The moment we decided to leave the Academy, I knew there was no turning back.
Everything up until now—the tournament, the training, the whispers of the Forsaken—had only been the beginning.
Now?
We were heading toward the truth.
Kieran stood beside me, arms crossed as we watched the moonlight bathe the Academy grounds. We had planned our departure carefully. The Academy was strict about unauthorized travel, and if they caught us sneaking out, we'd be interrogated—or worse, expelled.
But we weren't just sneaking out for adventure.
We were going to the Ruins of the Old World—a place long abandoned, rumored to hold the remnants of the past… and the key to what was coming.
Kieran exhaled sharply. "You ready?"
I adjusted the straps of my travel pack. "Yeah."
"Then let's go."
A Silent Escape
We moved under the cover of night, slipping past the Academy's patrols with careful steps. Kieran led the way, navigating the outer walls where the enchantments were weaker.
At one point, a pair of instructors passed by, their voices low and urgent.
"Something's happening," one muttered. "The energy signatures are fluctuating again."
The second instructor cursed under his breath. "We need to figure out what's causing it before—"
They stopped suddenly.
Kieran and I pressed ourselves against the shadows, barely breathing.
The instructors lingered for another moment before continuing down the corridor.
Kieran smirked. "Looks like the Academy is getting nervous."
I exhaled. "All the more reason to move fast."
We reached the outer wall, where Kieran revealed a hidden passage behind an overgrown statue.
"How do you even know about this?" I asked, stepping into the tunnel.
He grinned. "I make it my job to know things."
The passage led us beneath the Academy walls, through a damp stone corridor that opened into the vast wilderness beyond.
As we stepped outside, the cold night air hit my face.
For the first time since arriving at the Academy… I felt free.
The Road to the Unknown
The Ruins of the Old World were located deep within the Shrouded Highlands, a vast stretch of uncharted land filled with ancient structures, forgotten temples, and creatures that weren't supposed to exist anymore.
Few dared to travel there.
The ones who did?
Never came back.
As we traveled through the dense forests, the night was eerily quiet. No owls hooted, no insects buzzed.
It was as if the land itself was holding its breath.
After hours of walking, Kieran finally broke the silence.
"You feel it, don't you?"
I frowned. "Yeah."
A pressure. A presence. Something watching.
I tightened my grip on my dagger.
"We're getting close," Kieran murmured.
The First Sign of the Forsaken
By dawn, the trees thinned, revealing the first ruins on the horizon.
The structures were massive, made of blackened stone that had withstood centuries.
But something was wrong.
The air felt heavier, like an unseen force was pressing down on us.
And then—
I heard it.
A whisper.
Low. Faint. Just on the edge of my consciousness.
But it wasn't coming from outside.
It was inside my mind.
"You… were never meant to return."
I froze.
Kieran turned sharply, his golden eyes narrowing. "Sylas?"
I gritted my teeth. "Did you hear that?"
His jaw tightened. "No. But I felt something."
I exhaled, shaking my head. The whispers… they had spoken directly to me.
And that meant they knew we were here.
The Forbidden Entrance
We approached the largest structure, a towering monument covered in ancient inscriptions.
I ran my fingers across the markings. "This isn't like the runes at the Academy."
Kieran nodded. "That's because these weren't meant to teach."
I looked at him. "Then what are they?"
His expression darkened.
"A warning."
Before I could respond, the ground shook beneath us.
A deep, guttural growl rumbled through the air.
Then—
The shadows moved.
The First Servant of the Forsaken
A figure emerged from the darkness, its body shrouded in mist, its eyes glowing a sickly silver.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't alive.
And yet… it was watching us.
Kieran tensed. "Well. That's new."
The creature took a step forward. Its body was twisted, its limbs elongated in unnatural ways. A whispering voice slithered through the air.
"You should not have come."
A pulse of energy radiated outward, sending a shockwave through the ruins. The moment it hit me, my vision blurred—flashes of something ancient, something monstrous—
A battlefield drenched in black fire.A figure standing amidst the chaos.A voice, cold and unfeeling.
"You were once ours."
I gasped, stumbling backward.
Kieran grabbed my arm. "Sylas—?"
I gritted my teeth. "It's trying to get inside my head."
His expression hardened. "Then we kill it before it tries again."
The creature lurched forward, moving faster than anything its size should have been capable of.
I barely dodged as its clawed hand slashed toward my chest, raking deep grooves into the stone wall behind me.
Kieran vanished—then reappeared above the creature, bringing his blade down in a precise arc.
The strike landed—but didn't cut.
Instead, the blade slid through the creature's body like mist.
Kieran cursed, flipping backward. "It's not solid!"
I gritted my teeth. Then how do we kill something that isn't even here?
Then—
The device from the forgotten continent pulsed at my side.
A realization hit me.
Divin Forces.
I had trained for this. This was my chance to use it in real combat.
Taking a breath, I let my instincts take over—
And reached into the space around me.
A New Power Unleashed
The creature lunged again, but this time, I didn't dodge.
Instead, I shifted my stance, stepping through the distortion—
And suddenly, I was behind it.
The creature froze, confused by my sudden movement.
For the first time, I had successfully used the Displacement Step in battle.
I didn't hesitate.
I drove my dagger forward, but instead of aiming for its form, I aimed for the space it occupied.
The dagger pierced through the distortion, the energy within it colliding against something unseen.
The creature let out a shriek—not of pain, but of recognition.
It knew what this was.
It feared it.
Kieran caught on immediately. "Divin Force works on them."
I exhaled. "Then we use it."
The creature howled one last time before its body faded completely, as if it had never been there at all.
The ruins fell silent once more.
A Revelation That Changes Everything
I wiped the sweat from my forehead, my heart still racing. "That thing… it knew me."
Kieran nodded grimly. "And it won't be the last one."
We turned back to the ruins, to the ancient inscriptions warning of what lay ahead.
This wasn't just about learning the past anymore.
The Forsaken knew we were coming.
And whatever was hidden in these ruins…
They didn't want us to find it.
But that only meant one thing.
We had to.