The siege entered the room.
The air died.
Auren moved at once. The forbidden tome slid back into its place with a dull thud, swallowed by the shelf just as pale light bled through the doorway. He stepped away, heart pounding, every sound suddenly too loud,his breath, the soft settling of paper, the whisper of dust.
Then the siege came.
Not walking.
Drifting.
It slipped between the shelves like smoke given form, its white shape bending where no body should bend, sliding through gaps too narrow for flesh. Candles dimmed as it passed. Frost crept across the stone floor beneath its path.
Knights followed behind,long coat, heavy, real,but they felt wrong here, like intruders in a nightmare that belonged to something else.
Auren turned.
The siege was behind him.
Too close.
His body locked. Blood roared in his ears as the figure leaned forward and passed straight through him.
Cold tore through his chest,through bone, breath, and thought. His sight fractured. Sound fell away, as though the world were drowning. He clenched his teeth to keep from screaming as the siege moved on and stopped before the shelf.
Pale fingers hovered over the hidden tome.
The siege tilted its head, listening.
"…Someone was here," it whispered.
The hand trembled. Its eyes narrowed, searching the shelves, the air, the shadows.
"I felt it."
A pause followed. Long. Sharp.
"But the knowledge remains…"
Its gaze passed over the place where Auren had stood.
Silence pressed down, thick and suffocating.
Then came a dry chuckle.
"Am I growing old?"
The candles flared back to life as the siege turned away. The cold lifted. The pressure faded. Boots echoed as the knights withdrew, the door groaning shut behind them.
Only then did Auren fall.
He struck the floor hard, lungs burning as he dragged air back into his body. His limbs shook. Sweat soaked his skin. His fingers clawed at the stone, as if to prove he still existed.
"That… was too close," he whispered.
The shelves towered above him, dark and unmoving.
Auren clenched his jaw and forced his thoughts inward.
"I should return to my body."
Auren never stopped searching.
He returned to the forbidden again and again, until night and day lost their meaning. Habit became routine. The nights grew longer. Winter came quietly.
And in the Commoners' Disk, the school bell rang once more.
The training field smelled of dust and trampled earth. Children stood in uneven lines, fists raised, sweat shining on their faces.
Instructor Therin paced before them like a wolf among sheep.
"Feet apart," he growled. "Your stance is your first shield. Again."
Kal shifted his footing and copied the pose. Beside him, Caelen smirked, standing as if the ground itself favored him.
Therin's cane struck the dirt.
"Balance," he said. "Without it, you're already dead."
They lunged. They blocked. Some stumbled. Some cried. Kal stayed silent, breathing in the rhythm, like Therin demanded.
Later, dust clinging to their legs, they filed back inside. The classroom walls held the cold of many winters.
"War," the next teacher said, dropping a heavy book onto the desk, "is fought with the mind before the blade."
Pages turned. Ink scratched. Tales of battles filled the room,ambushes, betrayals, winters survived on roots and blood.
Kal listened. Nothing escaped him.
Outside, the wind stirred the old tree in the courtyard.
His shadow moved with the leaves.
Another winter passed.
Something in him shifted, quietly.
The sparring ring was a circle of packed dirt, scarred by countless falls.
"Pair up!" Therin thundered.
Kal faced Caelen once more. The boy cracked his knuckles.
"Don't cry," Caelen said with a grin. "I'll be gentle."
Laughter followed.
Therin raised his hand. "Begin."
Caelen lunged, fast and sure.
Kal did not run.
He stepped aside, let the force pass him, then swept low.
Caelen's feet left the ground. He struck the earth hard, dust bursting around him.
Silence fell.
A few muffled laughs followed.
Caelen scrambled up, red with fury...
"Enough," Therin said. "Kal wins."
Mouths closed at once.
Kal stepped back. He did not smile.
The rest of the year burned away in bruises and sweat. Books grew heavier. Numbers sharper. Fists faster.
Kal trained like someone who expected danger at every turn.
A boy preparing for something only he could feel.
By the twelfth winter, his mother noticed.
She tightened his wrist wraps one morning and paused.
"Your voice," she said softly. "It's changing."
Kal looked away. "Is that bad?"
"No." She studied him. "It means you're growing. And your shadow… it listens to you now."
Kal swallowed. At his feet, his shadow curled faintly.
Above him, the sun shone...uncaring, watching.
Charles sat alone on the far field, buried in scrolls about ancient abilities. A teacher passed and ruffled his hair.
"Why read when you could test yourself?" she teased.
"I'm studying insects," Charles replied. "They may help my power."
She smiled, then noticed Sonia and Virelle entering the building.
"Interesting," she murmured.
Inside, the corridors buzzed with students.
"What do you think of Kal's ability?" Virelle whispered.
"It's rare," Sonia said, twisting open her bottle. "A commoner with power like that."
"I wish I had it," Virelle sighed. "Then I could marry the royals."
She blushed.
Behind them, a shadow moved unseen.
"And you?" Virelle asked. "How do you feel about Kal?"
The sound of water filling the bottle was drowned by screams.
Students turned as the girls ran out, crying and shaking.
"What happened?" voices shouted.
Kal ran toward them. Nearby, Aaxina sat beneath a tree, drinking calmly.
Seliora knelt beside the girls. "What is it?"
"A man," Virelle sobbed. "Tall. We didn't feel him until he grabbed Sonia."
"He whispered," Sonia said, shaking. "Come with me, or I'll kill you both."
"But the gates are guarded," Luke protested.
Aaxina laughed.
"They want attention," she said. "That's all."
"You're lying!" Sonia cried.
Lucien stepped beside Aaxina. "She's right."
Sonia pulled Aaxina's hair.
Aaxina screamed and struck back.
"Stop!" Seliora shouted.
Miles and Luke rushed in. Virelle clung to Sonia.
No one held Aaxina.
She struck Sonia again,and froze.
Kal's shadow wrapped around her.
"She's telling the truth," Kal said.
Caelen shoved him. "Playing hero?"
Miles ran to Kal's side.
Lucien circled him. "Trying to impress her?"
Kal shook his head, tears spilling.
Laughter followed.
"I said I'm not," Kal cried.
His body shimmered.
Lucien staggered back. Caelen began to sweat. Charles dropped his scrolls.
Lucien snarled and released a blade of wind.
The air screamed.
Dust tore from the ground as the wind blade carved forward, sharp enough to peel skin from bone.
"Kal, move!" Miles shouted. "You'll get hurt!"
Someone screamed his name. Another voice choked it back.
Kal didn't step away.
Kal raised his arms...
The teacher appeared between them.
But the shadow reached first.
The attack vanished.