WebNovels

Chapter 9 - Chapter 9 - Echoes Beneath the Academy

Early Winter, Year 01 - Eryndor Academy

Snow drifted over the academy towers like quiet feathers. The semester's last classes had ended, and the campus was half-asleep beneath its silver fog. Yet, below the glittering surface, something stirred.

Kain sat in the forge workshop long after curfew. The Flame of Nihility glowed faintly from his palm, flickering with an odd pulse — uneven, like a heartbeat skipping.He frowned. "You feel that too, don't you?"

"The world beneath you hums wrong," murmured the Aeon's voice inside his thoughts. "Something beneath these stones remembers hunger."

Laora poked her head through the doorway. "You're talking to yourself again."

Daniel followed, holding a lantern. "We traced a mana leak in the east hall. Academy sensors say it's a collapsed storage vault, but… the readings don't match."

"Collapsed?" Kain repeated.

Daniel nodded. "Or swallowed."

1 – The Hidden Passage

They followed the distortion to a sealed corridor near the old dormitories. A forgotten stairwell wound downward, each step lined with dust and frost. The air smelled of metal and ozone.

Laora tapped a rune on the wall. "The wards here are… ancient. Pre-academy, maybe from the city that floated here before Eryndor."

Yanari's voice echoed from behind them — she'd slipped from the shadows, cloak dusted with snow. "Whatever it is, the headmasters don't want students finding it. I had to knock out three patrolling golems to follow you."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you didn't—"

"They're sleeping," she said, smiling. "Probably."

The stairwell ended in a black door carved with the symbol of the Tree inverted — its roots pointing upward. The runes whispered faintly, like breathing.

Kain reached out. His Flame pulsed again, silver streaked with red."The Flame wants it open."

2 – The Chamber of Whispers

The door groaned, releasing a gust of cold air. Inside lay a vast stone chamber lit by floating candles, each burning upside down. Crystals of black glass grew from the floor, pulsing faintly like veins.

Elayne gasped. "These formations… they're absorbing mana."

Selene crossed herself. "This feels wrong. The air is too heavy."

At the center stood an ancient mirror — fractured, humming with dark resonance. Its reflection didn't show the room, but a shadowed version of it. In that reflection, shapes moved — people, or what used to be people.

Yanari drew her katana. "I hate mirrors."

Daniel crouched near the frame. "This isn't just a relic. It's a gate. Look - the mana flow runs both ways."

As they watched, a hand pressed against the mirror from the inside - black and glassy, leaving cracks spreading outward like spiderwebs.

Kain's Flame roared to life, silver fire swirling around his arm.

"Do not fear the shadow," Ix's whisper echoed through him. "It only exists where light is afraid to go."

3 – The Shadow Within

The mirror burst. A dozen fragments floated midair, each glowing red. From them emerged twisted silhouettes — half-human, half-mist, with empty faces and crystal hearts. Echoes, born from memories trapped between worlds.

Selene spread her wings, forming a light barrier. "Defensive formation!"

Yanari's tails flared blue, slicing two echoes apart. Daniel flung alchemic dust that exploded into molten chains. Laora and Elayne focused on support — potions, seals, resonance stones.

But the echoes kept reforming.

"They're feeding on the mana around us!" Laora cried.

Kain stepped forward. His Flame burned darker, a halo of silver void rising behind him.

"Then I'll starve them."

He struck the ground with his hand — Shadow Nihility Flame spread like ripples, consuming the corrupted mana. The echoes screamed without voices, collapsing into shards of black glass that scattered like snow.

For a moment, the world was still.

4 – The Forgotten Vault

At the chamber's far end, they found a stone altar. Upon it rested an old, cracked emblem — the mark of House Machiavelli, buried beneath centuries of dust.

Daniel blinked. "That's… our family crest."

Selene looked between the twins. "Why would your emblem be sealed here?"

Kain brushed away the dust, revealing faint engravings. "Because my ancestors weren't just nobles. They were guardians of this gate."

Elayne knelt beside him, reading the inscription. "It says: 'To guard the path between light and shadow - until Nihility awakens again.'"

The group exchanged looks.

Yanari sheathed her sword. "So that Flame of yours isn't just rare. It's prophecy."

Kain said nothing, staring at the cracked mirror. "If this is under the academy, it's been draining mana for years. Someone built over it to hide it."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Or to use it."

5 – The Choice

Back above ground, dawn was breaking. The group gathered in the courtyard, snow melting under their warmth.

"So," Daniel said, adjusting his coat, "we found an ancient curse, fought a mirror, and learned our family accidentally founded a doomsday basement. What's next?"

Laora smirked. "Coffee?"

Yanari folded her arms. "We can't just ignore this. If someone's using that mirror, there could be more of them."

Kain nodded. "Then we'll find them - but we can't do it openly. The academy will never believe us, and the nobles might be involved."

Selene tilted her head. "Then what do you propose?"

He looked up at the rising sun, eyes glowing faintly silver. "We build a place they can't see. Somewhere we can meet, gather information, and draw out the ones hiding in the dark."

Daniel grinned. "A front."

Elayne smiled softly. "Something that fits all our talents."

Yanari's tails flicked. "Somewhere with good drinks."

Laora clasped her hands. "And music."

Selene sighed, but smiled. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Kain nodded. "If shadows hide beneath the academy… then we'll make our own light."

The wind carried the faint sound of distant bells — like laughter from the Aeon itself.

"Every empire begins with a spark," whispered Ix in his mind. "Yours will begin with a flame."

[Status Update]

Name: Kain Machiavelli

Race: Half Aeon • Half Blood Dragon

Level: 13 Exp: 520 / 660

Tree Rank: Netzach (7th Sphere)

Guiding Aeon: Ix – Aeon of Nihility

Spirit Invoked: Van Helsing – First Dragon of Blood

Unique Skill: Shadow Nihility Flame Lv 3

Life Skills: Blacksmithing Lv 3 | Alchemy Lv 2 | Trading Lv 2 | Mining Lv 1 | Investigation Lv 1

Bond Updates: Selene (Trust 17%) | Elayne (10%) | Yanari (8%) | Laora (Resonance Aid) | Daniel (Trust 100%)

Objective: Create a hidden guild to investigate the shadow corruption beneath Eryndor Academy.

End of Chapter 9 – Echoes Beneath the Academy

More Chapters