The academy, once a vibrant center of voices, laughter, and hurried footsteps, was now a hollow shell.Shadows danced in the corners as if they had wills of their own, while the air hung heavy with an unstable energy—so dense it felt almost tangible. Something had torn through the place's balance at its very foundations, and that something still lingered, saturating every inch.
"Where is everyone?" Aria whispered, as if afraid her voice might awaken something best left undisturbed.
Aldrich, beside her, scanned the shadowed hallway, his expression grim."I don't know," he answered calmly, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of concern. "But whatever happened here… it's not over."
Their footsteps echoed against the cracked marble floor as they advanced with caution. Every meter toward the central atrium pulled them deeper into a suffocating atmosphere—an echo of something about to unravel.Then they saw her.
"Sophia!" Aria cried, rushing to the motionless figure lying on the ground.
Sophia was there, unmoving, surrounded by a faint halo of crackling starlight. Her hair was disheveled, and her outstretched arm suggested she had tried to reach something—or someone—before collapsing. Aria dropped to her knees beside her, instinctively searching for any sign of life.
Aldrich, ever methodical, pressed two fingers to Sophia's neck and closed his eyes. He wasn't searching for a conventional pulse; he was tracing her energy flow—the thread connecting all beings to the stars.
"She's alive," he said at last, though his voice offered no relief. "But her stellar pulse is weak. Something drained her. Not something physical... something from within."
Aria, still watching Sophia with anxious eyes, noticed something odd.A metallic glint peeked out from beneath the worn fabric of Sophia's uniform. With trembling hands, she pulled it free—and stared, stunned. It was a CEES Prism—one of the experimental prototypes she herself had been developing in the lab.Its design, still unfinished, had the potential to channel vast amounts of stellar energy. But it wasn't safe. It wasn't stable.
"What... Why does she have this?" she murmured, more to herself than to Aldrich.
Aldrich opened his eyes and saw what Aria was holding. His face tensed.
"Is that what I think it is?" he asked, voice hardening.
Aria nodded slowly."Yes… It's a CEES Prism. Still in testing. It wasn't supposed to leave the lab. I don't understand how Sophia…"Her voice cracked. Guilt and confusion washed over her. Had she… inadvertently caused all of this?
The Prism still glowed faintly, but Aria could feel it—what had happened. Somehow, Sophia had activated it. She must have used it. But her body hadn't been ready to withstand the energy surge it unleashed. The Prism had drained much of her stellar essence, leaving her in this fragile state.
"This is my fault," Aria whispered, eyes locked on the artifact.
"This isn't the time for guilt," Aldrich cut in, his voice firm but not unkind. "What matters now is keeping her safe—and making sure this doesn't get any worse."
Aria looked down at Sophia again. There was something deeply moving in the vulnerability of her sleeping face—and something unsettling about the fact that she, someone Aria barely knew, had taken such a dangerous piece of her work.What had Sophia been trying to do? And why?
Taking her hand gently, Aria whispered, as if Sophia could still hear her:"I don't know what you were thinking… or why you did it… But you can't give up now. Jake cares too much about you. I…"
She stopped.Now wasn't the time. Her tangled feelings could wait. What mattered now was Sophia.
Aldrich suddenly straightened, senses alert. Something in the atmosphere had shifted.He looked toward the hallway that led to the main plaza, and his expression hardened.
"Stay with her," he told Aria, his tone brooking no argument. "No matter what happens, don't leave her side."
"And you?" Aria asked, alarmed.
"There's something I need to check," was all he said before vanishing into the dim hallway.
Still holding Sophia's hand, Aria felt the full weight of responsibility descend upon her.She looked again at the Prism, its faint glow a reminder of all that had gone wrong—and of all that needed to be made right.She owed that much. To Sophia. To Jake.To herself.
In the distance, a faint sound disturbed the silence—something moving in the shadows.Aria didn't know what was coming, but one thing was clear:This wasn't over.
Main Plaza of the Academy
The plaza floor was a map of fractures.The pillars, broken skeletons reaching toward the sky.And at the center, a dance of death: Jake—his face a canvas of sweat and crimson—was locked in a desperate battle with Raven.His pupils: bottomless pits of darkness.
Every movement Raven made was etched in lethal precision.His stellar energy, once warm and radiant, now twisted—corrupted. Almost tangible.His strikes weren't just aimed at flesh and bone—they carried the cold intent to shatter something deeper. To rip the humanity from his foe.
Jake barely held on, fighting not only Raven's onslaught but the truth clawing at the edges of his mind:This isn't Raven.This… isn't him.
And then—Aldrich.
No noise. No shouts.He simply appeared at the edge of the plaza, arms crossed—an unshaken witness amid the carnage.
Raven was the first to sense him.He halted mid-attack, turning his head with unnatural slowness.And when his vacant eyes landed on Aldrich… something inside him twisted.
A smile spread across his face—but it wasn't human.It was a grotesque grin, hollow, as if his soul had been driven out by something ancient.Something ravenous.
"So you came…" he said, voice a distorted echo."I knew you couldn't resist the scent of collapse."
Aldrich stepped forward.There was no fear in his eyes. Only unshakable resolve.
"You are not Raven," he stated, voice like a blade.
The thing's grin widened, twisted—like a child clutching his favorite broken toy.
"Oh, what sharp eyes you have…" it whispered, syrupy and chilling."A pleasure to meet you, Aldrich. Just in time for my… ascension."
And without warning, the dark energy around him exploded—a hurricane of unleashed madness.
Aldrich didn't flinch.