Shadow Beneath The Light

"That's bullshit!"

Cedric's voice thundered through the academy's grand hall, silencing every whisper in an instant. Students flinched. A few gasped. Even the instructors froze for a heartbeat as he shot up from his seat, fists clenched, jaw tight.

"He wouldn't do that!"

Cedric barked.

"I know Tristan!"

Later that day, right after Tristan vanished left her sister alone, the search was enforced throughout academy city, classes were still closed but all students were asked to come to the main hall to listen to directions.

At the front of the hall, the headmaster paused mid-announcement, one hand still raised as if to signal silence. Around them, hundreds of students sat in rigid rows, tension thick in the air.

"We are advising all students to remain alert," the headmaster continued, calm but firm.

"And to report any sightings of Tristan Von Altrhrone. He is to be considered extremely dangerous—"

"Dangerous?"

Cedric spat.

"He literally saved the academy !"

"Yeah, by killing his own brother"

Someone murmured from the left side of the hall.

"No proof he did"

"They found his mana signature"

"It's all over the reports."

"Did you hear what they said? He didn't even try to hide the body—just left it there, like it meant nothing."

"That's not even the worst part"

Another voice joined in—cool, calculated. A third-year girl stepped forward from the back rows, arms crossed.

"You've all heard the rumors, right? The disappearances case last year? I heard he performed some kind of ritual to make a contract with the demon"

People turned to her.

"They're pulling the records now. Suppressed files. Back then, no one could explain it. But guess whose mana signature showed up at every location?"

Silence.

"Tristan right?"

She said flatly.

"He's been linked to at least three other cases before this. They just buried it because of his family name."

Cedric's glare sharpened.

"That's a goddamn lie"

"Is it?"

She challenged.

"You think you know him. But none of us really do, you just met him in this academy and you never know him before right?"

The room stayed silent. Cold.

Even Cedric—who had always believed in his fists, not rumors—felt something twist in his gut.

Because now, the face of the academy's top student wasn't just missing.

He was being hunted.

And maybe…

Just maybe…

He deserved to be.

He doesn't want to believe that, but looking at all the evidence, plus the many strange rumors circulating around Tristan, somehow everything is connected.

...

I ran all day, avoiding the guards who were constantly chasing me, those persistent bastard were really chasing me tirelessly.

The sound of boots echoed behind me—sharp, synchronized, relentless.

They were getting closer.

I darted down a narrow hallway between the outer courtyards, breath ragged, heart hammering in my chest. Moonlight spilled in through broken arches, silver and cold. The wind howled through the stonework like a dying thing.

Damn it. They had closed the north wing.

No time to double back.

Three guards approaching. One south. Two from the west.

I didn't need to see them. I could feel the ripple in the air—the vibration of mana, the heat of life-force moving too fast to be cautious.

They're flanking me.

I ducked into the ruins of the old garden wing, leapt over collapsed stone and thorned ivy, and threw a cloaking ward behind me—not perfect, just enough to muddy the trail. My body ached. I hadn't slept. My reserves were draining fast.

But I couldn't stop.

Not here.

Not when they were so close.

Voices echoed through the dark. Orders. Shouts. My name, called like a curse.

"He went this way!"

I muttered under my breath, prepared to use my skill.

A burst of shadow swallowed me whole. My form blurred, fading into smoke as I slipped into the alcove above the corridor.

Seconds later, three instructors rushed beneath me, weapons drawn, eyes scanning every corner.

"Nothing. He's gone again"

"He can't keep running forever"

Wanna bet? I thought.

The skill faltered as I landed silently behind them, already moving toward the outer edge of the academy. Toward the forest. Toward freedom.

Just a little more.

But even as I ran—past ancient doors, empty corridors, and the ghosts of everything I'd lost—I could feel it.

The noose tightening.

Because I wasn't just running from them anymore.

I was running from the person they believed I'd become.

And maybe, just maybe...

From the part of me that wondered if they were right.

I know very well about Tristan character, and since i inherited his memory i know all the knowledge about him is basically true, that why some part of me, i feel scared.

Scared that somehow it's really me who killed Damien and I'm just forget about it for whatever reason.

...

The cold night air hit like a blade to the lungs.

Each breath burned, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop. I tore through the final layer of magical wards, the pulse of alarm spells fizzling behind me as I crossed the invisible border.

I was out.

Outside the Academy's domain. Past the City's outer shield. Beyond the reach of their immediate control.

I let out a shaky breath, chest heaving.

But I didn't get far.

Figures emerged from the mist ahead.

Ten. No—twenty. Thirty. Dozens.

Robed in black. Faces obscured by bone-white masks shaped like skulls, twisted into mockery of death itself. Not a single aura leaked from them, but I could feel them. Every single one.

Waiting.

Watching.

And they're more powerful than me, way stronger.

A voice echoed, distorted and low, from the front of the formation.

"Tristan Altrhrone."

I didn't respond.

I just took a step back.

The voice continued.

"It's surprising to see you manage to come this far alone"

The masked figures raised their hands in unison. Not to cast—but to block.

They weren't here to kill me.

They were here to capture me.

I clenched my fists, mana flaring to life at my fingertips.

If the Academy wanted a scapegoat, and these freaks wanted a prize…

They'd all have to earn it.

…They'd all have to earn it.

Mana flared along my arms, crackling with unstable heat. My breath was sharp, focused. I counted the gaps, watched for weak points—waiting for the first one to move.

But then—

The group parted.

Not like soldiers repositioning.

Like followers stepping aside.

A figure walked forward from their center. Robed in the same black, but her mask was different—silver, smooth, and reflective. Like a blank slate. That person reached up slowly… and removed it.

Elena.

I froze.

"The hell is this?"

I said, voice low.

She held up a hand—palm open, not hostile.

"It's not what you think."

"Oh?"

I laughed bitterly.

"Because it looks like you're leading a cult"

"They're not your enemies, Tristan. Neither am I"

"Right. Just happened to be waiting right outside the city with a welcoming committee?"

"I knew they'd go after you"

She said. Her voice was calm, but not cold.

"And I knew the Academy wouldn't give you a fair chance. I had to make sure you got out."

My mana stayed active, but my stance loosened just slightly.

"So what is this? Who are they?"

"Just think they're my personal guard, you know I'm s third princess right~"

Elena replied with small laugh.

"Don't worry, I'm here to save you"

That hit harder than I expected.

"…Why me?"

Elena stepped closer, lowering her hood.

"Hmm, no reason, just think because I know you're not guilty if that help you of course~"

"You know something, don't you? About all this. About them."

"Mhmnn, i don't know what are you talking about"

My chest tightened.

"You're not answering me"

She let small laugh.

"My, I'm telling the truth though"

She looked up at me then, eyes sharper than steel.

"But if you want to survive what's coming… you'll have to trust me"

Before I could reply, a distant shout echoed through the trees.

"Over there! He went that way!"

Torchlight flared behind the treeline.

I turned, instinct surging—my mana flared, ready to cast.

But Elena was already moving.

She pulled her hood back over her head in one smooth motion, then reached into her robes and drew out a small black stone. It pulsed faintly—etched with glowing lines that shifted like veins.

"Get close"

She said, her tone sharp now. No room for questions.

I hesitated—just a beat—then stepped beside her.

The air thickened.

Behind us, I could hear footsteps crashing through the brush. Getting closer. Too close.

Elena pressed her fingers into the stone.

"Focus your mana. Just a flicker."

I did.

The glyphs blazed.

The world bent.

A violent tug seized my core—space folding inward like it was swallowing itself. Then—

Silence.

Weightlessness.

And the world slammed back into place.

We were gone.

The forest, the shouting, the torches—they were nothing but a ghost of heat on my skin.

When I opened my eyes, we stood in a vast underground chamber—dimly lit, silent… and filled with the same robed figures from before.

Except here, they all knelt when Elena stepped forward.

I stared, heart pounding.

"What the hell are you?"

Want to continue straight into Elena introducing the organization, or let Tristan wander and explore first before answers come?

So she really have personal assassin's?

The chamber stretched in all directions, carved with meticulous detail—pillars wrapped in unfamiliar runes, walls lined with books, relics, and maps. And robed figures. At least two dozen of them, silent, heads bowed as Elena passed.

She didn't even look back as she walked ahead.

"This way"

She said.

I followed, still half-tense, until we reached a smaller chamber. A heavy door sealed behind us with a whisper of magic.

Finally, Elena turned.

"You'll be safe here"

She said.

"They won't look for you this deep. We have barriers in place—wards, cloaking fields, scramblers"

She paused, watching my face.

"But you need to stay hidden, at least until the panic dies down. Let the rumors burn out"

"No."

Elena blinked.

"What?"

"I'm not hiding"

I said quietly.

"Not because of pride. Because it's the wrong move"

She frowned.

"Listen—"

Before she can continue, i cut her words.

"Even if I followed your instructions to hide here for time being, it's basically just prove their accusation that I killed Damien"

I stepped forward, tone measured.

"If I vanish now, it'll only prove their narrative. That I'm guilty. That I'm afraid. Every second I disappear, they get to rewrite truth too everyone."

She crossed her arms.

"And staying out there? What's that going to accomplish? You want to die on principle?"

"No"

My eyes locked with hers.

"I want leverage. I want information. I want names."

A pause.

"I'm not going to let them to control the game anymore. From now on, I move first"

Elena stared at me, long and quiet.

Then slowly, she exhaled.

"You're still the same cold bastard I remember."

Huh? Pretty sure Tristan never meet Elena in his life before he attended the academy, why it's sound she know me for a long time?

Elena didn't argue further. Instead, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a small, silver case.

She opened it slowly, revealing two items resting on black velvet.

The first—a mask. Sleek, expressionless, almost featureless. A pale white sheen, like porcelain, with faint glyphs etched along the inner lining.

The second—a ring. Simple, black, with a faint shimmer that pulsed like a heartbeat.

"This is the best I can offer right now"

She said, pushing the case toward me.

"The mask responds to your mana. Think of a face, and it'll give you one—down to voice, tone, even aura. Just don't overdo the changes, or it'll start to crack."

I picked it up, feeling the subtle hum of enchantment beneath the surface.

"And the ring?"

I asked.

"It suppresses mana output and signature. Anyone will think you're a civilian without mana core. As long you wear the ring"

I looked down at the artifacts, then back up at her.

"You've been preparing this for a while."

"I had a feeling you'd need it. I just didn't think it'd be this soon"

A beat of silence passed between us.

"I can't tell you what to do"

Elena said finally.

"But if you're going to take the fight to them… do it smart. Stay in the shadows until you're ready"

I slipped the mask into my coat, then slid the ring onto my finger. Its pulse merged with my own.

"I don't intend to stay hidden"

I said

"Jjust… unseen."

Somehow i can feel pain expression on her face, eh? Why?

"I'm counting on that"

She said quietly.

"But right now, make them think you're gone"

She turned, gaze scanning the quiet stone chamber—no sounds of pursuit, no signs of danger. Only the cold silence of the underground, far from the chaos above.

Then, with practiced ease, Elena reached into her cloak and pulled out a small gray crystal etched with faint runes.

"This place isn't secure for long"

She murmured.

"Come on. We'll move to the stronghold."

I nodded, just once.

She pressed the crystal to the ground. A gentle hum resonated through the chamber as glowing lines formed a ring beneath us. The air shimmered.

Light rose around us, casting long shadows on the stone walls.

And then, with a final flicker of magic—we vanished.

"This place is only temporary base"

Elena said quietly.

"A fallback shelter. Not fully secure, but it's keyed to you now. You can come and go as needed there food and water supply for atleast three months, also there a money too in there"

She pointed a small chest.

I raised an eyebrow, she real

She held out a small stone—smooth, dark gray, etched with faint glowing lines.

"A teleport shard. It's linked to this location. Just feed it a bit of your mana, and it'll bring you back here instantly."

I took it, feeling the weight of it settle in my palm. Subtle, unassuming… but useful.

"Your mana signature's already registered"

She added.

"No one else can use it."

I gave a small nod.

"Thanks."

Elena looked at me for a moment, then turned toward the far tunnel.

"Come on. I'll show you the rest."