The air in Zayne's dorm room was thick with tension. The vision had rattled him, and he could tell by the looks on his friends' faces that they felt it too. Eldric Voss hadn't just been another rogue mage—he had tampered with something far beyond the boundaries of normal magic.
And now, decades later, it felt like the consequences of his actions were starting to surface again.
Malo let out a slow breath, leaning against the wall. "So let me get this straight. Some dead guy played with magic he wasn't supposed to, opened some kind of portal, and now there's a chance that thing is still around?"
Zayne nodded, rubbing his temples. "It's more than a chance, Malo. That book—it's a piece of the past that was buried for a reason. And now that it's back, something is trying to finish what Eldric started."
Seraphina ran her fingers along the book's worn spine, deep in thought. "If this magic is as dangerous as it seems, why didn't the academy destroy it?"
"That's the thing," Zayne muttered. "Solomon wanted me to destroy it. But it's still here. Which means…"
"…someone else made sure it wasn't lost," Tallesia finished, crossing her arms. "Someone with power."
Malo exhaled sharply. "Great. So not only do we have some cursed magic hanging over us, but the academy itself might be hiding something."
Zayne turned toward Seraphina. "Have you made any sense of what's inside yet?"
She shook her head. "The symbols are ancient, and a lot of the text is encoded in a cipher I don't recognize. But from what I can read, it's not just a journal." She tapped the cover. "It's instructions."
That caught everyone's attention.
Kai, who had been silent up until now, finally spoke. "Instructions for what?"
Seraphina hesitated, then slowly said, "A ritual."
Zayne's stomach dropped.
Malo straightened. "Okay, yeah. That's never a good sign."
Tallesia frowned. "Do you know what kind of ritual?"
Seraphina glanced down at the book again. "Not yet. But if Eldric Voss was willing to risk his life for it, it wasn't something minor."
Zayne clenched his fists. He had already seen what that magic could do. Eldric had lost himself to it. And now, whatever he had been trying to do was still unfinished.
"We need more answers," Zayne said.
Malo sighed. "Which means more sneaking around, doesn't it?"
Kai smirked. "You're finally catching on."
Seraphina closed the book. "If we're going to do this, we need to be careful. We don't know who else is looking for this."
Zayne nodded. "Then let's move fast."
The Library's Hidden Depths
The Mystic Heights Academy library was massive, spanning multiple floors with thousands of books on magic, history, and adventuring. But Zayne and his friends weren't looking for just any book. They needed the ones that weren't on public display.
Seraphina led the way, her fingers gliding over the spines of old tomes as they moved between the towering bookshelves.
"The restricted section is on the third floor," she whispered. "We need to find a way past the barrier."
Malo glanced up at the glowing blue runes lining the entrance to the upper level. "And I'm guessing we can't just ask for permission?"
"Not unless you want to be on Professor Solomon's bad side permanently," Seraphina said.
Kai knelt near the barrier, studying the magical field. "It's a basic protection ward. Designed to keep unauthorized people out. If we disrupt the flow at the right points, it should deactivate temporarily."
Tallesia raised a brow. "You sound like you've done this before."
Kai smirked. "You'd be surprised how often I break into places I shouldn't."
Zayne crouched beside him. "How long will it take?"
Kai pulled out a small enchanted dagger and traced a rune into the floor near the barrier. "A few minutes. If anyone sees us, stall."
Seraphina kept watch while Malo leaned against a shelf, pretending to read a book. Tallesia stood near the main walkway, ready to intercept any patrolling professors.
The moment stretched. Every second felt like an eternity.
Finally, Kai muttered, "Got it."
The runes flickered, and the barrier shimmered before vanishing.
Zayne wasted no time stepping through. "Move."
The group slipped into the restricted section just as the barrier reactivated behind them.
Secrets of Eldric Voss
The restricted section had an eerie stillness to it. Dust-covered books lined the shelves, their pages untouched for years. The air smelled of old parchment and forgotten knowledge.
Seraphina moved quickly, scanning the titles. "We need anything on forbidden magic, Eldric Voss, or rituals."
Malo pulled a thick book from the shelf. "Dark Histories of the Arcane… Sounds promising."
Tallesia flipped through another. "This one mentions the Abyssal Rift—is that related?"
Seraphina's eyes widened. "Yes. The Abyssal Rift was one of Eldric's experiments. He believed magic had a source deeper than what we know."
Zayne turned sharply. "You mean… like a separate realm?"
She nodded. "He theorized that magic wasn't just energy but something alive—something that came from an unseen world. He wanted to tap directly into it."
Malo whistled. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like a bad idea."
Zayne felt a pit form in his stomach. "And what if he succeeded?"
Silence.
Seraphina's gaze darkened. "Then we might be dealing with more than just his legacy."
Tallesia closed her book. "We need to get out of here and read these somewhere safe."
Kai nodded. "Agreed. Let's move."
But as they turned to leave, the torches flickered.
A low hum filled the air.
And then—
"Intruders detected."
A deep, mechanical voice echoed through the library. The runes on the walls flared red.
Seraphina paled. "Oh no."
Malo groaned. "Why do I feel like that's bad?"
Zayne spun toward the exit. "RUN."
The moment the word left his lips, the room shifted. The bookshelves trembled, and ghostly figures materialized between the aisles—phantom guardians conjured to protect the restricted archives.
The floor rumbled.
The ghosts turned toward them, their hollow eyes glowing blue.
And then they attacked.