The storm never left him.
Even after the Ceremony, even after the whispers of "Shattered Core" had faded into the corridors of the Academy, Neel felt it burning inside him — a restless storm that would not be still. Fire and lightning crackled in his veins, coiling, twisting, colliding until every breath felt like he was holding back an explosion.
He lay on the narrow cot in his dormitory, staring at the rafters above. Leela had walked him back after the Ceremony, lingering longer than she needed to, her hand brushing his arm before she left. Aarav had thrown barbed words in passing, his smirk hiding envy that cut deeper than any insult. Shanaya had said nothing more, but her smirk as she left the hall had burned hotter than her flames.
Now, alone, Neel pressed his palms to his ears. It did nothing. The whisper was inside.
"Shattered one… awaken… chains will break…"
His eyes snapped open. He couldn't take it anymore.
–––
The Academy's library was forbidden after dark. Students whispered of spectral Wardens who glided between the shelves, guardians bound to silence intruders forever. But Neel's desperation outweighed fear.
The doors creaked as he pushed them open. Shadows swallowed him whole, broken only by the faint shimmer of wards etched across the archways. Rows of shelves stretched endlessly, their spines whispering secrets older than kingdoms.
He moved deeper, his fingers brushing dust from tomes too ancient to have names. One book hummed faintly when he touched it. He pulled it down, its leather cracked, its pages brittle.
The words inside were faded, but fragments burned into his mind:
"When the Core shatters… flame and storm shall war within one vessel. The Serpent shall stir, hunger unending. Chains of fire may bind it, or break the world."
Neel's breath caught. His hands trembled.
This… this is about me.
–––
"Curiosity suits you, Sharma."
The voice made him freeze. He spun, sparks leaping to his fingertips.
Shanaya Rajput leaned against the far shelf, her arms crossed, her eyes glinting in the dim. Her crimson cloak looked like fire itself in the shadows.
"You shouldn't be here," Neel hissed.
She smirked. "Neither should you. Yet here we are."
Her gaze dropped to the book in his hand. "So… you found it. The prophecy. Did you think I wouldn't notice the storm clinging to you? You've carried it since we were children."
Neel blinked. "Children?"
Her smirk faded into something sharper, more dangerous. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."
–––
Flashback — Five years earlier
The village square was alive with shouts and laughter. Children dueled with sparks and wooden rods, their magic still weak, playful more than dangerous. Shanaya Rajput stood at the center, her fire flaring hotter than anyone's. She was already the star, already a prodigy, her phoenix flame dazzling the crowd of children.
Neel had been dragged into the circle by Aarav's taunts. "Come on, Sharma," Aarav jeered. "Face her. Let everyone see how useless you are."
Neel had stammered, his palms empty of flame, his chest hollow. But something inside him had burned when Shanaya's phoenix swooped toward him. Panic seized him, and without knowing how, he had raised his hand.
It wasn't just flame. It wasn't just storm. It was both.
A wild surge of fire crackled with lightning, blasting the phoenix back into sparks. For a heartbeat, Shanaya staggered, her eyes wide, her flame overpowered. The square fell silent.
And then Neel collapsed, the power gone as suddenly as it came. The children whispered, but no one spoke of it again. No one except Shanaya.
–––
Back to the present
Shanaya's gaze bored into him now, sharp as steel. "That day, you overpowered me. Me. I told myself it was a fluke, a burst of panic. But deep down, I knew. You were dangerous."
Neel's mouth went dry. "So that's why… that's why you—"
"Made you my rival?" Her smirk returned, fiercer. "Yes. Because if I don't keep you in check, you'll drown us all in your chaos."
Her fire flared in her palm, casting shadows across the shelves. "You need someone to stand against you, Sharma. And I intend to be that person."
Neel's storm surged in response, lightning sparking at his fingertips. For a moment, the library seemed ready to ignite.
"Stop!"
The voice broke the tension. Leela Deshmukh burst into the aisle, her wards glowing faintly, her braid disheveled from running. She placed herself between them without hesitation, her eyes blazing with worry.
"Are you both mad? If the Wardens catch you—if Keshav finds out—you'll both be punished!" Her gaze softened as it shifted to Neel. "And you… you'll only give them more reason to fear you."
Neel's breath hitched, his storm flickering uncertainly. Shanaya's fire dimmed, though her smirk remained.
"Well, well," Shanaya murmured, "the healer defends her broken star. Careful, Deshmukh, or you'll burn with him."
Leela's cheeks flushed, but her voice was steady. "Then let me burn. I won't let him face this alone."
Silence fell heavy between them. Neel's chest tightened — torn between Shanaya's challenge and Leela's quiet loyalty.
Unseen in the shadows of the stacks, Aarav Menon clenched his fists, watching. His envy burned hotter than ever. Neel had Leela's devotion. He had Shanaya's attention. And he — Aarav, who had trained harder than both — was left in the dark.
–––
The wards along the walls shimmered. The spectral Wardens stirred.
"Go," Leela hissed. She grabbed Neel's arm, pulling him toward the exit. Shanaya followed at a slower pace, her smirk unshaken.
At the doorway, she leaned close, her whisper hot against his ear.
"Remember, Sharma. You're mine. Rival to the end."
–––
That night, when Neel finally lay back on his cot, the whisper returned.
"Chains of fire… rivals of flame… awaken…"
He shivered, his chest burning. The storm inside him raged louder than ever.