Chapter 31

Elliot's breath came slow and steady, but his pulse pounded like a war drum. The air in the Archives had changed—heavier, colder, charged with an unnatural stillness.

The presence in the dark hadn't moved, but he could feel it watching him.

"You shouldn't be here," the voice repeated, closer this time.

Elliot didn't flinch. Instead, he shifted his stance, muscles tensed, prepared to dodge. "Neither should you."

A pause. Then, a low chuckle.

"Interesting."

The torches along the walls flickered back to life, their golden glow revealing a figure standing between the towering shelves. A young man, clad in black robes, with silver eyes that gleamed like polished steel.

Elliot had seen him before. Not in person—but in the Academy's records.

Lucian Vale.

A name whispered in hushed voices. A student who had vanished years ago. Presumed dead.

Yet here he was, very much alive.

Lucian's gaze flickered to the book in Elliot's hands. "You're looking for answers."

Elliot didn't reply. He wasn't about to reveal his intentions to someone who had been lurking in the Archives like a ghost.

Lucian smirked, as if he could read Elliot's thoughts. "You won't find them in that book."

Elliot tightened his grip. "Then where?"

Lucian took a step forward, and the shadows around him twisted unnaturally. "Tell me, Elliot. Have you ever wondered why magic has rules?"

Elliot frowned. "To maintain order."

Lucian chuckled. "That's what they tell you. But the truth? The rules exist to keep you weak. To keep you from seeing what magic truly is."

Elliot felt the weight of those words settle in his chest. He had always questioned the limitations imposed on magic. Always felt like there was more—something hidden, just out of reach.

Lucian extended a hand. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

Elliot hesitated.

Trusting a mysterious figure in the middle of the night, in a restricted part of the Academy, was the kind of decision that led to missing person posters.

But at the same time…

He needed answers.

Elliot looked at Lucian's outstretched hand.

This could be the biggest mistake of his life.

Or the beginning of something greater.

Elliot took a slow breath, then reached forward.

The moment his fingers brushed Lucian's hand, a jolt of energy shot through him—cold, sharp, and utterly foreign. The air around them twisted, and in the blink of an eye, the dimly lit Archives melted away.

When his vision cleared, he was standing in a completely different space.

A cavernous hall stretched endlessly before him, its walls carved with ancient runes pulsing faintly with blue light. The floor was made of black stone, polished to a mirror-like sheen, reflecting the eerie glow of floating orbs suspended in the air.

This was no part of the Academy he had ever seen before.

Lucian let go of his hand, watching him carefully. "Welcome to the other side of magic, Elliot."

Elliot steadied himself, forcing his heartbeat to slow. "Where are we?"

Lucian turned, his silver eyes gleaming in the dim light. "A place the Academy has erased from history."

That didn't surprise Elliot. He had always suspected there was knowledge deliberately kept from students. The question was—why?

He ran his fingers over the nearest rune, feeling an odd warmth seep into his skin. "You said the rules exist to keep us weak."

Lucian nodded. "Magic isn't just about spells and formulas. It's a force, raw and untamed. The Academy teaches control because they fear what happens when magic is used freely."

Elliot narrowed his eyes. "And you don't fear it?"

Lucian's lips curled into a smirk. "I understand it."

With a flick of his wrist, the floating orbs around them shifted, swirling together to form a doorway of crackling energy. Through it, Elliot glimpsed something—something vast, shifting, alive.

His stomach tightened. Whatever lay beyond that door… it wasn't meant for human eyes.

Lucian stepped aside. "Step through, and I'll show you magic as it was meant to be."

Elliot hesitated.

This was a line he couldn't uncross.

He had come here for answers, but was he willing to risk everything—his place at the Academy, his very sanity—for the truth?

Lucian watched him expectantly, the portal crackling between them.

Elliot clenched his fists.

Then, without another word, he stepped through.

The moment Elliot stepped through the portal, the world around him twisted. His breath caught as he felt his body stretched, compressed, and then—

Silence.

He landed on solid ground, his knees buckling slightly. The space around him was... wrong. There was no sky, no sun, no stars. Just an endless expanse of swirling energy, shifting between shades of violet and deep blue. The ground beneath him wasn't stone or earth—it was something else, something that pulsed like it was alive.

Lucian stepped beside him, completely unfazed. "Breathe," he said casually.

Elliot exhaled sharply, realizing he had been holding his breath. "What... is this place?"

Lucian stretched out a hand, and the energy around them responded, curling like mist around his fingers. "This is the raw essence of magic. Unshaped. Uncontrolled. Before it became spells, before it became rules—this is what magic was."

Elliot felt a strange pull, a humming at the core of his being. He wasn't sure if it was calling to him or trying to consume him.

"You feel it, don't you?" Lucian asked, watching him closely. "This is why the Academy hides the truth. They teach you formulas, restrictions, limitations—because they know if you understood magic in its purest form, you wouldn't need their rules."

Elliot swallowed. "And you think you can control this?"

Lucian chuckled. "No one controls magic. But you can become part of it."

He lifted his hand, and the swirling energy coalesced into something solid—a blade, pulsing with raw power. "This is magic, unfiltered. With it, you can shape the world as you see fit."

Elliot reached out cautiously, fingers brushing against the blade's surface. The moment he made contact, a surge of power shot through him. His mind flooded with images—visions of forgotten knowledge, whispers of things beyond reality.

He staggered back, his breathing uneven.

Lucian tilted his head. "Too much?"

Elliot clenched his fists. "It's... overwhelming."

Lucian smirked. "Good. That means you're starting to see."

Elliot looked around again, this time with new understanding. The Academy had always painted magic as something structured, something to be learned in steps. But here, in this place, magic wasn't a tool—it was alive.

He took another breath. He wasn't sure if this was the path he wanted to walk.

But he had to know more.

"Show me," he said.

Lucian's grin widened. "Then let's begin."