.
Drawn by invisible threads, I found myself before a secluded alcove hidden behind shelves so tall they seemed to scrape the stars painted on the ceiling. There, resting upon a pedestal of obsidian shot through with veins of glowing blue crystal, lay a book bound in midnight leather that seemed to drink in the light around it.
The chains holding it in place were not mere metal. They were runes given form, glowing faintly, shifting with a slow, serpentine grace as though alive. Every instinct told me to walk away.
Naturally, I reached out.
The moment my fingers brushed the cover, the air turned molten. Mana surged outward in a pulse so strong it rattled the shelves and sent nearby books scattering into the air like startled birds. The runes flared blinding white, and the world went still.
Then—
A circle of pure gold and crimson, a shadow bloomed beneath my feet, rotating slowly. Symbols I'd never seen before etched themselves into its surface, each stroke filling the air with the low thrumming of a heartbeat.
From the shadows above, something descended.
It wasn't a creature of flesh and bone. It was a guardian woven of ink, light, and raw mana, its form shifting between a robed figure and a winged beast, its eyes twin burning sigils that locked onto me with the weight of judgment.
"Seeker," it intoned, its voice layered, ancient, and echoing as though spoken from the marrow of the world. "To touch the Codex of the First Flame is to challenge the oathbound trial. Do you claim the right to read what no mortal should know?"
My heart should have pounded, but instead, I felt my lips curl into a slow grin.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
The guardian's eyes flared. The mana pressure doubled, pressing against me like the ocean trying to crush a lone ship. Around us, books closed themselves and the floating quills froze in midair as if the entire library was holding its breath.
"Then prove," the guardian said, raising an arm wreathed in liquid light, "that your will can withstand the fire of truth."
The circle beneath me shifted flames of gold and black roaring upward, swallowing the world.
The golden-black flames roared higher, a storm of heat and holy fury meant to incinerate anything unworthy. The pressure pressed against my skin, heavy enough to make even the air feel like molten metal.
I simply exhaled.
The heat died not gradually, but snuffed out as if the world had forgotten what warmth was. A hollow chill spread in its place, gnawing into bone. The guardian's wings faltered, its eyes narrowing as frost began crawling across the golden runes beneath my feet, cracking their glow like ice over a dying ember.
"You burn bright," I said softly, voice stripped of all warmth, "but even the brightest flame… dies in the dark."
I lifted my hand. Shadows spilt like ink into water, curling up my arm before unravelling into the air. They thickened, writhed, and took shape skeletal hands clawing from the void, reaching toward the ceiling.
From that swirling darkness, they emerged, knights long dead, clad in splintered armour and wielding rusted blades. Hollow flames burned in their eyes as they knelt before me in perfect, silent reverence.
The guardian roared and flared, wings of blinding light opening wide.
I snapped my fingers.
Chains of blackened bone burst from the frozen floor, lashing around its limbs, hissing when light touched them. The guardian strained, light lashing like a storm yet my shadows devoured it.
"Do you know what the dead fear?" I stepped closer, "Nothing. Not pain. Not time. Not even gods."
The guardian let out a final, defiant cry then my knights moved. They surged forward, their blades sinking into its chest, not to kill, but to bind. Its light sputtered… dimmed… and was swallowed whole.
In the stillness that followed, the guardian sank to one knee, trembling.
"You… pass…" it whispered, voice fractured to the edge of breaking, before shattering into silver motes that rained down upon the Codex.
The book was no longer just a book.
The air shifted hungrier. The black chains wrapped around the Codex's cover began to unravel themselves, coiling toward me like serpents seeking warmth. The runes across its surface pulsed with a heartbeat not my own, as my mana stepped into the symbols as though they belonged there.
When my fingers touched the cover, it didn't feel like leather, it felt like skin. The book trembled, almost shivering, as if recognizing me.
And then I heard it.
A whisper.
Soft, velvety, curling like smoke around my mind.
"At last… we meet."
I traced my hand over it, the frost melting into my palm as if the Codex was claiming me in return.
"Good," I murmured, turning toward the silent, frozen library. "Let's see what secrets you've been hoarding… and which of them you want me to use first."
I slammed the Codex shut with more force than necessary, the echo snapping through the silent aisle. That's it? All this book had to offer was a glorified manual on casting spells more efficiently. No hidden incantations. No forbidden rituals. Just… technique.
I yanked another book from the shelf, flipping through its brittle pages. Nothing. Another. Nothing. By the tenth book, my patience was gone, my jaw aching from how hard I was clenching it. This was supposed to be the restricted section, dangerous knowledge, dark secrets yet all I'd found was a collection of dry, academic handholding.
"Useless," I muttered, tossing the last book onto the table. The sound was dull, unsatisfying.
I leaned back in the chair, rubbing my eyes until colours swirled behind my eyelids. My head throbbed from reading, my fingers still tingled from the mana strain earlier. But… no. I wasn't going to give up this early. I'd only just started. Somewhere in this cursed library, there had to be something worth the trouble.
Grabbing the final book for the day, I wandered toward a seat near the window. Moonlight bled across the floor, and for a moment I let myself just… sit. My eyes drifted half-shut—
Then the world shook.
A violent surge of mana ripped through the air, so potent it made my skin prickle. Interwoven with it was something rarer—divine magic, radiant and sharp, the kind that burned to touch.
"Did you feel that?" Nox's voice coiled in my mind, low and alert.
"I did," I said slowly, my pulse quickening. "It felt like someone just lost their temper… and erased whatever was in their way."
"Whoever it is… they're on the same level as you."
A smile tugged at my lips despite my irritation. "If they are… then I sincerely hope we get to fight one day."
But that wish… that foolish, reckless hope to fight—
It was the very thing that shattered me.
I didn't know it then, that I would be walking straight into my ruin.
And I've hated myself for it every day since.
To be continued.