Spirit Academy – Main Courtyard
Christian stepped onto campus grounds.
The air changed.
Some students bowed their heads in reverence. Others stepped back, silent. A few—like Liora—watched with veiled hostility.
Kien stayed close.
"They look at you like a prophecy," she whispered. "Or a bomb."
He didn't answer. His Ember Mark pulsed faintly beneath his glove.
---
Elite Student Quarters – Faction Divides
Liora's faction had grown—now including Jun Seran, several top-rank disciples, and even two teachers.
"He's been touched by the Gate, the Void, and the Flame," Jun said. "If he loses control, what's left standing?"
"Nothing," Liora replied. "And that's the problem."
She slammed a scroll onto the table—a red wax seal marked with ancient sigils.
"A vote is being proposed. Not to expel him…"
"But to bind his spirit core."
---
Headmaster Varis's Office
Garran stood stiffly as Varis read the scroll in silence.
"They want to seal his power," Garran said. "Do you know what that would do to him?"
Varis looked up, eyes unreadable.
"I know exactly what it would do. And if he's the vessel for something older than the Abyss, sealing him might be mercy."
Garran's voice dropped. "Or betrayal."
---
Spirit Archives – Secret Chamber
Christian wandered late into the restricted wing, drawn by a whisper.
A hidden door opened—only for him.
Inside: a shrine to the Flamebearers of the First Era. On the wall, an old prophecy, written in ash-scorched ink.
> "The Ember will awaken the Eye, the Eye will choose the Gate, and the Gatekeeper will stand before the First Flame.
If he bends, the world shall burn.
If he breaks… the world shall drown."
Christian stared at it.
"I was never meant to survive this."
A presence stirred behind him.
"You weren't chosen to survive," a low voice said. "You were chosen to decide."
Christian turned.
A figure cloaked in flickering light—half-human, half-ash—stood at the edge of the chamber.
A remnant spirit of the first Gatekeeper.
---
Nightfall – Dorm Rooftop
Kien found Christian staring at the stars again.
"You disappeared."
"I found a spirit. A Gatekeeper who failed."
"What did he say?"
"That I'm already walking further than he did. And if I go too far… I won't be Christian anymore."
Kien looked at him, fierce and soft at once.
"Then I'll remind you who you are. Even if the whole world forgets."
He smiled faintly.
Then froze.
Because from deep within the ground… he felt it.
A summoning had begun.
Something ancient was stirring. Not at the Gate. But within the academy itself.
---
Final Scene – Below the Academy
In a long-forgotten underground chamber, Liora's faction performed a secret ritual—meant to reveal the truth of the Ember Mark.
But what they summoned… wasn't truth.
It was a spirit with no name. A remnant of the First Sin's breath—a flicker of what came before Void and Flame.
It opened its eyes.
And smiled.
---
To Be Continued…