Spirit Academy – Briefing Hall
Professor Garran stood at the front of the hall, map glowing behind him. A flicker of unease danced in his eyes—a rare thing.
"The mission is classified Tier-4 Exploratory. You'll travel to the Frostvale Ruins—once a thriving Spirit city, now a battlefield entombed in ice. It's also where the legendary Vaelen Sol made his final stand during the First Fracture War."
Christian's heart tightened.
Kien sat beside him, arms crossed, sharp eyes scanning the map. "What's the objective?"
"Spirit disturbance. The Void Pulse detected something ancient… awakening." Garran's gaze shifted to Christian. "You're going because you're already connected to it."
Jun Seran and two other advanced students were selected to join them—forming a small strike and scouting group.
"Stick to your squad. Don't trust what you see there," Garran added. "The battlefield may be frozen, but the echoes of war… linger."
Arrival – Frostvale Ruins
The journey north was long, the sky thick with swirling snow and spirit winds. Frostvale rose like jagged bones from the ice—towers cracked and speared through with frozen void matter. Dead spirit trees dotted the land, each blackened and twisted.
As they approached, Christian felt it.
The pull of the Eye.
His Void Core throbbed in time with the icy wind.
"It's alive here," he whispered. "Something… is still breathing beneath this place."
Kien laid a hand on his arm. "We face it together."
Inside the Ruins – The Echo Stirs
They moved carefully through shattered buildings and spirit-marked altars. Jun took point while Christian and Kien remained near the rear, their senses locked on the Core's reaction.
In the center of the ruins stood a broken coliseum. Symbols of old Spirit Orders lined the arena walls—many faded, but one remained clear.
A single eye. Collapsing inward.
They stepped inside.
The air dropped. The wind stopped.
And time twisted.
A Memory Awakened
The world shifted.
Suddenly they were surrounded by movement—ghostly soldiers, their spirit weapons clashing against shapeless void beasts. Screams echoed. Light met shadow.
And at the center stood Vaelen Sol, surrounded by his last defenders.
Christian stumbled forward as his vision blurred.
"Not real," Jun muttered. "Just a vision."
"No," Christian said. "It's more than that. The memory is alive."
From the arena's center, Vaelen turned—no longer ghostly, but vivid, real.
"Gatekeeper," he said, voice thunderous. "You've come."
Kien stepped forward, protective. "He's not ready for whatever this is."
"I never was either," Vaelen replied. "But the Eye waits for no one."
He raised his broken blade—and behind him, the Void surged into form.
The Test Begins
Vaelen didn't attack. The battlefield did.
The ruins shuddered as spirit echoes coalesced into beasts, half-formed and unstable. Their shrieks shattered stone.
Christian drew on his Void Core, the black mist flaring around him. But the power buckled—unsteady.
"Control it," Kien shouted. "You're not its slave!"
He gritted his teeth, remembering the fragments. His pain. His anchor.
Kien.
He focused—not on the chaos, but on her voice.
The mist settled. For the first time, the Void wrapped with his will, not against it.
He struck, blade humming, void energy laced with clarity.
Aftermath
The spirits fell silent. The echoes faded.
Vaelen stood before him, a faint smile on his scarred face.
"You passed the first gate," he said. "But many still lie ahead. The Eye is watching. And so is something else… older than even the Abyss."
He looked toward the mountains beyond.
"The true war is returning."
Return to the Academy
Back at the academy, Garran listened in silence as Christian recounted the vision, the battle, and Vaelen's warning.
"That's why the Abyss chose you," Garran murmured. "Not to destroy the world… but to prepare it."
Christian looked out the window at the storm gathering on the horizon.
"Then we better get ready."
To Be Continued…