Academia - Ability Wielders

Chapter 11.2

Chapter 11.2 - The Heart of Astrails

Part II - The Cores

The heartbeat echoed through the sanctuary.

Thump.

The sound no longer came only from the Aether Heart.

It came from everyone standing within its light.

Fin pressed a hand against her chest.

Her heartbeat...

Had synchronized with the crystal.

Around her, silver threads of light slowly emerged, drifting from the Heart like strands of moonlight caught in the wind. They circled each person before fading into tiny sparks.

Priston reached out instinctively.

One thread wrapped itself around his wrist before disappearing.

"...Did anyone else see that?"

"I did."

Selene answered.

"So did I."

Zanne's voice was quieter.

"They aren't random."

He adjusted the broken frame of his glasses, forgetting again that they were cracked beyond repair.

"They're responding to us."

Before anyone could ask another question...

The Aether Heart pulsed once more.

This time, the sanctuary transformed again.

The beautiful city of Elysion dissolved into countless fragments of light.

Another vision appeared.

This one was different.

Dark.

Violent.

The sky burned crimson.

The magnificent crystal towers lay in ruins.

Families fled through smoke-covered streets while monstrous shadows descended from the heavens.

Children cried.

Warriors fell.

The rivers of light had become rivers of blood.

Fin felt her stomach twist.

"...The war."

Elara nodded sadly.

"The First Hollow War."

She watched the destruction with haunted eyes.

"No history book tells what truly happened."

"They only remember who won."

A younger Elara stood upon a battlefield.

She looked almost exactly like the woman standing beside Fin now, except her silver armor gleamed beneath the dying sunlight.

Around her stood six other warriors.

Each wore different armor.

Different weapons.

Different crests.

Yet all bore the same seven-pointed star somewhere upon their clothing.

"They're..."

Fin whispered.

"The Starborn."

"Yes."

Elara answered.

"The Seven Queens."

Priston blinked.

"...Queens?"

"There were seven of you?"

"Not by blood."

Elara smiled softly.

"By choice."

The image sharpened.

Each queen stepped forward one by one.

A woman with crimson hair wielded flames that resembled phoenix wings.

Another commanded oceans with a graceful sweep of her hand.

A tall warrior in emerald armor caused forests to rise from barren earth.

One smiled while lightning danced around her fingertips.

Another commanded ice so pure it shimmered like glass.

The sixth manipulated the wind itself.

Finally...

Elara.

The seventh.

She carried no visible element.

Only a silver sword glowing with starlight.

"The first Ability Wielders."

Zanne breathed.

"No..."

Elara gently corrected him.

"The first Guardians."

The battlefield erupted.

Thousands of Hollow charged.

The Seven Queens fought together.

Not one led.

Not one followed.

They moved as equals.

Flames intertwined with water.

Lightning danced through storms summoned by the wind.

Forests erupted beneath advancing armies.

Ice became bridges.

Light became hope.

Fin watched in complete awe.

"They're incredible."

"They trusted each other."

Orion spoke quietly.

"They never fought alone."

His eyes lingered on Elara.

"I had forgotten how beautiful that battlefield was."

Priston glanced sideways.

"You were there?"

Orion nodded.

"I was a young captain."

"I thought they were invincible."

His smile faded.

"They weren't."

The vision darkened.

One by one...

The Queens began falling.

The Queen of Fire shielded civilians from an avalanche of darkness.

She never stood again.

The Queen of Water exhausted herself holding back an entire sea corrupted by the Void.

She smiled as the others escaped.

Then disappeared beneath black waves.

The Queen of Wind fell protecting the youngest soldiers.

The Queen of Earth remained behind to stop an entire mountain from collapsing onto a nearby village.

Every sacrifice bought another day.

Another chance.

Another generation.

Fin couldn't stop the tears gathering in her eyes.

"They knew..."

"They were going to die."

"Yes."

Elara answered.

"They still smiled."

Finally...

Only Elara remained.

She stood before Noctis.

Not the grieving boy.

Not the lonely orphan.

The Hollow King.

The two stared at one another across a battlefield littered with broken weapons and fallen stars.

"You don't have to do this."

Elara pleaded.

Noctis's younger self looked exhausted.

"I already have."

"There is still good inside you."

"There was."

"You can still choose."

"I made my choice the day the Heart abandoned her."

His voice cracked for the first time.

"And you..."

His golden eyes shimmered with tears.

"...keep asking me to lose people."

"I won't."

Elara whispered.

"I promise."

He laughed bitterly.

"You already have."

Then...

The vision froze.

Fin slowly looked toward the present-day Noctis.

His eyes never left the memory.

For the first time...

He looked less like a king.

More like a man who had spent thousands of years reliving the worst day of his life.

Elara spoke gently.

"Do you remember what happened next?"

Noctis remained silent.

"You couldn't kill me."

"I should have."

"You couldn't."

"Because..."

She smiled sadly.

"...you still believed someone could save you."

The Hollow King's jaw tightened.

"Enough."

"No."

Elara's voice became firm.

"You've spent centuries telling only half the story."

The memory resumed.

Young Elara stepped forward.

Instead of attacking...

She embraced him.

The battlefield fell silent.

Even the Hollow stopped moving.

Noctis stood frozen.

His sword slipped from his fingers.

"...Why?"

He whispered.

"You've destroyed everything."

Elara held him tighter.

"Because..."

Her voice trembled.

"...someone should have done this for the little boy who lost his only friend."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Fin felt something inside her chest break.

Priston looked away, unable to hide the moisture in his eyes.

Even Selene quietly wiped a tear from her cheek.

Only Noctis remained expressionless.

But his hands...

Were trembling.

The vision dissolved.

The sanctuary returned.

The Heart of Astralis floated peacefully above them.

Noctis stared at the crystal.

"...I remember."

His voice was almost inaudible.

"I hated her for that."

"Because kindness..."

Elara replied.

"...is harder to fight than hatred."

The Hollow King slowly closed his eyes.

For the first time in thousands of years...

He looked tired.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like the weight of centuries had finally settled onto his shoulders.

Before anyone could speak—

A sharp crack echoed throughout the sanctuary.

CRACK.

Everyone looked toward the Aether Heart.

A thin black fracture had appeared across its flawless surface.

Then another.

And another.

The gentle heartbeat faltered.

The sanctuary shook violently.

Silver flowers withered in seconds.

The light dimmed.

Elara's expression changed instantly.

"No..."

Orion stepped forward.

"What is it?"

She looked at the spreading cracks in horror.

"The Heart..."

"...is dying."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Noctis slowly opened his eyes.

His expression hardened once again.

"I warned you."

The darkness around him began to rise.

"When the Heart weakens..."

He raised his hand toward the fractured crystal.

"...the Void answers."

The sanctuary trembled harder than ever before.

From somewhere far beyond the ruined palace...

A deafening roar shook the earth.

Not one made by Noctis.

Not one made by the Hollow.

Something else...

Something ancient...

Had awakened beneath Astralis.

And every person in the sanctuary instinctively realized the same terrifying truth.

Noctis...

...was no longer the only threat.