The air over the Heavenly Blade Academy felt different that evening.
Heavier.
Almost… aware.
Clouds rolled slowly across the horizon, dark with spirit condensation. The faint hum of qi threads flowed through the academy grounds, whispering through the banners and pines. Students were still gathered across the courtyards, returning from their last training sessions before the moonrise.
Yet in the distance, near the Azure Spirit Valley, a pulse of energy flickered — faint, but undeniable.
Zeref Ying stood at the edge of the valley, his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze calm as ever. But inside, something stirred. For days now, since that night at the river with Instructor Lin Zhiyao, he had felt a strange resonance in his chest. The mark burned quietly beneath his robes whenever he meditated, as though it were… waiting.
"Zeref?"
The voice came from behind. Chen Ruo jogged up the slope, carrying two spirit training rods, a wide grin on his face. Lin Yuexin followed closely, her soft steps almost soundless.
"We thought we'd find you here," Chen Ruo said, panting slightly. "You always vanish after classes like a ghost."
"I prefer quiet places," Zeref replied simply.
Yuexin smiled faintly. "Then it seems the quiet likes you too. The valley's aura feels denser than usual."
Chen Ruo dropped the rods with a clatter. "Denser? It's suffocating! I can barely sense my own qi in this pressure. What's going on here?"
Zeref didn't answer. His eyes narrowed toward the center of the valley. Beneath the mist, faint runic lights pulsed from the ground — symbols like those on his mark, half-buried beneath moss and stone.
"I think something's awakening," he murmured.
Before either of his friends could ask, the earth trembled.
A wave of energy burst outward — invisible but strong enough to make the trees bow. The air shimmered like heated glass, and the runes beneath the soil flared to life, painting the valley floor with shifting light.
"What in the stars—?" Chen Ruo stumbled back, shielding his eyes. "That's not normal qi fluctuation!"
Lin Yuexin's spiritual sense surged. "No… it's ancient. Older than the sect itself."
Zeref's pulse quickened. The mark on his chest began to glow through the fabric — faint, but steady. He gritted his teeth, pressing his palm against it.
Not now… not here.
But the power didn't listen. It was as if the valley itself had recognized him.
The runes blazed brighter — then burst upward in a pillar of golden-blue light that tore through the clouds. The pressure slammed into the three of them, sending debris scattering across the field.
Zeref staggered back, his vision flashing white. A roar echoed in his mind — not from outside, but within.
"Aetherion…"
The word pulsed like a heartbeat. He fell to one knee, clutching his chest, his breath short.
"Zeref!" Yuexin ran forward, but a sudden force repelled her, throwing her back into Chen Ruo's arms.
"Stay back!" Zeref gasped, his voice strained. "The energy— it's reacting to me!"
His aura exploded outward. A blinding surge of spirit light enveloped him, spiraling like a cyclone of silver and azure flame. The valley trembled again, and the runes began to shift — forming a monolithic pattern, one eerily similar to the ancient statue from the earlier trials.
Chen Ruo shielded his face. "He's absorbing it! The entire valley's energy is flowing into him!"
"Zeref—!" Yuexin's voice cracked with panic.
And then, just as suddenly as it began — silence.
The pillar of light collapsed inward, vanishing into Zeref's body with one final pulse. He stood at the center of the clearing, motionless, surrounded by glowing motes of energy drifting like stardust.
When he opened his eyes, they shone faintly — not their usual dark hue, but streaked with soft gold, as if reflecting the stars themselves.
Lin Yuexin stared in awe. "His eyes…"
Zeref blinked once. The glow faded. His breathing steadied, though his body felt heavier, charged with something both foreign and familiar.
"What… happened?" Chen Ruo whispered.
Zeref turned toward them, expression unreadable. "I don't know. But something in this valley… called to me."
Before anyone could respond, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind — calm, deliberate, yet carrying unmistakable authority.
Lin Zhiyao stepped into view, her gaze sharp as a blade. The soft glow of her spiritual aura illuminated the mist around her.
"So it was you," she said quietly. "That energy surge could be felt across the entire academy."
Chen Ruo and Yuexin immediately bowed. "Instructor Lin!"
She nodded faintly, her attention fixed on Zeref. "You have a habit of being where disturbances occur, don't you, Zeref Ying?"
Zeref lowered his head respectfully. "I didn't mean for it to happen, Instructor. The energy reacted on its own."
Her eyes softened slightly, but the weight behind her stare did not. "And yet… it responded to you. Not anyone else."
Yuexin stepped forward hesitantly. "Instructor, please— he didn't do anything! The runes just—"
Zhiyao raised a hand, silencing her gently. "I know. I was observing from the upper ridge."
Her gaze drifted toward the glowing marks still flickering faintly across the valley floor. "These aren't ordinary spirit runes. They predate the founding of the academy."
She turned back to Zeref. "And you, Zeref Ying… carry something that answers to them."
He met her eyes briefly. For a moment, it felt as though she could see right through him — into the storm of power resting beneath his calm exterior.
"I don't understand it," he admitted softly. "But I can feel it. The same energy from the monolith… it's inside me."
Lin Zhiyao's hand curled slightly by her side. The same mark that glowed on his chest had appeared in fragments within her own studies — records of an ancient covenant tied to the fall of Aetherion itself.
Could it truly be… him?
Her voice softened. "You'll come with me. I need to assess your condition before this energy harms you — or anyone else."
Chen Ruo stepped forward instinctively. "Instructor, he's not—"
"Stay here," she said gently but firmly. "Both of you. This is not a matter for disciples to intervene."
Reluctantly, they obeyed, watching as she led Zeref toward the forest path.
The silence between them was thick with unspoken questions. The night wind rustled through the trees, carrying the faint scent of rain.
When they reached a secluded clearing, Lin Zhiyao stopped and turned to face him. "That energy you unleashed… do you know what it means?"
Zeref shook his head. "No. But it felt familiar. Like it was part of me."
Her eyes searched his face. "It is. You resonate with Aetherion's fragments — the same essence buried beneath this land. Whether you realize it or not, that power recognizes you."
He frowned slightly. "Recognizes me?"
She nodded slowly. "You've awakened something that was never meant to be disturbed. And now… the academy won't remain silent for long."
He looked down, his fists tightening. "Then I'll control it. Whatever this is — I'll master it before it masters me."
A faint smile touched her lips. "Spoken like someone who's already begun walking a path greater than he knows."
The moonlight broke through the clouds, washing the clearing in silver light. The mark beneath Zeref's robe pulsed once more — in rhythm with her words.
Lin Zhiyao watched in quiet awe. "The heir of Aetherion…" she whispered so softly he couldn't hear. "The stars have begun to move again."
Far away, thunder rumbled beyond the horizon.
The empire slept, unaware that beneath the mountains, ancient power had begun to awaken once more — and a storm was coming that would change everything.
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To be continued...