Arrow That Sang

The courtyard was quieter today.

No rune poles. No drills. Just the afternoon hum of insects and a low wind combing through the dry grass. Most students were inside, sheltering from the sun or finishing lunch.

But three figures remained near the archery field — the battered dummies lined up like ghosts of past sessions, their targets faded but still standing.

Irna sat beneath the edge of a broken canopy, guzheng balanced across her knees. She was alone, but not unwatched.

Dessie stood halfway down the field, bow loose in her grip, pretending not to look her way.

Kaiden had been called off to help Mrs. Maiven carry boxes — which meant Dessie had made a beeline for the archery zone again, and had made sure Irna saw her.

Three perfect shots later, Dessie finally turned, brushing back her hair with a smirk.

[ Dessie ]

"Still playing tunes no one asked for?"

Irna's fingers paused over the strings.

"Or was that little serenade the only trick up your sleeves?"

The words bit — more because they were loud enough to echo than because they surprised her. Irna had heard the shift in Dessie's tone ever since that day on the wall. Not fear. Not anger.

Territory.

Dessie flung another arrow, this time without looking. It thunked close to the center, cocky and unbothered.

"Kaiden doesn't need music."

"He needs someone who can shoot."

Irna blinked.

Her thumb dropped lightly on the guzheng's neck — but this time, she didn't pluck a clean note. She shifted her grip. Adjusted the angle. Like she'd seen Dessie do a hundred times.

Then — slowly, deliberately — she pulled a different string.

Not a song.

A stance.

A question in motion.

Æsther stirred.

For a moment, the world blurred like heat waves.

[ HEART STATUS - UPDATE ]

[ Irna Nguyen (Heavenreach Academy - Ardent Stromhold Kingdom) ]

[ Trait Activated: Æstheric Archer ]

[ Elemental Properties: Light ]

[ Ammunition Limit: 99 ]

[ Skill Acquired: Bow Mastery • Tier I ]

An arrow shimmered into existence midair, spinning into form above the guzheng like a silent answer. Slender, silvered, its body strung with threads of pure resonance.

Irna didn't hesitate.

She let it fly.

The arrow vanished a breath after leaving her, dissolving into the wind like mist — gone before it even reached the halfway mark.

Dessie opened her mouth to gloat —

Thunk.

Dead center.

A perfect bullseye.

The æsther arrow reappeared in the middle of the dummy's target, humming faintly, embedded so cleanly it looked painted on.

Dessie's eyes widened.

[ Irna (quietly, under her breath) ]

"I can shoot arrows too..."

A second arrow formed above the strings — sharper this time, like it had heard her claim and agreed.

[ Dessie ]

"H-Hold on."

"That was..."

[ Irna ]

"Accidental?"

"Maybe."

She met Dessie's gaze.

"Or maybe it's what happens when you stop playing someone else's song."

She drew again. Another silver thread strung arrow flashed into view, barely tangible, like a wish more than a weapon.

She plucked. The sound didn't matter — only the shape, the form, the feeling she poured into it.

Shing!

Gone again.

Then —

Thunk.

Another perfect bullseye.

This time, Dessie didn't speak.

She lowered her bow just a little, her fingers trembling.

[ Irna ]

"You shoot well, Dessie."

"But Kaiden's not a trophy."

[ Dessie ]

"I-I never said... !"

[ Irna ]

"You didn't have to."

Another arrow hovered, trembling faintly, waiting for her resolve.

But Irna simply rested her hand against the guzheng's lacquered edge and exhaled. Her heart was pounding — but not from fear. From clarity. From the sense that something inside her had finally aligned.

Dessie stood silent, arms limp at her sides. For the first time, she looked... unsure.

Neither spoke.

Eventually, Kaiden returned from the hallway with a half-box of training scrolls and a stick of candy sticking from his mouth, blinking at the tension in the air. He tilted his head at the target, then at the guzheng, then at both girls.

[ Kaiden ]

"...Did I miss something cool?"

Dessie turned sharply and stormed off with a scoff, muttering something about "wasting arrows on show-offs."

Kaiden scratched his head.

"I was gone five minutes."

Irna didn't answer. She was still looking at the bullseye — at the faint shimmer that lingered there like a memory.

The arrow had disappeared again.

◈◈◈

The whispers didn't take long.

By the time Irna returned to the dorm that evening, three students had already breathlessly recounted the event to anyone who'd listen.

"She made an arrow out of music!"

"No, no — it wasn't music!"

"It was æsther, like, actual æsther arrows!"

"I swear it just blinked into the dummy. Like teleportation! Like poof, thunk!"

Veronika found out before dinner.

She leaned over the edge of the dorm's second floor, arms crossed.

[ Instructor Veronika ]

"Nguyen."

Irna froze with one foot on the stairs.

[ Irna ]

"Y-Yes, ma'am?"

[ Instructor Veronika ]

"Come to the courtyard after dusk. Bring the guzheng."

[ Irna ]

"Am I... in trouble?"

[ Instructor Veronika ]

"You awakened a rare archetype in front of half the school."

"You think I'm going to scold you?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"I want to see it."

"Myself."

"And I bet a Skyward representative will ask for a demonstration later."

"So I need to be sure."

"Who would've thought..."

"An Ironroot unlocking Æstheric Archer before any of their prodigies."

Irna blinked. Then nodded. Hard.

Back in the dorm, Peggy practically tackled her.

[ Peggy ]

"YOU."

"ICON."

"LEGEND!"

"I can't believe it!"

"You really sniped her!"

"I mean... like really, really sniped her."

[ Irna ]

"Peggy, please, I didn't mean to..."

[ Peggy ]

"Oh, hush it..."

"It's about time she stopped tossing glances like Kaiden was a snack tray."

She wiggled her eyebrows.

[ Peggy ]

"So?"

"You gonna tell him now?"

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

"'Kaiden, I like you more than songs and stars~'"

[ Irna (red-faced) ]

"No!"

"And I don't..."

"It's not — we're seven!!"

[ Peggy (grinning) ]

"You're right."

'Too young for stars."

"But maybe just enough for one arrow to the heart~"

Irna tossed a pillow at her.

But inside…

She didn't deny it.

As news of Irna's awakening spread, Veronika began drawing up personalized training regimes. Meanwhile, Kaiden, unaware of the emotional fallout, returns with news from Maiven: their next class will be practical æsther control — paired exercise.

Irna's arrows had sung.

But next…

They would clash.

Swords. Spells. Strings.

And not everyone would leave the field happy.