Night draped itself over the Shadow Mountains.From high above, the bell of the Grey Tower tolled through the cold wind—deep, resonant, and mournful, as if recounting an ancient sin that refused to fade.Moonlight filtered through the tall windows of the circular council hall, spilling over the stone floor like frozen silver.
Twelve high-backed chairs stood in a ring around a single artifact at the center: a broad Star Disc of polished silver, older than the academy itself. It was said to mirror the tides of the astral realm and reveal the fractures of fate.
Tonight, the Disc churned with light—its surface rippling as though stirred by invisible currents.Lena sat quietly in her seat, draped in silver-gray robes. Her face was calm, but her fingers toyed absently with a blue-starred ring upon her hand—her mother's keepsake, her only talisman before she'd entered the Academy.
"—Call it what you will," rasped Elder Simon, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade, "but the Riftstar phenomenon can no longer be ignored. The Astral Realm is destabilizing, and you sit here debating reputation and budget?"
His accusation drew tight frowns from several elders.To them, the balance of the Academy's politics was always more fragile—and more dangerous—than any celestial omen.
Across the table, Kaelus raised his head. Gone was the withdrawn young scholar he once had been. Years of command had etched poise and quiet authority into him. Cloaked in dark robes, his amber eyes glinted with the sharp restraint of someone accustomed to standing on the edge of power.
"Elder," he said evenly, "the Riftstar's power is not merely destructive. It may be a doorway—to a higher stratum of the Astral Realm itself. If the Academy can harness it, we could restore our dominion over the continent's magic."
"Blasphemy!" Simon's palm slammed onto the table, sending a shiver through the Star Disc's light. "You would break the Star Law? The boundary between the mortal and the astral is inviolate—even the Sages of the Fallen Era dared not cross it!"
"And that," Kaelus said softly, "is precisely why they perished."
Silence fell.
Lena's gaze lifted, meeting his.For a heartbeat, she saw the boy she once knew—the one who, on a storm-torn night, had lit the pages of her spellbook with stardust just to make her smile.But the light in his eyes now was different—deeper, colder. The reflection of an abyss.
"I understand what you're saying, Kaelus," Lena said at last. Her tone was controlled, yet something fragile trembled beneath it. "But the Academy is not your proving ground. To twist star-magic for ambition's sake would destroy not only us—but the Astral Order itself."
"Order?" Kaelus gave a short, bitter laugh. "What we call order is nothing more than compromise born of fear. The Astral Realm is decaying, Lena. You saw the Riftstar's flare—you felt it. It's calling to those with the courage to answer."
Her fingers tightened around the ring.The urge he spoke of—the pull toward the unknown—rose unbidden in her chest. She had felt it once too, long ago, when they were dreamers beneath an open sky. But she was no longer the girl who could afford such faith.
The room thickened with tension, voices rising—elders splitting into two clear camps. One side pleaded caution, clinging to the old laws. The other, quieter but growing, sided with Kaelus: they believed the Academy's waning influence could only be restored by seizing the Riftstar's power.
"Enough."
The voice came from the far end of the hall—measured, absolute.The Arch-Chancellor, Irea Velos, lifted her gaze. Her presence was calm yet commanding, her words cutting through the discord like a drawn blade.
"This debate ends here. The Riftstar anomaly will be handled by the Observatory Division of the Grey Tower. Until authorized otherwise, no individual is to approach or study the Astral Rift by private means."
Kaelus's face remained impassive, but a flicker of cold light passed through his eyes.Lena saw it, and her heart sank. She knew that look.He would not obey.
The meeting dissolved. One by one, the elders filed out, and the heavy doors closed behind them.
Lena lingered.Alone in the vast chamber, she watched the shifting light of the Star Disc—silver waves folding into shadow and back again.
Then came footsteps—soft, deliberate.
"You still like to stay behind after everyone's gone."
The voice was low, touched with warmth from another lifetime.Kaelus.
Lena didn't turn. "And you," she replied quietly, "are still as reckless as ever."
"Reckless?" he echoed with a faint smile, stepping closer. "No. I simply see farther than they do. The Riftstar won't wait for bureaucracy to catch up. Every moment we hesitate, it grows. You've seen it."
"I've also seen it consume the researchers who tried to contain it."Her eyes flashed. "You want to watch that tragedy repeat itself?"
"Tragedy?" He leaned closer, voice a rough whisper. "No, Lena. The real tragedy is turning away from truth when it calls to you."
The words struck her like a memory of starlight.She saw again the night of the explosion three years ago—the experiment tower engulfed in flame, the first appearance of the Riftstar. Kaelus had been accused of invoking a forbidden array, and she… had been the only one who testified in his defense.
"I know you don't trust me," he said softly. "But this time is different. The Riftstar can be controlled. I've found a way."
Her pulse quickened. "What way?"
Kaelus smiled faintly, but offered no answer.He only leaned close enough for his breath to stir the air beside her ear and murmured:
"Come to the North Tower. Midnight.And you'll see the truth for yourself."
He turned and walked away, his cloak trailing faint streaks of starlight across the cold floor.
Lena stood motionless in the empty hall, the echo of his words ringing through her mind.On the Star Disc, the reflections shifted—shadows twisting into light, light into darkness.
It looked, for a fleeting moment, like a door opening.
And she could no longer tell whether what she felt was fear—or longing.