Somewhere far from the Academy — across dying cities and long-forgotten borders — a fire burned in a circle that could not be extinguished.
In the center sat a boy.
Maybe sixteen.
Maybe eternal.
His eyes were black. Not the kind of black that comes from lack of light — but the black that burns.
His name was Nazu'el.
He was the Vessel of the Ash Serpent, the third Shadow.And unlike Rei…
He liked the thing inside him.
✦ City of Kindling
The ruins around him used to be a city. Once.Now it was a graveyard of emberstone and whispering ghosts.
Civilians fled days ago.The exorcists came next — and didn't leave.
"This area is contaminated," Nazu'el whispered, drawing a circle in the dirt with his fingertip."Not with poison. Not with magic."
"But with memory."
A tendril of smoke curled from his mouth as he exhaled.Around him, the Serpent of Ash stirred.
Its voice came in pieces — always near, never seen.
"The boy stirs."
"The Laughing one. The Smiling one. Your brother wakes."
Nazu'el smiled, but not cruelly.
"Good. I missed him."
"He has denied you."
"He denied you," Nazu'el corrected gently. "Not me."
"I understand him."
He stood, brushing ash off his coat. It didn't matter. The moment he moved, it returned.
"He was weak when we were born. But he was real."
"Now he has form. Teeth. Conflict."
"Now we can meet."
✦ A Trail of Burned Thoughts
In the city's center stood a spire — hollowed out, gutted by flame.Inside, glyphs glowed.Circles carved in the walls. Binding marks.
Something was trapped here.
Or rather… someone.
A survivor. A member of the Order of the Gleam — one of the exorcist sects.
She barely looked up when Nazu'el entered. Her lips were cracked. Her armor charred.
"You came back," she croaked.
Nazu'el knelt beside her.
"Did you think I wouldn't?"
"You destroyed the city."
"No," he said softly. "They destroyed the city."
"I just gave it a story."
The woman trembled.
"You're one of them. One of the Seven. Why are you here?"
Nazu'el leaned closer. His breath smelled of soot and something older.
"To listen. To wait."
"And to remind the world…"
The Serpent's voice echoed through his own:
"That just because we were forgotten…""…doesn't mean we forgave you."
The woman screamed.
And was ash.
✦ Aftermath
As the wind blew the last remnants of her into the ruins, Nazu'el turned east — toward the academy.
Toward Rei.
The Serpent's coils wrapped around his spine like smoke.
"He is learning. Growing. The Crucible did not kill him."
"It wasn't supposed to," Nazu'el whispered. "Let him walk a little further."
"Let him believe in control. In boundaries."
He smiled again.
"And then I'll remind him…""What the end of becoming really feels like."