"The truth is like a shadow—always just out of reach, but forever chasing you."
- - -
The night felt oppressive. The air was thick with unanswered questions, suffocating in its silence. Lucian sat at his desk, the journal in front of him, but his thoughts weren't on the cryptic messages, or the strange symbols his mother had left behind. They were on Nyra's words—the way they lingered, a shadow over everything he had thought he knew.
Selene Vale. His mother.
Lucian clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. She had known. She had known what was coming—and worse, she had known how to prepare for it. He wasn't just part of Academia Noctis. He was part of something much larger, a game where every move had been orchestrated before he even arrived.
"Selene," he whispered, his breath shaking.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Silas's voice came from the other side. "Lucian? You in there?"
He wiped his face, trying to steady himself. "Yeah, come in."
The door creaked open, and Silas stepped inside, a bottle of something in hand. "You've been quiet all evening. Thought you might need this."
Lucian glanced at the bottle. It was some sort of drink—stronger than anything he was used to, no doubt. Silas sat down across from him and cracked it open, taking a swig.
Lucian took the bottle from him. "You ever get the feeling everything we're doing here is part of something we're not even supposed to understand?"
"Yeah," Silas said with a sigh. "That's been my life the past few weeks. First the Gauntlet, then the resonance test… now this 'Project Nyx' thing. All these mysteries—more like puzzles that don't fit together. And we're stuck in the middle of it."
Lucian stared at the journal again, the words blurring in front of his eyes. "My mom knew about this. She was part of it."
Silas raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Nyx told me," Lucian said, his voice tight. "She said my mom came to her house. She and Nyx's mom—two of the top people in the academy—argued about something. About me. And Nyx remembers them saying the symbol—the Crownless Mark—wasn't something they were supposed to pass on to us. But it was too late."
Silas fell silent, processing the information.
"You think your mom knew the whole truth?" he finally asked.
Lucian nodded slowly. "She had to. She was at the heart of it. The Cipher Gauntlet, Project Nyx, everything. And now…" He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Now, I'm just a pawn in someone else's game. But I need to understand what that game is. I need to know what she was hiding."
Silas took another drink, then stood up. "You're not alone in this, Lucian. We'll figure it out. You've got us—me and Nyra. Whatever this is, we'll dig into it together."
Lucian looked up at him, and for the first time in what felt like days, a sense of relief washed over him. He wasn't alone.
Just as Lucian was about to speak, the door creaked again. This time, Nyra stepped inside, her expression unreadable, but her eyes sharp with focus.
"We need to talk," she said, her voice low.
Lucian looked at her. "About what?"
"About your mom," she said bluntly. "About everything."
---
Later that Night – The Library
The three of them met in the library—one of the few places in the academy still quiet enough for secrets. Nyra had insisted they come together, that they needed to make plans. They sat at a table in the back, surrounded by stacks of books on history, parapsychology, and old academy records. Each book seemed to contain pieces of the puzzle, but none of them had the full picture.
"We have a problem," Nyra started, pushing a book aside. "The symbol—the Crownless Mark—it's not just some weird coincidence. I did some digging in the restricted archives, and it's tied to the original foundation of Academia Noctis. To Project Nyx. To a… a forgotten history."
Lucian leaned forward, his heart pounding in his chest. "What does it mean?"
"It means we're not the first to be chosen," Nyra said, her voice cold. "There's a long history of students selected for this… test. And every time, they forget. Their memories are wiped. The knowledge is buried. And all that's left are symbols. Pieces. But not the full truth."
Silas shook his head. "So they've been doing this for generations? Wiping students' memories? Making them forget?"
"Yes," Nyra said. "And every time it gets closer. Closer to something bigger. Project Nyx—it's not just a test. It's a legacy. A machine. And you, Lucian—your connection to it is no accident."
Lucian's mind raced. "My mom… What was her role in all of this?"
Nyra hesitated. "She was one of the original architects. She helped create the structure of the academy, the systems that keep the project alive. But somewhere along the way, she… changed. She became a target. And from what I can piece together, she tried to protect you from it."
Lucian clenched his fists. "And now I'm walking straight into the fire she tried to keep me out of."
"We can't change what's already been done," Nyra said softly. "But we can make sure it doesn't end the same way it did before."
---
The next morning came with the sharp, anxious hum of anticipation. The students of Academia Noctis filed into the central hall for the next stage of their testing. The walls, usually a comforting blend of stone and light, now seemed oppressive, as if watching them, waiting for their every move.
Lucian, Nyra, and Silas stood together in silence. The resonance test was unlike anything they had faced before. The instructors—hidden in shadows—watched as each student approached a central, glowing pedestal.
"Lucian Vale," an assistant called.
Lucian's heart hammered in his chest as he stepped forward. He couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't just a test—it was the beginning of something much darker.
As the device activated, his vision blurred, and the world around him faded into nothingness.
But there, in the darkness, a symbol appeared again—the Crownless Mark.
This time, it wasn't just a symbol. It was a message.