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> "When gods build cages,
it's only a matter of time before one of us sets the whole sky on fire."
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⚡ Scene 1 — Aric Returns
Aegis Academy stood as it always had—towers of ivory, banners flowing in wind, bells ringing the midday hour.
But when Aric stepped onto the main bridge…
the wind died.
Students looked up.
Professors froze.
The bell cracked mid-ring and fell from its tower.
Aric walked through the courtyard like a shadow wearing lightning.
Cassia and Myles followed, silent, alert.
He wore no house colors.
Only black.
Only flame.
> "He's back," someone whispered.
"I thought he was…"
"Is that fire behind him—?"
The marble beneath his boots smoldered.
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🏛️ Scene 2 — Council Reacts
The High Council sat in a tense conclave.
Headmaster Luthor was pale. "He was supposed to be watching the Rift."
Elder Miran snapped, "You feel that heat? The echo in the sigils?
He's unlocked the Vault."
Another elder trembled. "You mean—?"
Luthor stood. "Yes. The Seed of Vox has bloomed."
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🔥 Scene 3 — Aric's Demand
Aric pushed open the council chamber doors with a whisper.
The walls bent with pressure.
Elders reached for staffs, incantations forming.
But Aric raised his hand—and every flame in the room bowed.
Even the chandeliers extinguished.
His voice was low, lethal.
> "You built this cage.
You branded me a weapon.
You buried my village.
You gave Lena power."
He dropped something at their feet — the dead Echo-Maker's eye, still glowing.
> "Now you face what you created."
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🧬 Scene 4 — The Gods' Pact
Luthor tried diplomacy.
> "You don't understand. The gods gave us this academy.
Vox was the one who betrayed the pact."
Aric's eyes flared.
> "You betrayed the pact.
Vox broke your chains.
I'm the spark you tried to snuff out."
Myles held up the rebirth archive logs. "You used children as anchors."
Cassia whispered, "And erased their memories when it failed."
> "Aric was the only one who didn't break.
So you buried him instead."
Silence.
Then Luthor said:
> "If you go to war with us, Aric…
you go to war with the gods."
Aric stepped closer.
> "Then let the gods burn."
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🌩️ Scene 5 — The Storm Begins
Aric raised his hand.
The ceiling shattered into sky.
Flames didn't rise — they spiraled down from above, forming into a cloak of thunder and stardust.
> "I was never your weapon.
I'm the one who remembers every scream.
Every lie.
Every burn."
Cassia unsheathed her blade, now inscribed with Riftmetal.
Myles floated above, eyes glowing with thoughtfire.
A tremor shook the mountain.
And in the distance, the god-shrines at the capital began to flicker.
As if divine power itself was shivering.
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🧠 Scene 6 — Inside the Divine Core
Far beneath Aegis, in the sealed vault of the Divine Core, the last Echo-Maker fragment pulsed.
It recognized Aric.
Not as a vessel.
But as kin.
A voice hissed from the stone:
> "You were not meant to rise."
Aric, from miles above, whispered back:
> "That's what makes it perfect."
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🕊️ Scene 7 — A Quiet Moment
That night, Aric stood on the academy tower, overlooking the moonlit courtyard.
Cassia joined him.
She asked softly, "What happens now?"
He replied, "I declare war."
"On whom?"
> "On everyone who thought my death was the end of my story."
She rested her head on his shoulder.
They didn't speak for a long time.
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📓 Scene 8 — Notebook Update
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"Phase 11: Rise of the Spark"
Vox: silent
Gods: watching
Council: fractured
Me:
> No longer hunted.
No longer hidden.
I am the fire they feared.
And I am just getting started.
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