Night crept back into the academy before anyone noticed the sun was gone.A strange haze hung low across the courtyards — thin, violet-tinged mist that slithered through corridors, clinging to mana lamps and making the air hum with static.
Lyn moved quietly through the restricted wing, every step echoing louder than it should.Umbra's shadow stretched along the wall beside him, its form flickering between solid and smoke.
"You shouldn't be here," Umbra said quietly. "The Council's watchers will sense our presence."
"They already know something's wrong," Lyn replied. "If we wait for permission, whatever caused that pulse will just vanish again."
The wolf's eyes glowed faintly. "You sound like a hunter now."
Lyn almost smiled. "Maybe I learned from the best."
They reached the sealed gate — a heavy stone arch covered in faded runes. The sigils pulsed dimly, like dying embers.Beneath it, faint scratch marks marred the floor — not human.
Umbra crouched, sniffing the air. "Old scent. Deep mana. Not a beast… something bound."
Lyn placed his palm over the central rune. His crest flared gold — the mark of his contract. For a heartbeat, the gate's runes responded.Then they flickered and changed — rewriting themselves into an unfamiliar pattern.
"Umbra… that's not the academy's script," Lyn murmured. "That's…"
The gate rumbled.
Before he could finish, the stones parted with a groaning sound, releasing a gust of cold, metallic air that carried whispers — not words, just fragments of thought.
"…tamer… forgotten… bound…"
Lyn's breath caught. "They're speaking—"
"They're remembering," Umbra corrected, eyes narrowing.
They stepped inside.
The passageway was massive — pillars carved with ancient symbols of beasts and tamers intertwined, their stories lost to dust. In the center of the chamber floated a broken orb, dripping violet energy like liquid light.
The whispers grew clearer now — fragments of history echoing around them."They sealed us… they feared us…"
Lyn's crest burned painfully bright.
He staggered. Umbra barked sharply, grounding him with a surge of mana."Lyn!"
"I'm fine," Lyn gasped. "It's showing me something—"
A vision flashed — a vast battlefield of beasts and tamers united under a single banner, facing monstrous entities of shadow.At the center stood a figure that looked just like him.
Then everything went dark.
When Lyn opened his eyes, he was on his knees. The orb was gone — dissolved into faint motes of light.In its place was a mark scorched into the floor — a circular crest of gold and violet flame.
Umbra's tone was grave. "That mark… it's the same as the one used by the First Rebellion."
Lyn stared at it, heart pounding."The Veil didn't just break," he whispered. "Someone's calling it back."