The Lion Roar
871 Words
Morning arrived with an uneasy calm.
The broken windows of Amara's house had somehow repaired themselves overnight. Not a single shard of glass remained on the floor. Even the cracked walls looked untouched.
Only the overturned furniture reminded them that the previous night had been real.
Tobi rubbed his eyes.
"Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that's impossible."
Professor Rowan adjusted his glasses as he examined the room.
"The Sanctuary is protecting its heir. Magic has a way of hiding itself from ordinary eyes."
Amara touched the necklace around her neck.
It had been strangely quiet since Lucien disappeared.
No whispers.
No visions.
Only silence.
"I don't like this," she admitted.
"The calm before a storm," Rowan replied. "Lucien won't stay away for long."
He unfolded the newspaper again and placed it on the table.
"The University of Calabar," he said, pointing to the article. "That's where the lightning strike happened."
"The boy with the lion pendant?"
"The Heir of Leo."
Amara took a deep breath.
"Then we leave today."
The three of them boarded the first bus heading toward Calabar.
The journey was long, winding through forests and villages washed clean by the previous day's rain.
Amara sat by the window, watching the trees blur past.
For the first time in years, she was leaving home without knowing if she would ever return.
She closed her eyes.
Almost immediately, she heard it.
A heartbeat.
Not her own.
Slow.
Powerful.
Like the rhythm of distant thunder.
She opened her eyes.
The heartbeat stopped.
Across the aisle, an old woman smiled knowingly before stepping off the bus at the next stop.
When Amara looked through the window, the woman had vanished.
By afternoon, they arrived at the university.
Students hurried between lecture halls, laughing, chatting, and carrying books. The campus buzzed with ordinary life.
It felt impossible that one of them might hold the power of an ancient guardian.
Professor Rowan led them toward the engineering faculty.
"The article said the lightning struck during a practical class."
As they approached the building, a loud crash echoed from inside.
Students rushed out in panic.
"What happened?"
"The ceiling collapsed!"
"No—it exploded!"
Amara exchanged a worried glance with Tobi.
They pushed through the crowd.
Inside the laboratory, sparks flew from shattered equipment.
At the center of the room stood a tall young man, no older than twenty-one.
His dark curls were slightly singed, but he appeared completely unharmed.
Around his neck hung a silver pendant shaped like a lion.
His golden-brown eyes widened as they met Amara's.
For a split second...
The world froze.
The lion pendant glowed.
So did Amara's necklace.
A brilliant beam of silver light connected the two.
The air vibrated.
The students screamed and fled.
The young man stared at Amara in shock.
"What... are you?"
Before she could answer, the laboratory doors burst open.
Three figures dressed in black cloaks stepped inside.
Each bore the black eclipse symbol on their hands.
One of them smiled.
"We've found the Lion."
Professor Rowan's face turned pale.
"Shadow Hunters."
The tallest hunter raised his hand.
Dark spears erupted from the floor.
"Run!" Rowan shouted.
The young man instinctively stepped in front of Amara.
"I don't know what's happening," he said, "but nobody's getting hurt."
The lead hunter laughed.
"Brave."
He lunged forward.
The young man clenched his fists.
A deep golden light erupted from his body.
A massive lion made entirely of blazing energy appeared behind him, its mane crackling like sunlight.
The lion released a deafening roar.
The shockwave blasted through the laboratory, shattering every remaining window.
The Shadow Hunters were thrown backward into the walls.
Even Amara had to shield her eyes.
When the light faded, the young man stared at his glowing hands in disbelief.
"I... I did that?"
Professor Rowan smiled.
"Welcome, heir of Leo."
The young man looked from Rowan to Amara.
"My name is Kieran Adeyemi."
Amara smiled despite the chaos around them.
"I'm Amara."
Before they could say another word, the lead Shadow Hunter slowly stood.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he was smiling.
"Excellent."
He pulled a small black crystal from his cloak.
"This is exactly what Lord Lucien wanted."
He crushed it in his hand.
The room went silent.
Outside, clouds rolled across the sky with unnatural speed.
A dark circle began to form above the university.
Professor Rowan's expression turned to horror.
"No..."
"What is it?" Amara asked.
"That isn't a storm."
The dark circle expanded until it covered the sun.
Students all over campus stopped and looked upward.
From the center of the darkness, dozens of glowing crimson eyes slowly opened.
Something enormous was watching them from beyond the sky.
Professor Rowan whispered words Amara wished she had never heard.
"The Void has seen you."
Far away, in the hidden halls of the Eclipse Order, Lucien stood before a wall-sized map marked with twelve glowing constellations.
Two of them—Virgo and Leo—now burned brightly.
He smiled.
"The game has truly begun."
As he turned away, another constellation flickered to life on the map.
It was not one he had expected.
Someone else had awakened... without the necklace calling them.
- Writer
