The night over Eldara was quiet — too quiet. Even the mana currents that usually hummed across the skies seemed muted, restrained, as if the world itself held its breath.
Far beyond the academy's protective wards, upon a cliff lost to maps and memory, a lone figure stood. Cloaked in shadows deeper than night, their presence seemed to bend the moonlight away.
They watched the academy below — its towers gleaming silver-blue, its lights flickering faintly like candles in the dark. A sigh escaped their lips, long and almost… regretful.
"Lyn Ashveil," the voice whispered. "You've grown faster than we calculated."
With a flick of their wrist, golden mana symbols spun into being before them, forming a hovering screen of runes. Upon it danced living images — Lyn sparring in the courtyard, Umbra's energy flaring as he countered an attack, the air crackling with violet-gold resonance.
"He's formed Dual Resonance," came a second voice, echoing from the mist. "The kind last seen before the Great Sealing. If the council discovers this—"
"They already have," the cloaked figure interrupted, voice cool and certain. "They just don't understand what it means."
The mist shifted, and a colossal silhouette appeared — a dragon, ancient and spectral, its form made of ink and smoke. Its wings folded over the stars as if protecting the very night.
"The Shadow Wolf's power was meant to slumber eternally," the dragon rumbled. "Yet this child… has awakened it."
The figure turned, golden runes now spiraling in their eyes."He hasn't awakened it. Not yet."
A pause. The wind howled through the cliffs."When he does," the figure continued softly, "Eldara will have no choice but to remember what it buried."
They extended their hand toward the academy. A faint ripple of darkness spread across the horizon, like ink spilling through water — subtle, unseen, but growing.
"When the first veil falls," the cloaked one murmured, "the rebellion won't start with war. It will start… with memory."
And just as the last word faded, the vision dissolved.
Back in his dorm room, Lyn's eyes shot open — heart racing, breath sharp. Umbra stirred beside him, fur shimmering faintly with violet mana.
"Umbra…?" Lyn whispered.
The wolf's gaze met his, eyes glowing gold in the dark."We're being watched."