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Chapter 6: The Fractured Awakening
The sky above the Academy grounds simmered in hues of burnt orange, the dusk breeze gently rustling the trees as the training fields lay soaked in the sweat and energy of yet another intense session. Students were packing their weapons, dusting off their robes, laughter and chatter rippling through the air. But amidst it all, Leon stood unnaturally still.
His heart pounded in erratic rhythms, his breath shallow yet searing. A sudden heat surged up his spine—a familiar fire, yet wild and untamed. He stumbled, clutching his chest as a pain unlike anything he'd felt before rippled through his bones. His vision blurred, his legs buckled.
And then—
A blast of invisible pressure rippled outward.
Students nearby turned in alarm, some thrown back by the shockwave. A few screamed his name.
"Leon?!"
He collapsed.
His body trembled violently on the ground, like a vessel cracking under pressure. Veins along his arms flared a glowing blue, then gold, before dimming to a deadly grey. His breath came in gasps, his eyes rolled back. He had no idea his soul was trying to force itself into the Fourth Class—something considered suicidal without years of preparation.
And Leon was barely fifteen.
---
The Infirmary, Moments Later
The infirmary buzzed with urgency. The Headmaster, Aldric, appeared with a gust of wind, arriving faster than any healer could have. His sharp eyes scanned Leon's limp form, his body twitching under the strain of internal rupture. His soul core was overclocked, and parts of his spiritual web were tearing apart from within.
"Out," he ordered the worried students crowding the room. "Now."
"But—!" said Mira, fists clenched.
"I said out."
Reluctantly, his friends stepped back. As they exited, the doors sealed behind them.
Aldric slowly drew a small glass vial from beneath his cloak. Inside shimmered a radiant, opalescent liquid—the Elixir of Marivale, a one-time divine-class potion capable of healing the body and spirit. A treasure kept sealed for over a hundred years.
A senior instructor gasped from the side. "You're not actually going to waste that on a first-year?! That potion is meant for war emergencies or the Kingdom's future heirs!"
"This child," Aldric replied, eyes hardening, "is something more than just a student. And if his body is already attempting to ascend to the Fourth Class at this age… without his conscious effort…"
He uncorked the vial, its glow spilling over Leon's broken form.
"I can't risk losing him."
With practiced hands, he let the liquid pour into Leon's mouth. It shimmered as it passed his lips, disappearing into his core. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the room lit up.
Runes burned into the walls. The floor cracked beneath him. Leon's body arched violently once before relaxing into a peaceful unconsciousness. His breathing stabilized. The fractures in his spirit web began knitting themselves together. The blue-gold aura returned, faint but stable.
---
Within Leon's Mind
A soft presence stirred inside the recovering void of his mind—a voice, calm and layered with authority.
"When you awaken, come to me. No more hiding. I want your full story, Leon."
It was Aldric. Not his voice, but his soul signal—a mental message sent directly into Leon's subconscious. It was not a request. It was a command… lined with curiosity and restraint.
Then, the presence faded, leaving Leon in healing slumber.
---
Later That Evening
Leon lay still in the infirmary bed, breathing evenly under enchanted sheets. His friends, Mira, Kael, and Darian, were finally allowed in.
"He looks... peaceful," Mira whispered, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead.
"What the hell happened to him?" Kael muttered. "He was fine. Then just... collapsed."
"His body's stronger now," Darian said, his voice low. "But something about him feels... different."
Aldric watched them from afar, his face unreadable.
"The boy doesn't even know what he's becoming," he thought. "And that... might be the most dangerous thing of all."
He turned and walked away into the night, leaving Leon in the warmth of his friends, the echoes of his past silently preparing to awaken.
---
The moon hung low over Eldoria Academy, its silver glow washing the spires in quiet contemplation. Headmaster Aldric stood at the edge of the Astral Tower, hands behind his back, eyes narrowed toward the horizon.
He had silenced his quarters with a powerful ward—none of the instructors were permitted to disturb him tonight. Not after what he'd just witnessed.
A boy unknowingly pushing into the Fourth Class. Unconscious. Unprepared. And surviving.
No amount of theory could explain this.
He turned to the small orb hovering above his desk. With a flick of his finger, the surface rippled like water.
> Subject: Leon Aurelian
Age: 15
Background: Unknown prior to age 9.
Is said to be from the fallen house of Akros.
Recovered from ruins near the Black Hollow Ridge. Memory fractured.
Aldric whispered, "Black Hollow Ridge... the last known site of the Soulbreaker Cataclysm."
That should have been coincidence. But too many things weren't aligning.
First, the sheer density of Leon's aura—it wasn't just potent, it was… layered, like a sealed inheritance trying to awaken. Second, the way his spirit web had reformed after using the Elixir. Normally, even divine potions left traces of the original rupture. Leon's web? Flawless.
Almost… reforged. Like it had been broken before.
Aldric turned to the ancient bookshelf behind him, pulling out a long-forbidden scroll — one only Headmasters were allowed to read. A document that chronicled rare anomalies in human evolution — Class Revolutions, where the very laws of cultivation had broken in favor of something new.
He slowly read the passage he remembered from years ago:
> "Should a child bear the weight of two awakenings, their soul shall scream through the void and bind itself to Fate. Such a being may forge a new path… or become the end of all others."
Aldric stared at the candlelight. "Is that what you are, Leon? A mistake in the world's design… or its evolution?"
---
In the Shadowed Halls Below
In the eastern wing of the Academy, hidden in a chamber few remembered, a cloaked figure stood beside a mirror of black stone. The mirror shimmered as the figure traced Leon's name into its surface.
A guttural voice whispered from beyond the glass:
> "He stirs again. The vessel lives."
The figure clenched their fists.
> "This time, we'll be ready. Before he remembers who he really is."
---
Infirmary — Midnight
Leon stirred beneath enchanted silk sheets, his body still aching faintly, but no longer broken. Cool air brushed his skin as he turned his head slowly, blinking against the low lantern glow. The room was empty… or so it seemed.
He sat up.
Then it struck him—
A deep pulse in his chest, like something had changed inside him, something new… or something old that had returned.
His eyes flicked to his hands. For a brief second, his fingertips glowed a faint crimson-gold, the same color as the stars he used to dream about.
What... was that?
Suddenly, his mind split—a burst of pain, then—
FLASH.
A field of ruins, red lightning cracking across a shattered sky.
Blood. Screams. A tall shadow with glowing white eyes stood in front of him.
A voice, familiar yet forgotten, cried out in desperation:
> "Leon! You mustn't awaken again!"
Then—
FLASH.
A soft voice… calling his name.
A child's hand reaching toward him.
And then darkness.
Leon gasped, nearly falling off the bed.
His heart thundered. These weren't just dreams. These were memories—locked away, sealed behind layers of spiritual fog. But now… something was unraveling.
A whisper echoed faintly in his head.
> "You've awakened once… and the world has already begun to shift."
---
Astral Tower – Same Time
Aldric gripped the railing as another tremor rippled through the tower. This time it wasn't from Leon's body. It was from the world itself, responding to a power long-dormant finally stirring again.
"Gods help us," he muttered, eyes sharp.
Behind him, a soft voice approached.
It was Seraphina, his daughter, dressed in silver robes. Her tone calm, but curious.
"Was it him again?" she asked softly.
Aldric didn't turn. "Yes. And we're running out of time."
---
Infirmary — As Silence Returns
Leon sat still, sweat trailing down his neck, hands clenched tight.
But amidst the chaos in his mind, one thought stood above the rest:
> "I've been here before… Haven't I?"
Just then, the door creaked open. Mira peeked in, eyes wide with relief.
"You're awake!"
Kael and Darian followed behind, trying to hide their panic behind forced grins.
Leon forced a tired smile, but his gaze lingered on the night sky through the window—on the stars that somehow felt… too familiar.
He didn't know it yet, but this moment would mark the true beginning of his legend.
The world had no idea what was coming.