THE MEETING OF THE SHADOWS

THE NIGHT BEFORE...

Elias barely slept.

The word still echoed inside him. A whisper that never truly left. It was waiting. Expecting.

Seraphina stayed in his room, arms crossed, watching him like a Hawk. She didn't trust him alone- not after what had happened.

"I'll come woth you," she repeated, as if daring him to Challenge her.

Elias sighed. "You Saw the message. They won't let you."

"I don't care."

Elias didn't argue. He knew Seraphina well enough- once she made up her mind there was no stopping her.

But something told him this wasn't just about him.

Seraphina had her own reason for being afraid.

And Elias intended to find out what they were.

THE PATH TO THE MEETING...

Midnight.

The location in the message let him beyond the academy's border- past the Enchanted Forest, where no student was allowed to go.

A place swallowed by shadows.

Seraphina followed, staying hidden among the trees, her magic cloaking her presence.

Elias's didn't stop her.

If the watchers new she was there, they hadn't shown it yet.

Then-

A voice.

"You came."

Elias halted.

Figures emerged from the darkness. Cloaked. Hooded. Their face hidden.

But their eyes- glowing silver-were unmistake.

The watchers.

THE TRUTH UNVEILED...

"You knew we would meet one day, Elias," the tallest watcher said, stepping forward. His voice was calm, almost gentle. "And yet, you still hesitate".

Elias clenched his fists. " you wanted me to come alone."

"You are alone."

Elias stiffened. Then knew about Seraphina.

A flick of the watcher's wrist- and she was forced out of hiding gasping her invisibility spell shattered.

Elias moved instantly, stepping in front of her. "Let her go."

The watcher tilted his head. " he came here knowing the risk. But we have no interest in Her."

Elias didn't relax. "Then what do you want ?"

The watchers exchanged glances. Then-

"To tell you the truth."

The air grew heavier.

Seraphina tensed behind him.

Elias's pulse pounded.

"What's truth?"

The tallest watcher smiled beneath his hood.

"The truth of who you are."

THE LEGACY OF THE ARCANE KING...

Elias had always known he was different.

Stronger. Faster. More powerful than anyone around him.

But what the watchers revealed was something else entirely.

" you are not just another mage, Elias," the watcher said. "You are the heir to something ancient. Something lost."

Elias's breath caught.

" The Last descendant of the Arcane king."

Silence.

Seraphina's sharp inhale was the only sound.

Elias- frozen, mind racing- could barely process it.

The Arcane king.

A figure from Legend. The one who wielded magic that every Gods feared.

But he had died centuries ago.

His Bloodline- erased.

Or so the world believed.

Elias's hands trembled.

"You're lying."

The watcher only chuckled. " you already knew, didn't you?"

Elias swallowed hard.

The power inside your. The way magic Bent to his will. The voice whispering his name.

A part of him had always known.

The watcher took a step closer.

"Say the word, Elias."

And just like before-

The word of power surged inside him.

Waiting.

Begging to be spoken.

Seraphina grabbed his wrist again, "Don't."

But this time- Elias wasn't sure he could stop it.

Because for the first time-

He wanted to say it.