Chapter 5: The Spark of Cosmic Flames
Scene 1: Dawn of Shadows
The priest academy's towers pierced the predawn gloom, their silhouettes stark against a sky still clinging to stars. Nero tugged at his stiff new robes, the fabric itching his wrists. Beside him, Ledger yawned theatrically.
"Five in the morning, kid. Even roosters sleep in."
Nero grinned, bouncing on his toes. "You said the tour's exclusive."
Ledger snorted. "Exclusive to fools who wake before sanity."
They slipped through the academy's gates, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The library loomed first—a labyrinth of towering shelves, their heights lost in shadow.
"Summon any book," Ledger said, flicking a finger. A tome materialized in his palm. "No climbing. Unless you fancy broken bones."
Nero squinted upward. "What if the spell fails?"
Ledger thwacked his head with a phantom stick. "It won't."
Scene 2: The Princess and the Pest
The training courtyard lay deserted, its sand raked into perfect waves. Nero's awe faltered as Ledger gestured to a cloaked figure hunched over a glowing orb.
"Princess Ayumi," Ledger whispered, bowing.
She spun, her midnight hair whipping like a banner. "Ledger! You're early." Her eyes darted to Nero. "And…?"
"Nero Almik," he stammered. "From the Commons."
Ayumi's cheeks pinked. "Call me Ayumi. Titles are tedious."
Ledger coughed. "Your Highness, why are you alone with a dark bug?"
The orb in her hands pulsed malevolently. "Practicing containment spells. But it… escaped."
A chill prickled Nero's neck. The bug—a writhing mass of shadow—hissed, its voice a nails-on-stone screech.
"Feast…"
Scene 3: The Beast Unleashed
The second-floor storage room was a charnel house. Blood streaked the walls, and the air reeked of rot. At its center loomed the evolved beast—Vaspa Clavit—its body a grotesque fusion of insect and man.
Ledger shoved Nero behind him. "Stay. Back."
The beast lunged. Ledger's fists blurred, each strike cracking stone. Nero watched, frozen, as the creature's tentacles lashed out—
Thwip.
Ledger crumpled, a gaping wound in his gut. The beast grinned, licking dark ichor from its claws.
"Pathetic," it rasped.
Nero's vision hazed red.
Remember Mei.
Scene 4: Cosmic Inferno
Blue flames erupted from Nero's skin, searing the air. The beast staggered back as Nero moved—too fast—his fists trailing starlight.
Flashback:
Eight years old. Mei's laughter as they fled through the forest. The abyssal creature's jaws. Her scream. Nero's roar—a supernova of rage. Mei's body, whole but lifeless.
Present:
The beast screeched, its clones disintegrating under Nero's fury. Ayumi's binds shattered as he snatched her mid-fall.
"Impossible!" the beast spat.
Nero's voice echoed with cosmic resonance. "You hurt my friends."
A sphere of blue fire condensed in his palm. The beast fled, wings shredding the air—
Boom.
The explosion lit the horizon. When the smoke cleared, the forest stood restored. Ledger breathed, his wound sealed. Nero collapsed, blood pooling beneath him.
Scene 5: Aftermath
Ayumi cradled Nero's head as knights swarmed the scene. Ledger stirred, his gaze locking on the boy's still form.
"What is he?" Ayumi whispered.
Ledger's jaw tightened. "A storm in a teacup."
In the hospital wing, Nero's fingers twitched. The flames lingered—subdued but watchful.
Far below, in the abyssal deep, a voice chuckled.
"Mine."