The Vision
1144 Words
Chapter 4
The grand hall remained silent after Headmaster Orion’s speech.
Thousands of students stood beneath floating lights while banners from every magical family swayed gently above them. Yet despite the calm atmosphere, Elias could barely breathe.
The vision still burned inside his mind.
Blood across white stone floors.
The Tree of Life split apart.
Dark creatures crawling from beneath the roots.
And Aretha standing in the middle of the destruction with tears streaming down her face.
He stumbled backward slightly.
Nyra caught him before he fell.
“Elias,” she whispered urgently. “What did you see?”
He looked at her, pale with fear.
“I…” His voice shook. “I don’t know.”
But that was a lie.
He knew exactly what he saw.
And it terrified him.
At the front of the hall, Headmaster Orion continued speaking.
“First-year students will begin ability assessments tomorrow morning. Team placements will be announced tonight.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd immediately.
Team placements were important.
Students from different magical families trained together throughout the year. Some teams became legendary warriors, protectors, and leaders of Lumierre.
Others became disasters.
Liam crossed his arms.
“Hopefully I don’t get paired with idiots this year.”
Nyra rolled her eyes.
“You are the i***t this year.”
Before Liam could argue back, the giant academy doors suddenly burst open.
BOOM!
The sound echoed through the entire hall.
Students turned sharply.
A Fairy soldier rushed inside, breathing heavily.
Her metallic wings were scratched and damaged.
“Headmaster!”
Orion’s expression hardened instantly.
“What happened?”
The soldier knelt quickly.
“There was an attack near the northern barrier.”
The room exploded into whispers.
“Attack?”
“From who?”
“Dark creatures?”
The soldier swallowed hard.
“Shadow beasts.”
Silence fell instantly.
Even the professors looked alarmed.
Those creatures almost never appeared near Lumierre anymore.
Not since the war ended decades ago.
Orion stepped down from the platform immediately.
“How many?”
“Three confirmed.” The soldier’s voice trembled slightly. “But they weren’t ordinary creatures.”
A cold feeling spread through the room.
“Explain.”
The soldier hesitated.
Then slowly looked toward Aretha.
“They were searching for someone.”
Every eye in the grand hall turned toward her at once.
Aretha’s chest tightened.
Whispers spread immediately.
“It’s her…”
“The prophecy…”
“She brought them here.”
Liam stepped forward instantly.
“Enough.”
His deep voice silenced several nearby students.
But the tension remained.
Orion studied Aretha carefully.
Then finally spoke.
“Assembly dismissed.”
Students quickly began leaving the hall, though many continued glancing nervously toward Aretha as they passed.
Some looked curious.
Others afraid.
A few looked hateful.
Aretha lowered her eyes.
She suddenly felt completely out of place.
Like she didn’t belong here at all.
“You okay?”
She looked up.
Liam stood beside her now.
Closer than before.
His golden eyes held concern beneath their usual calm expression.
“I think everyone here wants me gone already,” she muttered quietly.
Nyra walked over beside them.
“Don’t take it personally.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“No,” Nyra said honestly. “It’s really not.”
Aretha blinked.
Nyra leaned against one of the crystal pillars casually.
“My family’s fairy bloodline fought in the war against the Dark Witches. Half the city expected me to become some perfect soldier before I could even walk.”
Her silver wings shifted slightly behind her.
“People in Lumierre judge fast.”
Caspian nodded quietly beside them.
“And fear spreads even faster.”
For the first time since arriving at the academy, Aretha felt slightly less alone.
Then Elias suddenly spoke.
“We should leave this hall.”
Everyone looked at him.
His face remained pale.
“Why?” Liam asked.
Elias stared toward the enormous stained-glass windows high above them.
“The shadows are moving.”
The moment he said it—
CRASH!
Every window in the hall exploded inward.
Students screamed.
Dark smoke poured violently into the chamber like living creatures.
Professors immediately raised magical barriers.
“What the hell?!”
Shadow beasts dropped from the ceiling.
Massive creatures with glowing red eyes and twisted black bodies.
The room erupted into chaos instantly.
One beast lunged toward a group of younger students—
Before a metallic wing sliced clean through its body.
Nyra landed hard beside the students, wings extended like silver blades.
“Move!”
Another creature attacked from above.
Caspian raised both hands instantly.
A wave of water exploded from nearby pipes and slammed the beast into a wall.
Liam’s eyes glowed gold as claws extended from his fingers.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered Aretha.
But the shadow creatures weren’t attacking randomly.
They ignored almost everyone else.
Their glowing red eyes locked onto Aretha.
And charged.
Three beasts rushed toward her at once.
Aretha froze.
Everything happened too fast.
Students screamed.
Magic exploded around the hall.
One creature leaped directly toward her—
Then suddenly—
Time slowed.
The strange burning beneath Aretha’s shoulder erupted violently.
Pain shot through her body.
And instinct took over.
Dark energy exploded outward from her hands.
BOOOOM!
The shadow beasts were thrown violently across the hall.
Every light inside the academy flickered.
Students crashed into walls from the force.
Silence followed instantly.
Aretha stood frozen in the center of the hall.
Black smoke curled around her fingers.
Her silver eyes glowed unnaturally bright.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Fear spread slowly across every face in the room.
Because the magic surrounding Aretha…
Was not Lumierre magic.
Headmaster Orion stared at her in disbelief.
“No…”
One professor whispered shakily:
“Shadow magic…”
The words spread through the hall like poison.
“Shadow magic?”
“She’s one of them…”
“She’s from the Dark Lord bloodline.”
Aretha looked down at her hands, horrified.
“I didn’t mean to—”
“GET AWAY FROM HER!”
A student shouted from the crowd.
More students backed away immediately.
Fear.
Panic.
Distrust.
Liam stepped in front of Aretha again without hesitation.
“Enough!” he roared.
His wolf aura exploded through the hall, forcing silence.
Nyra landed beside Aretha protectively while Caspian raised water barriers around them.
Even Elias moved closer despite the fear in his eyes.
The shadow creatures suddenly began screeching violently.
Then all at once—
They fled.
Disappearing into black smoke.
Leaving the destroyed hall behind.
Heavy silence remained.
And in the center of it all stood Aretha.
Shaking.
Terrified.
Exposed.
Far away in the Dark Lord City, Allan Dark sat quietly upon his throne as shadows danced around the room.
Then slowly—
He smiled.
“She’s awakening faster than I expected.”
- Writer
