The academy had changed. Kaeleen noticed it in the whispers that seemed to follow him everywhere, in the averted gazes, and especially in the way his classmates spoke about him with growing distrust. He knew he had struggled to control his dark mana, but he had never felt such a thick atmosphere of hostility and tension.
That morning, he entered his history class with a sense of unease. The teacher in charge was Luka's father, one of the bullies who took pleasure in tormenting him. From the first moment, Kaeleen sensed something was wrong; the teacher, a tall man with stern features, had an imposing presence and a tone that left no room for questions. History lessons were always tense when he taught, and Kaeleen sensed that today would be worse.
As the teacher recounted the history of conflicts between the races of Aether and the first manifestations of dark magic, Kaeleen couldn't resist asking a question that had been bothering him for some time.
"Professor," he began cautiously, raising his hand, "what happened to those who practiced dark magic in Ethelia's past?"
The professor stopped his lesson and, barely concealing his annoyance, fixed Kaeleen with a cold, calculating stare. A murmur of discomfort ran through the class, and Kaeleen felt every eye on him. The teacher flashed an ironic smile before answering, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Kaeleen, it seems you have a particular interest in dark magic." His voice was low but cutting. "Perhaps you should reflect on whether you really belong at this academy, or if it would be wiser to keep your questions to yourself."
The comment sparked laughter from some of his classmates, and Kaeleen felt humiliation and frustration burn his face. Before he could defend himself or clarify his question, the professor made a stern gesture and ordered:
"Leave my class immediately. Go to the headmistress's office and wait there until she can speak with you. We do not tolerate unnecessary interruptions here."
With his heart pounding and his classmates' eyes fixed on his back, Kaeleen gathered his belongings. He left the classroom, swallowing down the anger and humiliation that threatened to spill over. He knew this had been nothing but a ploy by the teacher to expose him, likely to fulfill Luka's desire to intimidate him even more.
With his mind full of confused thoughts, Kaeleen walked to the headmistress's office, trying to calm himself and remember that none of this was his fault. Still, the shame of being sent there over a simple question gnawed at him. When he arrived, the headmistress was focused on her papers, but as he entered, she looked at him with a mix of curiosity and slight concern.
"Kaeleen, what brings you here? It seems you have something to tell me," the headmistress said in a gentle tone, putting her papers aside.
Kaeleen barely had time to open his mouth before he felt the air in the room change. Suddenly, the office door closed with a loud bang. A dense, dark energy filled the atmosphere, and without warning, three hooded figures appeared around them. Their hands glowed with a dark light, and their calculated movements showed they had arrived with a clear purpose.
The headmistress immediately stood, positioning herself in front of Kaeleen and extending her arm to create a mana barrier that surrounded them both. "Back off! This student is under my protection," she declared with a voice filled with determination, her eyes blazing with mana's reflection.
The hooded figures exchanged glances and launched their attack, sending powerful blasts of dark mana against the headmistress's barrier. Each impact caused the shield to tremble and crack. Kaeleen could hardly believe what he was seeing. The headmistress was entirely focused on maintaining the barrier, but the combined force of the attacks was overwhelming her.
"Headmistress!" Kaeleen shouted as he saw the shield shatter under the force of one last devastating blow. The headmistress was thrown against the wall, and Kaeleen could see the wounds on her face and body as she collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain and barely conscious.
The hooded figures advanced toward him, but before they could attack, hurried footsteps and shouts could be heard in the hallway. The professors, alerted by the noise, were quickly approaching. The attackers looked at Kaeleen with disdain before vanishing into the darkness, leaving the office in ruins and the headmistress in critical condition.
The attack quickly fueled rumors throughout the academy. The headmistress was immediately taken to the infirmary, but her condition was delicate, and the dark mana permeating the office only complicated things. As the sole witness, Kaeleen was soon singled out as the main suspect. His history with dark mana and the recent argument with the teacher helped build a narrative against him, and he was quickly confined to an academy cell pending an "investigation."
Sitting in the cell's gloom, Kaeleen replayed the events in his mind over and over. A sense of helplessness and betrayal twisted in his chest, and for the first time, he wondered if all his efforts to control his power had been in vain. The academy, the place that was supposed to be a sanctuary of learning, had become a hostile prison.
Hours later, when silence reigned in the academy's halls, Kaeleen heard soft footsteps approaching his cell. Looking through the bars, he recognized Elise and Borik, who had managed to sneak past the guards to help him.
"Kaeleen, we know it wasn't you," whispered Elise, looking at him with determination and compassion. "We couldn't just stand by while you're being blamed unjustly."
Borik, with a conspiratorial look, unlocked the cell door with a key they had stolen from the guards' room. "Let's get out of here before someone catches us," he murmured, giving Kaeleen a look that urged him to follow.
Without thinking twice, Kaeleen left the cell and followed his friends through the darkened academy corridors. Despite the risk, their hearts pounded as they moved silently, avoiding the patrolling guards. Finally, Elise led them to a hidden door in a remote part of the building that she had discovered some time ago. The door led to a passage that descended into the depths of the academy, a forbidden area with whispered rumors of the secrets it held.
"Are you sure about this, Elise?" Borik whispered, looking nervously down the dark corridor.
"It's our only option," she replied. "We need to find proof of what really happened to clear Kaeleen's name."
As they advanced, the light grew increasingly scarce and the air heavier. After several minutes of walking in near darkness, they reached a vast chamber bathed in a faint bluish glow.
Kaeleen, Elise, and Borik's eyes widened in horror at the sight before them. Along the walls, dozens, maybe hundreds, of glass tubes held grotesque creatures floating in a greenish liquid. The shapes inside were so strange that they seemed to belong in a nightmare: creatures fused with limbs from different species, chimeras with distorted faces, fangs, multiple eyes, and disproportionate bodies. Each tube seemed to hold a different abomination, and the bubbling of the liquid echoed eerily in the oppressive silence.
"What is this?" murmured Borik, frozen as he stared at a creature with red eyes and multiple arms.
Elise, her voice trembling, replied, "It looks like some kind of secret lab… This shouldn't be here, in the academy. What kind of experiments are they doing?"
Kaeleen examined each tube with a mix of fascination and revulsion. He felt the energy in the room vibrate with a dark presence, an undeniable trace of mana. But what worried him most was the sheer number of these chimeras and creatures; this was no accident. Everything pointed to a dark, hidden purpose far beyond their understanding.
Suddenly, the sound of firm footsteps echoed through the chamber. The three friends exchanged terrified glances and quickly hid behind a stack of barrels and crates at the back of the room. They held their breath as they watched several hooded figures enter, surrounding a familiar face for Kaeleen: Professor Seraphis. At his side, a burly man with a sword on his back entered, walking with confidence and an imposing presence.
"The ritual must be executed precisely," said the burly hooded figure, his deep voice resonating through the chamber. Kaeleen felt a chill because that voice sounded familiar. "Each sacrifice is essential to unleash the true power of dark mana. If we rush this, it will all be in vain."
Kaeleen, his heart racing, tried to move a bit closer to listen better, hoping he might recognize the voice and decipher the meaning behind his words. But as he moved, his foot caught on an iron chain, producing a metallic clink that sliced through the silence.
Professor Seraphis turned sharply toward the noise, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the room. "Who's there?" he shouted, gesturing for the hooded figures to investigate the corner where Kaeleen and his friends were hiding.
Not waiting to be discovered, the three friends immediately stood and began running, fleeing down the opposite corridor. The echo of their footsteps reverberated off the stone walls, and they could hear the voices of their pursuers and the sound of their footsteps drawing closer.
"Quickly, this way!" shouted Elise, guiding them into a narrow corridor on their right.
With a series of twists and turns through the dark corridors, Kaeleen, Elise, and Borik managed to evade the hooded figures, but their pursuers didn't give up. Just when it seemed they were about to be caught, the friends stumbled upon an unexpected exit—a small door that led to a clearing just outside the forest where Kaeleen used to train with his teacher.
"Through here, hurry!" whispered Borik, holding the door open for Elise and Kaeleen. Once outside, they shut the door behind them and hurried into the forest. But they hadn't gone far when two hooded figures blocked their escape, raising hands glowing with dark energy.
"You can't escape us so easily," one growled, launching a blast of dark mana directly at Kaeleen.
Kaeleen raised a dark barrier to defend himself, but the attack was stronger than he anticipated. The blast struck his shield, destabilizing it and forcing him back. Beside him, Elise and Borik prepared to defend themselves, but their strength was no match for their enemies.
The fight was swift and intense. Elise and Borik tried to counter with elemental magic, casting spells of water and wind, but the hooded figures seemed to anticipate their every move. At one point, Borik was knocked down by a direct hit, and Elise fell to the ground, gasping as she struggled to maintain a basic shield that barely held against the relentless attacks.
Seeing his friends hurt and exhausted, Kaeleen felt anger start to burn within him, and with it, the dark mana began to swirl around him. "Don't you dare hurt my friends!" he shouted, feeling the dark power rise inside him, fueled by his desperation and fury.
His eyes darkened, and the dark mana surged from him in waves, surrounding him like a storm of shadows. The hooded figures hesitated momentarily, startled by the intensity of Kaeleen's unleashed energy. But this only made them angrier, and they redoubled their attacks.
Kaeleen was barely aware of his own movements. His power was spilling out of control, and the shadows seemed to come alive, lashing out at the hooded figures with inhuman fury. The enemies were thrown back, struck by the force of the shadows, as Kaeleen felt the dark mana consume him.
The sounds of the battle and the glow of dark mana drew the attention of some of the academy professors, who rushed to the scene. Hearing the professors approaching, the hooded figures exchanged glances and, without a word, swiftly retreated, disappearing into the forest's shadows.
When the professors arrived at the clearing, they found Kaeleen collapsed on the ground, exhausted and unconscious, with Elise and Borik injured at his side.