The door creaked open before Brent could knock.
His little sister, Lysa, stood there in a patchy wool sweater two sizes too big. Her eyes lit up, and she threw herself at him without hesitation.
"Brent! You're home!"
Brent caught her in a hug, swallowing the lump in his throat. She still smelled like ink and clay from her little crafting bench. She didn't ask why he was back early. She didn't care.
She just hugged him tighter.
"Lysa, give him room," came a gentle voice from inside.
Brent looked up to see his mother standing in the doorway, drying her hands on a flour-stained apron. Her face was older than it had been when he left—worn, not by time, but by hope stretched too thin for too long.
"I… I didn't mean to come home like this," Brent said, lowering his head.
"You came home alive," she said, stepping forward and cupping his face. "That's enough for now."
She pulled him into a soft embrace.
Behind her, his father stepped into view—taller, but hunched with the same limp from the old factory accident. The man simply nodded at Brent, his gaze steady. Not disappointed. Just present.
"We heard rumors," his father said quietly. "Didn't believe half of them."
"They suspended me," Brent replied. "Kallin Crest… I didn't mean to hurt him, but—" He stopped. The words stuck in his throat.
His mother took the bag off his shoulder and placed it by the stairs. "Sit. You'll tell us everything. And then you'll eat."
—
That night, after a meal of roasted carrots and thin bread that tasted far better than anything at the Academy, Brent sat on the roof beneath a sky full of stars, the Forms of Forgotten Power on his lap.
The Flame within stirred. The system had been quiet for a day, but now…
[Resonance Stabilized: 38%]
[System Reactivated.]
Brent Alder, you are not done. Not yet.
Challenge Detected: The Shrouded Wild – Corrupted Flamebeast near village perimeter.
Brent's head snapped up. "Flamebeast?"
[Yes. A remnant of ancient fire, tainted by void energy. Dangerous. But within your reach.]
[Optional Challenge: Purify the Wild Flame.]
Objective: Cleanse the corrupted Flamebeast using your light.
Reward: Level Up — Luminaris, Rank 2.
His heart pounded. "If I don't stop it—?"
[It will reach your village before dawn.]
Brent closed the book.
This wasn't a choice.
This was family.
—
He found the beast at the edge of the wheatfields, where the crops met the dark trees of the whispering wood. The creature shimmered in unnatural flame—blackened fire, licking upward in jagged tongues. It stood on four molten limbs, its head twisted like a wolf's skull wreathed in smoke.
It hadn't seen him yet.
[Guardian's Circle: Cast?]
"Yes," Brent whispered.
Golden light poured from beneath his feet in a circular ward, encasing the field in a radiant dome. The beast froze, screeching as the pure energy cut into its corruption.
Brent raised both hands. "Radiant Thread!"
The healing light wrapped around his arm and shot forward like a whip, slashing through the darkness coiled around the beast's chest. It howled and leapt toward him, slamming into the barrier of the Guardian's Circle.
It cracked.
[Barrier Integrity: 34%]
Brent drew in a breath and reached for more—not spells, not instincts—but intent. Purpose.
I'm not doing this to prove myself. I'm doing this to protect.
He dropped to one knee, placing both hands into the earth, calling out:
"Flame, answer me!"
And it did.
Light burst from within him—not a weapon, but a wave—a holy tide that pushed forward in a blinding arc. It hit the beast square in the chest and drove through it, slicing the corruption from its heart.
The monster's shriek turned from fury to sorrow.
Then silence.
The fire dimmed.
And the beast collapsed into a heap of smoking embers and ash.
Brent fell back, panting. The light within him flickered, then surged.
[Challenge Complete.]
[Corruption Cleansed.]
[Level Up – Luminaris Rank 2 Achieved!]
You have unlocked: Emberpulse (Lv. 1) – A burst of healing and shielding light that protects allies in a short radius.
Your Light has grown stronger. Your Flame has deepened.
As the stars wheeled above and dawn broke gently on the horizon, Brent lay on the grass, staring at the sky.
He'd saved his home.
Not with rage. Not with fear.
But with Light.
And for the first time since being cast out of Eldergrove, Brent Alder believed.
This was only the beginning. I am so close—Brent thought—so I will awaken a skill that will alleviate her years of suffering.