They returned without warning.
Corin was the first through the Gate—a thin shimmer of green light unraveling like ivy in the courtyard. But he wasn't alone.
Three others followed. Unnamed. Unregistered.
Ancient.
One was a woman whose skin flickered like obsidian smoke, her eyes two mirrored voids.
Another wore a bone crown, humming a tune that bent air like thread.
The last looked younger than them all, with soft features and a cruel mouth.
None of them spoke their names.
But the professors knew.
They were spellcasters from the Lost Houses—powerful enough to write themselves out of history and survive untouched by time.
Now they had come back.
And they were here for Elias.
---
"He's not ready," Professor Elan said firmly, stepping between them in the Great Hall.
"You misunderstand," the obsidian woman replied, her voice like soot in water. "He doesn't need to be ready. He already is."
Corin smiled. "We're not here to fight. Just to… test the weave."
Japer narrowed his eyes from the balcony. "They don't just want to observe him. They want to claim him."
Kael's jaw tensed. "Not happening."
---
The Academy's wards held—for a time.
But not against Elias's pull.
He stood in the northern spire, staring down at the visitors from the window. His hands were bare. His breath was slow.
"I know them," he said quietly. "I've never seen them before—but I know them."
Kael stood behind him, arms crossed. "Like memories?"
"Like… threads I forgot were tied to me." Elias turned, face pale but steady. "They're not strangers. They're part of the pattern."
Kael stepped closer. "They can't have you."
Elias gave him a tired smile. "You sound awfully sure for someone who isn't even certain what I am."
Kael didn't flinch. "You're Elias."
Elias looked away. "That may not be enough."
---
The next morning, the visitors requested a demonstration.
Professor Elan reluctantly allowed it—under heavy containment.
The Hall of Threads was chosen: a large, hexed arena beneath the library, where spell reactions could be observed without tearing reality open.
Elias stood alone in the center.
Kael and Japer watched from the edge.
Then—Corin stepped forward.
He raised his hand slowly. "We only want to see how far you've come."
"No touching," Japer snapped. "That wasn't part of the agreement."
Corin smiled at him. "What are you—his bodyguard?"
Kael didn't speak.
He just stepped closer to Elias's side.
That's when **the young one with the cruel mouth reached out—**and brushed his fingers along Kael's sleeve.
And everything exploded.
---
Elias didn't even move.
His magic moved for him.
A dome of silver erupted outward, sending the intruders flying backward across the hall. Runes cracked. Wards screamed.
The young one smashed into the marble with a curse.
Corin laughed.
"Now that's new."
Elias's eyes were glowing white now, threaded with gold. And his voice—when he finally spoke—was layered. As if a second voice whispered behind it.
"No one touches him."
The room fell silent.
The obsidian woman tilted her head. "You react… violently. That's not protection. That's binding instinct."
Kael blinked. "What the hell is binding instinct?"
Japer's voice was cold. "Magic claiming what it sees as its anchor."
Elias's power flared brighter for a second. Then dimmed.
He turned to Kael slowly.
"I didn't do that on purpose."
Kael swallowed. "I know."
Elias's hands were trembling now.
"But something in me did."
---
After the dust settled, the visitors were escorted out of the arena—not expelled. Not yet.
Corin's parting words echoed in the hallway:
"You may think you're afraid of yourself now, Elias. But wait until the magic begins to want."
---
That night, Elias sat by the dorm window again.
Kael joined him in silence.
"…I think the magic inside me has its own opinions," Elias finally whispered. "It doesn't ask permission."
Kael nodded. "Neither do you when you're scared."
"I'm not scared for me," Elias said, looking over. "I'm scared I'll hurt you again."
Kael gave him a long look.
Then simply said: "Then don't let go."
Not love.
Not yet.
But something binding tighter now.
Whether they liked it or not.