THE RETURN OF MAGIC

The sky was burning. Not with ordinary fire. Blue flames twisted across the heavens like living creatures, swallowing stars one by one while thunder shook the world apart. Towers of crystal collapsed into glowing oceans beneath the storm, and thousands of shadow-like monsters crawled through the ruins of a once-great kingdom. Kai Storm ran through the destruction. He didn’t know where he was. Or why his chest hurt so badly. All he knew was that someone was shouting his name. KAI! A girl’s voice. Familiar. Desperate. He turned sharply. Far away, standing beneath a broken silver tower, was a girl surrounded by glowing moonlight. Her silver hair moved violently in the wind as darkness closed around her from every direction. Lyra. Kai wake up! The ground beneath him cracked open. A massive creature rose from the darkness below enormous wings, glowing red eyes, and a body covered in black armor like scales. Its roar shattered the air itself. Kai stumbled backward. Lightning passed around his hands. Bright blue energy burst through his veins painfully as strange glowing symbols appeared across his skin. The monster lunged toward him. Then Kai opened his eyes. He sat upright in bed, breathing heavily. Rain hammered against his bedroom window. Another nightmare. His chest rose and fell rapidly while sweat dripped down the side of his face. For a few seconds, he just stared into the darkness of his room, trying to calm his heartbeat. The same dream again. Every night for the past month. Same burning sky. Same monsters. Same girl calling his name. Kai rubbed his face tiredly before looking at the digital clock beside his bed. 2:47 AM Perfect, he muttered. Thunder rumbled outside. For some reason, storms had been happening almost every night lately. The weather reports kept calling it unusual climate activity, but Kai wasn’t buying it anymore. Something felt wrong. He got out of bed and walked toward the window. The city below glowed with thousands of lights despite the rain pouring endlessly from the dark clouds above. Cars moved slowly through wet streets while distant sirens echoed through the night. Everything looked normal. Yet Kai still felt uneasy. Like something was watching him. Suddenly A flash of blue lightning lit up the sky. For a split second, Kai saw something standing on the rooftop across from his apartment building. A person. Tall. Wearing black. Watching him. Kai froze. Another lightning flash came. The rooftop was empty. His stomach tightened nervously. Okay that’s creepy. He closed the curtains quickly and stepped away from the window. Maybe the nightmares were starting to mess with his head. At least school tomorrow might distract him. Hopefully. The next morning, the storm still hadn’t stopped. Students rushed through the front gates of Westbridge Academy while trying not to get soaked by the rain. Loud conversations filled the hallways as lockers slammed open and shut. Kai walked through the crowd quietly with headphones around his neck. KAI! Before he could turn around, someone jumped onto his back. You walk too fast, Jax complained dramatically. Kai nearly lost balance. ‘Get off me’ Jax Ryder laughed loudly before dropping back onto the floor. Unlike Kai, Jax never seemed serious about anything. His messy dark hair was soaking wet from the rain, and he somehow still looked energetic this early in the morning. You look terrible, Jax said. Nightmares again? Kai gave him a look. How do you always know? You have permanent tired eyes. Thanks. You’re welcome. A soft laugh interrupted them. Kai turned slightly. Lyra Moon stood nearby holding books against her chest. Her silver earrings reflected the hallway lights while strands of dark hair fell around her face. You really do look exhausted, she said gently. Kai suddenly forgot how to speak for a second. Jax smirked immediately. Ohhh, here we go Kai elbowed him hard. Lyra smiled slightly while shaking her head. Behind her, Elena Frost walked calmly through the hallway, perfectly composed as always, while Zion followed beside her with his usual unreadable expression. The group naturally gathered together like they always did. Five best friends. Completely ordinary students. At least that’s what they believed. None of them noticed the strange shadow moving silently across the ceiling above the m. Watching Waiting And far beneath the city Something ancient slowly began to wake up