Whispers of Corruption

The academy grounds had never been so quiet.

No, this silence felt wrong—heavy, suffocating.

Kael leaned against the wall of the eastern wing, arms crossed.

Above him, the grand clock tower loomed.

Around him, whispers floated—

"Did you hear about Xyl? He… he couldn't control it—nearly killed someone in training," a girl's voice trembled.

"They're saying he took one of those pills. You know, those pills," another replied, barely above a whisper.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

His gaze shifted to the courtyard below, where groups of students milled about, their laughter forced, their movements jittery.

The tension was palpable, crawling under his skin.

"Another one," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

It wasn't the first incident.

In the past week alone, three students had succumbed to the Abyssal, unnatural power that had started to plague the academy.