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The silence in the academy halls didn't last long.
Rumors spread like wildfire. A wing of the eastern training dome was sealed off "for repairs," but everyone knew what that meant. Whispers of a fight. Of Kael Umbros. Of something not human.
Kael walked calmly through the inner courtyard the next morning, the sun catching in the strands of his black-and-silver hair. His red and violet eyes glinted with cold detachment, a sharp contrast to the lighthearted buzz of students around him. Selene walked beside him, calm as a frozen lake, a small tablet hovering in front of her as she flicked through pages of academy data.
"You're trending," she said with a flat tone, though her lips twitched in amusement.
Kael didn't bother looking. "Let them talk."
"They say you're a descendant of the Nightborn Sovereigns," she continued. "Others think you're a lost experiment from the Central Labs."
"Both wrong."
"But close."
Kael smirked slightly. "Still wrong."
They passed under the ivy-laced archway toward the main academy tower—The Spiral Heart, a spire that reached beyond the clouds, pulsing faintly with leyline energy. Classes were starting soon, but Kael and Selene had other priorities.
A letter marked with the academy's highest seal had arrived that morning.
They were summoned.
As they entered the Spiral Heart, the mood shifted. Elite students and instructors turned to glance at them—some with curiosity, others with barely veiled hostility. But none said a word. None dared.
Kael and Selene were escorted through crystal elevators that rose silently, eventually stopping near the upper levels—floors reserved for high council members and academy masters. They stepped into a vast chamber shaped like a crescent moon, with windows that gave a panoramic view of the capital below.
Five figures stood waiting.
One was Headmistress Elyra—a woman with raven hair and eyes like shimmering jade. Her aura was like that of a sealed storm. Beside her was Archblade Thalos, covered in ceremonial armor that looked as if it was forged from meteorite and voidflame. The other three were unfamiliar, but their pressure was undeniable.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "This isn't just an inquiry."
"No," Elyra said smoothly. "This is a reckoning."
Selene tilted her head. "We broke no rules."
"But you're hiding truths," one of the councilmen said, stepping forward. "Your system. Your bloodlines. Your capabilities. You've concealed them since entering. And last night—"
"Was self-defense," Kael interrupted. "Unless the academy now encourages assaults on students from rogue enforcers."
The tension in the room thickened.
Thalos stepped forward, arms crossed. "The ones who attacked you weren't enforcers. They were initiators from the Interdimensional Binding Council. Here to test if either of you qualified as 'Ascension Candidates.'"
Selene blinked. "That title hasn't been used in centuries."
"Correct," Elyra said, her tone harder now. "But you've both triggered the early signs. Kael… you resisted. Selene, your energy matrix spiked beyond the standard sovereign tier. That… shouldn't be possible."
Kael's gaze darkened. "We didn't ask for this."
"No one ever does," Elyra replied. "But it's here now. And more are watching."
A long pause.
Then she sighed, stepping back and gesturing toward a console. A hologram rose from the floor. It displayed an ancient glyph—twisting like fire and shadow.
It was the same mark Kael had seen last night. The broken crown and the twin wolves.
"This sigil appeared when your bloodline pulsed last night," she said quietly. "It's not in our records… but some of the oldest vaults mention it as belonging to the 'Sundered Thrones.' A bloodline erased during the Eclipse War."
Selene frowned. "That would make us…"
"Descendants of forbidden power," Thalos finished. "And likely targets."
Kael didn't respond. He didn't need to. His silence carried a storm of emotion.
Elyra's tone softened. "You have a choice. Continue your studies in secrecy… or enter the Shadow Curriculum. A path meant for those with dangerous potential. Training. Missions. Exposure to truths this academy normally shields."
Selene looked at Kael through the corner of her eye.
He simply nodded. "We'll take the Shadow path."
"Good," Elyra said with a faint, unreadable smile. "Then prepare. It begins tonight."
—
Back in their private quarters, Kael stood in front of the mirror.
He stared at his reflection—his hair slowly brightening at the tips, silver now reaching past his shoulders. The transition was accelerating.
Behind him, Selene adjusted her armor, elegant yet functional, laced with runes of wind and thought-speed.
"You're changing again," she said without turning.
"So are you," Kael replied. "Your aura's stronger than yesterday."
Selene hummed. "Stronger… and colder."
"Same."
She finally looked up at him. "We're being forced into the open now. This academy… it's just the surface."
Kael's red eye flared. "Then we dig deeper."
And that night, as the moon rose once again, twin wings unfurled beneath the darkened skies—black and silver, massive and divine, pulsing with power unlike anything the academy had seen in centuries.
The siblings didn't just accept the shadow curriculum.
They intended to dominate it.
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