The bells of Luminos chimed at sunset, their golden tones reverberating through the marble halls of the Academia Arcanum. Kael Veyra lingered in the library's archives, his fingers tracing the spine of a leatherbound tome titled Theories of Dimensional Resonance. Dust motes floated in the amber light slanting through stainedglass windows, painting the room in hues of sapphire and crimson.
"You'll miss supper again," a voice teased. Kael turned to see his younger sister, Lyra, leaning against the doorway. Her silver hair—a rarity in their sunbronzed city—was braided with bells, a tradition from their late mother.
"The headmaster's lecture on quantum echoes ran long," Kael said, shutting the book. "But I'll walk you home."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "You're the only person who'd call 'quantum echoes' an excuse."
They stepped into the twilight streets of Luminos, where lamplighters ignited prismatic lanterns fueled by crystalline energy. The city thrived on scholarly pursuits, its towers housing libraries, observatories, and debate halls. Kael loved its order, its predictability—a stark contrast to the chaotic theories he studied.
But tonight, the sky fractured.
A low hum shuddered through the air, like glass scraping bone. Lanterns flickered. Lyra froze, her bells jingling faintly. "Do you hear that?"
Before Kael could answer, the cobblestones rippled. A fissure split the street, vomiting tendrils of black smoke that coiled into monstrous shapes—Voidspawn. Their bodies were voids wrapped in jagged, crystalline armor, and their eyes burned with sickly violet light.
"Run!" Kael grabbed Lyra's wrist, but the creatures moved faster. A Voidspawn lunged, its claw tearing through Lyra's shoulder. She screamed, blood staining her ivory robes.
"No—!" Kael threw himself between them, but the Voidspawn backhanded him into a wall. Pain exploded in his ribs. Through blurred vision, he watched Lyra stagger, her hands glowing with feeble healing magic.
"Stay back!" she shouted, her voice trembling. The Voidspawn circled her, hissing like static.
Kael's mind raced. Dimensional resonance. Energy signatures. Voidspawn feed on instability—
"Kael!" Lyra's cry snapped him back. A Voidspawn raised its claw, poised to strike.
No. Not her. NOT HER—
A searing heat erupted in Kael's chest. His vision whited out. When it cleared, the world moved in slow motion. The Voidspawn's claw descended—but Kael was faster. He lunged, grabbing a broken lamppost, and swung.
The metal pole phased through the Voidspawn as if it weren't there.
Illusion? No—it's shifting dimensions!
The Voidspawn laughed, a sound like grinding gears. Kael's chest burned hotter. Something pulled at his core, as if a thread inside him had snapped.
Then, a voice—sharp, cold, and utterly alien—spoke in his mind:
"Pathetic. Let me in, or you both die."
Kael didn't hesitate. Yes. Whatever you are—YES.
The heat in his chest detonated. Light engulfed him, and when it faded, a woman stood at his side. She wore armor of blackened steel, her hair a cascade of bloodred, and in her hand gleamed a sword etched with runes Kael's mind couldn't parse.
"I am Aria," she said, her voice bladesharp. "You've bound me through your Prime Core. Now fight."
The Voidspawn recoiled. Aria moved like a storm, her sword carving arcs of crimson light. Kael's body moved in tandem, as if their minds were tethered. He felt her skills flood into him—a thousand battles, a lifetime of war.
Harmony Tier: Synergy Activated.
Together, they struck. Aria's blade severed the Voidspawn's arm, and Kael's followup thrust pierced its core. The creature shrieked, dissolving into ash.
But two more emerged from the rift.
"Focus," Aria snarled. "Your fear is a liability."
Kael gripped the sword tighter. His hands shook. Lyra lay motionless nearby, her blood pooling on the cobblestones.
I have to protect her.
The Voidspawn attacked in unison. Kael parried one strike, but the second claw raked his side. Pain seared him, but Aria's presence dulled it, turning agony into fuel.
"Again!" Aria commanded.
They pivoted, sword and soul in sync. This time, Kael anticipated the Voidspawn's dimensional shift. He feigned a thrust, then reversed—Aria's blade found its mark. The creature imploded.
The final Voidspawn hesitated. Aria's laughter echoed in Kael's skull.
"Weaklings. Finish it."
Kael charged, driving the sword through the Voidspawn's chest. It collapsed, the rift shuddering closed behind it.
Silence fell.
Kael dropped the sword, stumbling to Lyra's side. Her breathing was shallow, her skin pale. "Stay with me," he begged, pressing his hands to her wound.
But her eyes fluttered open, glazed with pain. "Kael… what are you?"
Before he could answer, her body went limp.
"Lyra? LYRA!"
Aria's voice cut through his grief. "The rift may be closed, but this is only the beginning. Your world is marked now. And you…" She materialized before him, her gaze piercing. "You owe me a debt, Prime Core."
Kael stared at his hands, still stained with his sister's blood. The heat in his chest pulsed, a reminder of the power he'd unleashed—and the price he'd pay.
Somewhere in the distance, a bell tolled.