The whispers of the duel still clung to the Academy like smoke. Students replayed the clash in hushed voices, each retelling painting Neel darker, more dangerous.
"Did you see the lightning crack the wards?"
"He nearly burned Shanaya alive."
"Two elements… it isn't natural."
Neel heard every word. Each whisper was a chain tightening around him, invisible but suffocating.
–––
At dawn the next morning, a summons arrived. A slip of parchment, sealed with the flame emblem of Keshav Rao.
"Report to the Ember Hall. Alone."
Leela frowned when she saw it. "You don't have to go. Not without a mentor, not so soon after—"
"I have to," Neel said quietly. His stomach churned, but there was no choice. Refusal was impossible.
Aarav leaned against the doorway, his smirk venomous. "Better make peace with your gods, Sharma. Rao's summons isn't a gift—it's a noose."
Leela shot him a glare, but Neel only tightened his grip on the parchment.
–––
The Ember Hall was vast and cold, lined with torches that burned blue instead of red. At its center stood Keshav Rao, his staff gleaming with fire runes. His gaze pierced Neel the moment he entered.
"Close the doors."
They shut with a groan, leaving only silence and the crackle of torches.
"You wield two elements," Keshav began, his voice like steel dragged over stone. "Do you understand what that means?"
Neel swallowed. "That I'm cursed. That I'm—"
"Wrong," Keshav snapped. His eyes flared. "It means you are unstable. A weapon half-forged. And weapons either break… or are reforged in fire."
He raised his staff. The floor blazed with runes, forming a circle that caged Neel in light.
"This is your trial. You will either master a fragment of your storm… or be consumed by it."
–––
Flames surged from the runes, forming chains of fire that lashed toward Neel. He gasped, raising his hands—lightning cracked, scattering them, but three more struck, wrapping around his arms, searing his skin.
"Control!" Keshav barked. "Focus, or the storm will destroy you!"
Neel struggled, the fire-chains tightening. Sparks erupted from his palms, uncontrolled. The air roared with heat and thunder.
"Awaken…" the whisper hissed. "Break the chains…"
"No!" Neel shouted, fighting against it. His storm flared, lightning and flame colliding until the entire chamber shook. The chains shattered with a crack like thunder. Neel collapsed to his knees, smoke rising from his skin.
Keshav lowered his staff slowly, his gaze unreadable.
"You survived," he said at last. "Barely." He stepped closer, his shadow falling over Neel. "Remember this—power without discipline is not strength. It is doom. If you lose control again, I will end you myself."
–––
When Neel stumbled from the Ember Hall, his arms burned with welts where the fire-chains had struck. Leela was waiting, her eyes wide with worry. She rushed to him, pressing cool water magic into his burns.
"What did he do to you?" she whispered.
"Tested me," Neel said, his voice hoarse. "Or tried to break me. I don't know which."
Leela bit her lip, her hands steady on his arms. "Then I'll help you. Whatever he does, whatever they say—I won't let you face it alone."
Her touch steadied him more than any spell.
–––
But not everyone offered comfort.
In the training yard later that day, Aarav leaned close to a group of students, his words dripping with venom.
"You know why Rao summoned him? To chain him. To keep him from destroying us. But chains break. And when they do…" He spread his hands, miming an explosion. The students laughed nervously.
Aarav's eyes followed Neel across the yard, his envy a blade twisting deeper with every heartbeat.
–––
That evening, Shanaya found Neel on the terrace, staring at the horizon where a storm brewed faintly. She leaned against the wall, her smirk soft but her eyes sharp.
"So Rao tried to break you?" she asked.
Neel's shoulders stiffened. "How do you know?"
"Everyone knows," she said simply. "Whispers spread faster than fire." She stepped closer, the light from the torches flickering across her features. "But tell me, Sharma—did you break? Or did you burn brighter?"
Neel met her gaze, the storm still flickering in his eyes. "I survived."
Her smirk widened. "Good. Because I want you whole when I crush you. Remember, rival—you're mine."
–––
That night, the whisper returned louder than ever.
"Chains burn. Chains break. The Serpent stirs…"
Neel shivered, clutching his chest. The storm within him would not be silenced.
And somewhere in the depths of the Academy, Keshav Rao stared into the flames of his staff, whispering to himself.
"He is either the end of us… or the weapon we've been waiting for."
–––