Shadows Beneath the Stone

Chapter 19 – Shadows Beneath the Stone

The Field Division's meeting hall was nothing like the rest of the Academy. Built beneath the east wing, it resembled a war room—stone walls reinforced with enchantments, glowing maps projected above long tables, and shelves lined with mission reports.

Kael sat beside Zera and five other advanced students. Each one looked seasoned, focused, and slightly wary of the newcomer in their ranks.

"At ease," came a familiar voice.

Professor Veyra entered, her robes trailing faint traces of magic. "You've all been selected for early field assessment. This is no training simulation. You'll be entering the Lorian Catacombs."

A murmur rippled through the group.

Kael leaned toward Zera. "Catacombs?"

She nodded. "Old ruins. Sealed for years. Last group barely made it out."

Veyra continued. "You'll be divided into two squads. Your objective: secure a set of relic stones buried in the deeper layers. Each stone is protected by residual enchantments—and possibly dormant guardians."

She turned her gaze toward Kael. "This will be your first live mission, Ireth. Don't die."

Kael swallowed. "I'll try not to."

Zera smirked. "We'll keep him breathing."

That night

Kael returned to the dorm to prepare, only to find a folded note tucked under his door.

Don't trust everyone on your team. Someone wants you to fail.

No name. No handwriting he recognized.

He turned it over, but there was nothing else. His mind raced.

Was it Dorian? No, he was still recovering. Someone higher up? Or… someone inside the Field Division?

He burned the note with a flicker of mana and went to sleep with one eye open.

Elsewhere in the Academy

Selene stood before an ice-sheathed basin, magic crackling faintly from her fingers. She stared into the water, watching Kael's sparring replay through a scrying mirror.

She hadn't meant to watch. But every time she tried to ignore him, he slipped back in.

"He's reckless," she whispered. "But…"

She clenched her hands.

Maybe he reminded her of herself—back before everything became about duty and legacy. Back when she still believed she could choose her path.

Behind her, her attendant knocked. "Your Highness, the council has summoned you."

Selene's expression hardened. "Tell them I'm on my way."

The image of Kael faded from the water. But the flame he had lit in her wouldn't die so easily.

Not yet.

Back in the training chambers

Kael stood at the center of a rune circle, eyes closed, focusing his mana.

Echo trails spiraled around him—paths of movement, flickers of past steps. With the Rune Core syncing more smoothly now, he could nearly predict feints before they happened.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and Blinked forward, ducking beneath a phantom strike and landing where the illusion's guard was weakest.

"Good," said Elith, watching from the shadows. "You're starting to think like an Echo-walker."

Kael turned to her. "That's not a real title."

She tilted her head. "Maybe not yet."

Meanwhile, in the lower dungeons of the Academy

A figure knelt before a circle of runes. Hooded, robed, whispering in a tongue lost to time.

Dark energy pulsed through the cracks in the stone floor.

"Soon," the figure hissed. "He will come. And the seals will break."

A second figure stepped into the torchlight. "And the boy?"

"Let him rise. The higher he climbs…"

They smiled darkly.

"…the harder the fall."