(Finale of Volume 1)
Narrator:"And so the first arc nears its end—not in triumph, but in tremble. What was meant to crown them… might break them. But beneath it all, something older… something watching… finally moves."
Scene 1: The Day After
The aftermath of the first Crown Trial was a storm without thunder. No winner declared. No glory gained. Students whispered across the academy halls, heads low, nerves high. The judges had sealed the trial grounds. Professors spoke in fragments. And most disturbing of all—the throne had vanished.
Kael sat quietly under the willow tree behind the training cliffs, eyes shut, fingers twitching over invisible glyphs in the air. Not casting. Just… feeling.
Zayen leaned against the bark nearby, arms folded. "The glyph that girl stood on… it wasn't Vantarian. I scanned it. It wasn't even from this realm."
Kael opened his eyes slowly. "Then where?"
"I don't know," Zayen muttered. "But whatever it was… it called to you."
Kael's jaw clenched. "It said something about the Soulfruit."
Zayen blinked. "You… heard that too?"
Before Kael could respond, Riven Korr arrived, her hair loose in the breeze, her eyes gentler than ever.
"The next trial is in three days," she said. "But they're not calling it a trial. Just… a summon."
Kael looked up. "And the Judges?"
"They're gone."
Scene 2: The Summoning
Three days later, the trio entered the Council Spire, summoned with twenty other students. The sky above churned unnaturally as they passed through shimmering veils.
Inside the crystal chamber, five archways pulsed in blue flame. A voice echoed from the center.
"Those who stood closest to the glyph shall receive… remembrance."
The glyph reappeared mid-air. But this time, it opened like a window.
And through it…
They saw a land of fractured sky islands… bones of giants as tall as mountains… and a dying tree bleeding silver sap. At its base: a single fruit, pulsing, black-veined.
The Soulfruit.
Zayen stepped back. "This… this is where the glyph came from."
And then—
Boom.
The chamber cracked. The vision turned to fire. A single figure stepped through the portal.
A man—tall, cloaked in rust-red armor, with wild hair, storm-gray eyes, and a jagged scar over his left brow.
He raised a hand.
"You three… have seen too much."
Scene 3: A Fight, a Fire, a Glimpse of Power
The intruder moved with impossible speed. The guards fell without a sound. The students panicked.
Riven drew both blades, but was flung back by a wave of pressure.
Zayen gritted his teeth and spun up a new form of his loop—Tempo Reverse, making the man stumble for a brief second. But it wasn't enough.
Kael slammed both palms into the ground—Sketchstep cracked, overloaded, until a new symbol emerged, mid-air, glowing red:
Scriptweaver: Premonition Arc.
Time froze for a split second. Kael moved—then reality caught up, and the man staggered back with a slice across his shoulder.
He turned, smiling. "Interesting…"
But before he could retaliate—a blast of crimson light hit him from behind.
The figure skidded forward, cloak torn. He turned, growling.
And standing at the broken arch—
A stranger in a midnight-blue coat, wearing a silver-lined mask, voice calm and clear:
"That's enough."
Kael, Zayen, and Riven turned, stunned.
The masked figure raised one hand—and the entire glyph sealed shut with a single snap of his fingers. Magic like nothing they'd ever felt surged through the chamber, stabilizing it instantly.
The intruder growled. "You… shouldn't exist here."
The masked figure tilted his head. "And yet, here I am."
The two locked eyes—then, the man vanished in a swirl of rust-red sparks.
Scene 4: The Meeting
Later that night, Kael found the masked figure sitting by the academy's cliff edge.
"You saved us," Kael said.
The figure didn't turn. "I delayed the inevitable."
"Who are you?"
The figure stood, removing the mask halfway—just enough for Kael to see sharp eyes, black hair, and an aura like coiled stars.
"Names don't matter now. But you can call me… Vaelion.""I'm not from this chapter of the world.""But I've seen what comes next. And it's not a test. It's a trap."
He placed the mask back on. "I'll see you again, Virex. When the fruit calls for real."
And he vanished into the wind.
Scene 5: End of Volume 1
Back in the dorms, Riven patched up Zayen's arm.
He grinned at her. "Didn't expect you to jump in so fast."
She rolled her eyes. "Didn't expect you to fall so fast."
They both laughed, closer than ever now.
Kael stood by the window, looking out at the stars.
He saw it again. The glyph. The fruit. And a voice—his own voice—but older.
"You were never chosen. You were rewritten."
To Be Continued in Volume 2: "Fracture of the Crown"