The night after Lumi's song, silence had never felt so alive.
A faint hum still trembled through the academy walls,as if the stones themselves were whispering the lullaby back . Lyra couldn't sleep — her fingertips still tingled with that strange warmth, the echo of the light that had surrounded them all.
In the dorm's quiet glow, she sat up and glanced toward Lumi — who slept curled up beside Vale, its fur softly shimmering in changing shades of blue and gold. Even asleep, it pulsed gently, like a heartbeat made of color.
Outside, moonlight spilled through the tall glass corridors, painting silver trails across the academy's gardens. The fountains stood still. The air was heavy — expectant.
Morning at the Academy
By dawn, the calm had broken.
The courtyard buzzed with hushed voices.
"Did you feel it last night?"
"The floor shook for a moment—like thunder from inside the ground."
"Headmistress looked… scared."
Draven leaned against one of the marble pillars, arms crossed, eyes shadowed.
"It wasn't an earthquake," he murmured. "That pulse… it matched Lumi's song."
Vale glanced at him, unease flickering behind her calm mask. "You think Lumi caused it?"
Before he could answer, a voice cut through the courtyard — sharp yet melodic.
"Students! To your first period immediately."
Professor Ashveil, draped in silver-threaded robes, stood at the grand stairway. His expression unreadable. Behind him, Professor Kaelith , the mysterious masked teacher, whispered something too soft to hear — but Lyra caught the shimmer of unease behind that porcelain mask.
The Class of Resonance
The morning lesson was about "Energy Flow and Inner Harmony", but the irony wasn't lost on anyone.
Ashveil's voice was smooth, almost hypnotic.
"Every color has a rhythm. Every power, a heartbeat. If your rhythm falters, your magic fractures. Today, we listen to what lies beneath."
The class sat cross-legged in a vast, circular hall marble lines tracing symbols that seemed to move faintly under their skin. As they closed their eyes, a deep thrum rose from below.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The ground vibrated again faintly, but enough to make everyone's breath hitch.
Lyra's eyes snapped open.
The pattern on the floor was glowing faintly, in the same sequence as Lumi's heartbeat.
Ashveil's voice faltered for the first time.
He turned sharply to Seren — who didn't move, but her masked gaze lowered…
As if she knew exactly what this was.
That Night Beneath the Glass Halls
When everyone had gone to sleep again, the academy was cloaked in blue silence.
A door one that no student was supposed to open —creaked deep within the underground corridors.
Candles flickered though no wind passed.
And from the darkness beyond that door, a silhouette moved.
Tall. Still. Watching.
The voice was low, almost swallowed by the silence:
"So... they've begun to awaken."
A hand half-covered in tattered gloves traced a sigil on the stone wall.
Violet light pulsed from it like veins spreading through the earth.
The shadow turned, its faint glow reflecting the old academy emblem etched on the corridor's glass.
And then vanished.
The next morning, Lyra awoke with her heart pounding.
She didn't know why.
But when she looked outside her window, the academy's fountain — usually crystal clear shimmered faintly violet.