Narrator (Opening Voice):Truth is like glass—once shattered, the light bends through it in new, strange ways. Some truths ignite bonds. Others awaken echoes from long-buried places. As our story deepens, hearts stir and hidden forces awaken. But what lies beyond the fall of silence… might be far more dangerous than any sword.
Scene: The Day After the Training Battle
The sun rose slow over Vantaria Academy, its light cold and pale—an odd shift from the usual golden hue. Kael stared at his ceiling, arms behind his head, thoughts swirling like stormwinds.
Riven was a girl.
Not that it changed who she was—she was still the same calm, sharp, unpredictable teammate—but somehow… it did. That secret had weight. It had feeling. It wasn't just about identity—it was about trust.
He sat up with a sigh. "And I didn't even get to say anything after."
"Because you stared at her like she grew wings," Zayen muttered from his bed, eyes still closed. "You're subtle as thunder, Kael."
Kael threw a pillow at him.
Scene: The Garden Cliff
Riven stood at the edge of the northern cliffs near the academy gardens, where wild aetherflowers grew and petals shimmered in midair. The wind danced through her now-unmasked silver hair.
She felt… different.
Not weaker. Not stronger.
But exposed.
It wasn't just the secret. It was that Kael saw her, really saw her, and didn't flinch.
But also… he didn't speak.
Not then. Not even after.
"He's probably confused," she whispered, touching the pendant hidden beneath her tunic—a shard of blue crystal that pulsed faintly with warmth. A family keepsake… or perhaps more than that.
Scene: Dining Hall
The mood was quieter than usual.
Even students who had seen the mock battle the day before felt the tension. Whispers had begun—about Riven, about Kael, about what exactly happened when the simulation broke early.
Kael sat with Zayen, pretending to eat.
Zayen tapped his tray with a spoon. "So. You're gonna talk to her today?"
"I'm giving her space."
Zayen blinked. "Or maybe you're scared."
Kael glared. "I'm not scared. It's just… I don't want to mess it up. She risked everything."
Zayen leaned back with a grin. "Then don't mess it up."
Across the hall, Riven walked in.
Their eyes met.
A thousand unspoken words passed between them.
Scene Shift: Archives — "The Whispering Scrolls"
Later that day, Zayen—curious about something he'd noticed during the battle—visited the school's old archives. There, among the dusted texts and floating pages, he found a name glowing faintly on a scroll:
"Crown Trial: Layer Three – The Soulfruit Convergence."
He froze.
Soulfruit?
A term never mentioned in class, not in any common texts.
But the scroll shimmered and locked itself shut the moment he touched it.
"What the hell was that?" he muttered.
A librarian—a tall, eerie old man with storm-colored eyes—appeared out of nowhere. "Not everything in Vantaria is for your eyes yet, boy. Curiosity carries a price."
Zayen frowned. "I'm not afraid of the price."
"You will be… when the fruit chooses."
Scene: The Bridge at Sunset
Kael finally approached Riven.
She stood at the edge of the academy's wind bridge, where skyrails lit up like constellations at night.
"I didn't say anything because I didn't want to ruin the moment," Kael said.
Riven didn't respond at first.
"Riven—no. Whatever your real name is—I don't care. I just care that it was you who saved me. Fought beside me. Trusted me enough to show me who you are."
Silence.
Then—she turned, face soft.
"My name is Riven. That part's real. Always was."
Kael took a step closer.
"I want to know more. If you'll let me."
A pause. Then the smallest, rarest thing happened—
She smiled.
Soft, uncertain, but real.
Sudden Disturbance — Rift Alert
Before the moment could stretch further, sirens echoed through the sky.
A rift breach.
Emergency lights flared in the distance.
An aether anomaly had opened outside the southern gate—where no rift had appeared in years.
Kael and Riven looked at each other.
"No time for awkward confessions," she muttered, pulling her blade.
Kael grinned. "You were about to confess?"
She rolled her eyes. "Move."
Scene: Outside the South Gate
Zayen was already on site, crackling with unstable aether energy. His power was pulsing again, time slightly off. It was like the loop was… rewinding by itself.
"What's causing this?" Kael asked.
A shadow slithered from the rift—shifting between forms, glitching through reality. Not a beast. Not a wraith.
Something… older.
It hissed a word:
"Fruit…"
Kael and Riven tensed.
Zayen whispered, "I think we just stepped into the next layer of the Trials."
Narrator (Closing Voice):What starts with a smile may end in silence. What begins as trust may spiral into sacrifice. The Soulfruit stirs. The Crown Trials awaken. And hearts once hidden are now caught in the storm