The Below

The Sanctum Academy remained bathed in early morning mist, its towering spires cloaked in the silver veil of dawn. Students moved across the training grounds and corridors, their steps brisk, their voices low. Word of the recent breach had spread, though officially downplayed. Still, whispers wound through the academy's air like creeping vines: a masked intruder, a corrupted chamber, and Kaien Voss.

Kaien sat alone by the reflecting pool behind the eastern dormitories. The sky above had cleared, revealing hues of blue and amber. But within him, storm clouds churned. He stared into the still water, watching his distorted reflection ripple with each breath.

He flexed his hand—the one that had once disintegrated a Wretch into dust without effort. Now, it barely tingled, the light dormant. It had been days since he last felt it stir.

"Thinking of jumping in?" came a voice.

Kaien didn't turn. "Not deep enough."

Zedd plopped down beside him, chewing on something that looked like dried fruit. "If you're gonna sulk, at least do it with snacks."

Kaien managed a weak grin. "Not hungry."

Zedd nodded slowly. "You've been quiet since the breach. I get it. That thing in the relic chamber... wasn't normal."

Kaien sighed. "Eira said the energy felt wrong. Not just corrupted. Older. Like something trying to remember itself."

Zedd leaned back, arms propping him up. "I heard Master Rhain's still combing through old Sanctum records. But they're keeping the findings hush-hush."

Kaien looked up. "You think they're hiding something?"

Zedd hesitated. "Honestly? I think they're scared. And when people are scared, they get unpredictable."

A moment passed in silence before Kaien stood up. "Let's find Eira. I need answers."

Eira's chamber was dimly lit, the curtains drawn against the morning sun. Incense burned in a tiny ceramic dish, the scent soft and calming. She sat cross-legged in the center of the room, surrounded by books, scrolls, and diagrams.

When Kaien and Zedd entered, she didn't look up. "I was expecting you."

Kaien blinked. "You always know?"

Eira smiled faintly. "Only when people carry unrest in their Veyl. Yours hums like a broken lyre."

Kaien crossed his arms. "The chamber we entered… that thing we saw… Do you think it was Blight?"

Eira stood slowly, placing a bookmark into a faded tome. "No. It was something else. Something before Blight."

Zedd frowned. "Before Blight? I thought Blight was the corruption of Veyl."

"It is," Eira said, "but corruption isn't always the origin. Sometimes, it's a symptom."

Kaien stepped closer. "Then what was that thing?"

Eira retrieved an old map and unfurled it. The parchment was cracked, drawn in ink that shimmered faintly with tide-infused Veyl.

"This is Aetherra as we know it," she said. "But beneath the known, there are layers. Veiled domains, spiritual planes, and voids untouched by light."

She pointed to an inkblot at the center—no label, no markings. Just a smear of nothingness.

"It's called the Hollow Veil. A realm theorized to exist beyond the balance of Veyl and Blight. Legend says it was once sealed by a hero who wielded Null Veyl—Veyl stripped of emotional signature."

Kaien's throat tightened. "You think that hero was the same one who caused the Veilfracture?"

Eira nodded. "Possibly. But more importantly, I believe that the Dissonant Choir is trying to open a path to the Hollow Veil. And Kaien…"

She turned to him, eyes intense. "Your power… it may be the key."

Later that evening, the four of them gathered in one of the unused northern towers. Lyra had returned from her solo training expedition, looking wind-worn but calm.

"You're saying that Kaien's power isn't Veyl as we understand it?" she asked.

"Not in its current form," Eira replied. "It resembles Null Veyl more than any Aspect."

Zedd crossed his arms. "And Null Veyl is supposed to be dangerous, right?"

Lyra's eyes narrowed. "It was banned for a reason. Without emotion, Veyl becomes… cold. Unpredictable. A force of pure creation and destruction without restraint."

Kaien looked at his hand again. "Then why me? Why now?"

Silence settled for a moment before Lyra spoke. "Perhaps because the balance is breaking. The Choir wants to finish what the Veilfracture started. And the world… it's choosing its champions."

Meanwhile, in the catacombs beneath Sanctum Academy, cloaked figures gathered. Torches flickered along ancient stone walls. At the center of the chamber, a sigil pulsed with a dark rhythm—alive.

Veylor Saine, tall and cloaked in ash-grey, stood before it, his hands stained with ink and dried blood. Around him knelt followers, their hoods obscuring faces warped by Blight.

"The boy is awakening," said one.

Veylor's eyes gleamed. "Good. The vessel must come willingly. The Hollow Veil does not open for those bound by doubt."

A disciple approached with a scroll. "The seal on the western ruins has begun to thin."

Veylor took the scroll and traced the sigils with a gloved finger. "Then we make our move. Let the boy see truth. Let him choose despair."

Back at the academy, Master Rhain summoned Kaien privately. The training hall was empty, the stone floor marked by centuries of sparring.

Rhain stood at the center, his presence like a mountain—calm but unshakable.

"Kaien," he began, "do you know why the Sanctum truly fears Null Veyl?"

Kaien shook his head.

Rhain drew a circle in the air with his hand. "Because it defies balance. Veyl is born of emotion. It connects all life. Null Veyl severs that connection."

Kaien's jaw clenched. "But I didn't choose this."

Rhain nodded. "Few ever choose their burden. But you can choose how to carry it."

Kaien stepped forward. "Teach me to control it."

Rhain studied him. "If I do, there is no turning back. Null Veyl will change you."

Kaien didn't flinch. "Then let it."

That night, training began. Rhain placed Kaien in a containment ward—a circle of Veyl-infused runes designed to suppress Blight and channel energy safely.

"Focus," Rhain instructed. "Not on the power, but on your self. Emotions. Memory. The thread that binds you to this world."

Kaien closed his eyes. Images flashed—his village burning, his friend's terrified eyes, Lyra's stoic strength, Zedd's laugh, Eira's calm voice.

He felt the warmth, the pain, the longing.

And then, the spark.

Light surged from his chest, not blinding but pure. A silver-white flame that danced along his skin. His hand glowed, the same disintegration energy flickering—more stable this time.

Rhain nodded. "Good. Now, hold it."

Kaien gritted his teeth as the light intensified. It pulled at his mind, tugging at his memories, demanding detachment. But he refused.

He clung to himself—his name, his dream, his promise.

The light pulsed once… then settled.

Rhain stepped forward, surprised. "You anchored it. That's… not common."

Kaien opened his eyes. "I'm not common."

The next day, the Sanctum Council summoned the students to the Grand Assembly Hall. Rumors had already begun swirling—of movement in the west, of ancient ruins awakening.

Kaien stood beside his friends, calm for once.

A tall woman with white robes and golden trim addressed the room. "Sanctum has received troubling reports. The ruins of Teralith have been breached. We believe the Dissonant Choir is seeking relics tied to the Hollow Veil."

Murmurs erupted across the chamber.

"We will be dispatching elite teams to investigate. Among them…"—her eyes scanned the crowd—"will be Kaien Voss."

Gasps followed. Kaien stepped forward.

"Alongside Lyra Caelum, Zedd Thorn, and Eira Solenne."

Kaien looked at his team. Each of them met his gaze with silent understanding.

The journey west would be long. The dangers, unknown.

But Kaien was no longer the powerless orphan from a forgotten village.

He was something new.

And the world would soon know it.