AfterShock Academy Chapter 8
656 Words
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## **Chapter 8: Phase Two — Blood in the Garden**
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### **Scene 1: The Crimson Bloom**
The Nova Core Academy greenhouse was supposed to be peaceful.
But tonight?
It bled red.
A trail of broken flowerpots, crushed leaves, and shattered glass led through the garden path. The flowers Minnie had helped plant were ruined. In the center, something twisted sat between the roots—a **crimson Linzite shard**, glowing like it had been torn from a monster’s chest.
Wah was the first to find it. He dropped his metal gauntlets in shock.
“Yo… this isn’t normal energy. It’s tainted.”
Luke stepped beside him, eyes scanning. His aura flared slightly, reacting to the shard’s pulse.
“This wasn’t a warning.”
Giant analyzed the particle waves. “It was a declaration.”
Boy looked around. “Where’s Minnie?”
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### **Scene 2: Shadow Lullaby**
Elsewhere in the academy, Minnie wandered the halls. Something was off—colors seemed dull, footsteps echoed too long, and every corner felt like it was watching her.
A faint hum filled the air… almost like music.
“...Minnie...”
She froze.
It was a voice she hadn’t heard in years.
“Dad…?”
She followed it like a sleepwalker, passing an empty classroom, her eyes glazed, footsteps light. Behind her, shadows rippled unnaturally.
In the Reflection Room—used for meditation—Minnie stepped inside… and the door slammed shut.
From the ceiling, Lura appeared, strands of illusion-thread wrapped around her fingers like puppet strings.
“Let’s play a memory game,” she smiled coldly.
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### **Scene 3: Interception Squad**
Giant’s scanners blinked red.
“I found her. Room 13, eastern wing.”
“Move!” Luke ordered.
The squad sprinted through the Skyrail tunnels, ignoring curfew alarms. Boy zipped ahead, using a wind jump to reach the second floor. Wah magnetized the doorknob from afar, yanking it off its hinges.
Luke kicked through the shimmering barrier—crackling with illusion magic—and burst into the Reflection Room.
Minnie lay paralyzed in the air, wrapped in light-threads. Lura stood calmly behind her.
“You’re not ready for this level,” she whispered.
Luke raised his sword, aura burning sky blue. “Then let me level up.”
He swung—slicing through the illusion midair.
But it was too late.
Lura vanished into purple smoke, and Minnie hit the floor, unconscious. The mark on her neck was **glowing again**—but now it had **evolved**.
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### **Scene 4: The Nexus Within**
Back at the Echo Ruins, Minnie lay on a scanner bed while Giant calibrated.
“There’s… something *else* now. This mark… it’s rewriting part of her aura.”
Wah frowned. “Like... giving her Nexus energy?”
“No,” Giant said. “Like *waking up* something that was always there.”
Luke stood silent, thinking.
“Nexus didn’t mark her for weakness… they marked her for potential.”
Boy crossed his arms. “She could be one of them?”
“No,” Luke replied. “She’s one of us. But they want her to forget that.”
A second silence fell—heavier than the first.
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### **Scene 5: Blood in the Garden**
The group returned to the greenhouse to investigate the crimson shard again—but this time, it was gone.
In its place was a message burned into the wall.
**“You’ve only seen the garden. Wait till you feel the thorns.”**
Luke touched the scorch mark.
“They’re planning something.”
Giant pulled up the map. “They’ve started *Phase Three.* ”
Wah cracked his knuckles. “Then let’s break it before it blooms.”
Boy smirked. “We got gardeners now?”
Luke stepped into the moonlight, eyes locked on the distant tower beyond campus.
“No. We’ve got soldiers.”
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**To be continued…**
**Next Chapter: “Thorns and Traitors”**
- Writer
