The sun had barely risen, yet the air already hummed with anticipation. From the cliffside overlooking the valley, Crimson Eye Academy looked alive — banners fluttering, gates creaking open, and hundreds of students spilling in like a tide of dreams and nerves.
Kael Ardyn stood among them, one hand resting on the strap of his faded bag, the other gripping the acceptance badge that felt far too heavy for its size. His dark hair ruffled in the morning wind, streaks of deep red catching the light for a fleeting moment — a color no one else noticed.
He had made it here by chance, or maybe by something stranger.
Around him, students boasted about their bloodlines and eye awakenings. Some eyes glowed faintly, showing off sparks of inherited power. Kael, though, had nothing. No family name, no awakened eye, no secret mentor. Just raw determination — and a quiet sense that something inside him was wrongly asleep.
"Hey, you!"
A voice snapped him out of thought. A tall boy with silver hair — Vorath — stepped forward, eyes sharp like cut glass. "You're blocking the path."
Kael moved aside, mumbling, "Sorry."
Vorath gave him a long look. Not cruel, just... assessing. Then he smirked. "You don't look like much. Let's see if you last the week."
Kael said nothing, but his fingers tightened around his badge. He didn't need to answer. The whispering sky above — streaked crimson and gold — felt like it already had.
Somewhere, deep inside him, something pulsed once. Faint, but real.
The first flicker of the Crimson Sight.