The night had fallen, and the quiet hum of magic within the Academy seemed almost soothing after the chaos Kieran had unleashed earlier. He sat in his room, his mind racing with thoughts of what had happened earlier in the day—his display of power, the mountain obliterated by his hand, and the Archmages beginning to take notice. Despite the relief of having escaped undetected, a strange sensation nagged at him.
There was something else.
Something that he had barely noticed in the midst of his excitement. The surge of mana from earlier hadn't just been his own. There was a foreign presence, something else in the magical landscape that had disturbed the flow of energy around him. It was subtle, but it felt like a twist in the very fabric of the world's mana.
Kieran leaned forward in his chair, his fingers tapping gently on the edge of the table. His senses were sharp, his connection to the Void Sovereign job enhanced beyond normal human perception. The mana that surrounded him had always felt like an extension of his own power, but tonight, it felt… off.
He stood up quickly, a sense of urgency creeping into him. The unnatural mana flow he had sensed earlier was becoming more pronounced now. It wasn't just a flicker anymore—it was a disturbance that had taken root and was spreading in small ripples through the magical ley lines beneath the academy.
Kieran's eyes narrowed. He activated his System Scan with a single thought. His vision blurred momentarily as the system's interface appeared in his mind's eye, revealing the magical makeup of the world around him. Lines of mana, usually steady and predictable, now writhed like a disturbed serpent, twisting and bending in unnatural ways.
What the hell is that?
Following the Trail
His body moved before his mind had even fully processed it. Without a second thought, Kieran opened his window and stepped out into the night, cloaked in shadow. The System Scan guided him, pulling his senses to the unsettling mana flow that was steadily growing in intensity.
The moon hung high above, casting its pale light on the academy's grand stone buildings. As Kieran moved through the quiet halls of the school, he felt his connection to the mana around him deepen, the pulsating energy beckoning him forward. Each step he took seemed to synchronize with the strange current, the pull growing stronger the further he moved away from the Academy's center.
As he made his way through the outer grounds, he reached the edge of the Forest of Virmor, the very place where he had tested his powers earlier. The forest loomed dark and silent, the trees swaying gently in the night's breeze, but the air was thick with magic. A strange static feeling buzzed in his chest as the mana here was far more concentrated than it should have been.
Kieran's breath caught in his throat. He could sense it now, the source of the disturbance—it was coming from deep within the forest.
He didn't hesitate. Kieran activated Void Step, his body shifting through the dimensions and appearing several miles into the heart of the forest in the blink of an eye. The trees loomed around him, their shadows tall and foreboding, but the path ahead seemed to open up for him, as if the forest itself were guiding him toward something important.
The closer he got, the more his heart raced. His system flickered to life, alerting him to the abnormal concentration of mana. This wasn't just a ripple or anomaly—it was something deliberate, something unnatural. A corruption in the flow of energy itself.
A Hidden Presence
Kieran's footsteps were silent as he moved deeper into the forest, the trees pressing closer around him. A low, guttural hum now resonated in the air, growing louder as he approached the source of the disturbance. It was then that he saw it—a faint glow, pulsing with energy, far ahead among the dense underbrush. The source was hidden behind a thicket of thorns, but Kieran could feel its presence as if it were a living thing.
As he drew closer, he noticed a dark rift in the fabric of space. It wasn't a portal, not in the traditional sense—it was more like a tear, a scar in the very essence of the world's mana. The rift pulsed ominously, its core flickering with energy that was both foreign and corrupt.
Kieran's brow furrowed. This wasn't normal. This wasn't natural magic.
He reached out cautiously, his fingers brushing the edge of the rift. The moment his skin made contact, his entire body shuddered as a surge of dark energy flooded through him. It wasn't like the mana he controlled—this was twisted, chaotic, and ancient. A deep sense of wrongness clung to it, like the touch of something unnatural.
The rift pulsed again, brighter this time, and with a loud crack, the energy within it exploded outward, sending a violent shockwave through the forest.
The Archmages Feel the Disturbance
Back at the academy, the archmages were still discussing the previous surge of mana when the new shockwave reached them. A strange, ominous energy that rattled even their ancient wards.
Alastair, his brow furrowed in concentration, raised his hand to the communication crystal once more. "It's happening again," he muttered. "This isn't normal. We need to act quickly."
The other archmages gathered, their faces filled with worry. Something was happening, and they were no longer sure it was a simple act of a single mage, especially not one of Kieran's caliber. The power was far too uncontrolled, far too dangerous. It was as if the very fabric of reality itself was being torn apart.
Alastair's eyes glinted with determination. "We need to find the source of this disturbance before it spreads further."
Kieran's Resolve
As the shockwave spread, Kieran's body went rigid. He gritted his teeth against the invasive energy that surged through his veins. The rift before him began to open wider, the dark mana spilling out and flooding the surrounding area, suffocating the natural magic of the forest.
Kieran narrowed his eyes. This wasn't just a random anomaly. This was deliberate. And it was something far more dangerous than he had anticipated. With the mana flowing uncontrollably, he needed to act fast.
Kieran took a step back, gathering himself. He didn't know who—or what—was responsible for this rift, but there was no time to waste. This power could spiral out of control and wreak havoc on everything in its path. The last thing Kieran wanted was to attract more unwanted attention, especially from the Archmages.
His hands shot out, and a Void barrier encased the rift, sealing it off for the moment. The dark mana writhed against the barrier, but Kieran's control was absolute. However, he couldn't keep the barrier up for long. His heart raced, and he felt the drain on his mana.
Just as the barrier began to crack under the pressure, Kieran turned and vanished once more into the night, using Void Step to leave the area in an instant.
A Growing Concern
The Archmages, sensing the eruption of dark mana in the forest, sent their best mages to investigate, but they arrived too late. Kieran was already gone, and the rift was sealed. All that remained were the faint traces of corrupted mana—and the unsettling feeling that something far more dangerous was stirring beneath the surface.
Kieran's heart pounded in his chest as he appeared back at the academy. He had narrowly avoided the Archmages' notice this time. But the question lingered: What was this dark force? And who—or what—had created the rift?
He stood still for a moment, the weight of his discovery pressing on him. He knew one thing for sure: this was only the beginning.