67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxdkxM7nSVThe air in Nyxarium felt heavy, like breathing through wet wool.
"Woah!" Kael breathed, his voice echoing too loudly in the hollow hall. "My brother was the most talented guy here, and he only got an 831."kael waited for Mary Beth to say something but she didn't reply.
Mary Beth didn't answer. She just hunched her shoulders, her silhouette shrinking into the gloom as she started sulking.
"Are you okay?" Kael asked, but his voice sounded miles away.
"Yeah. I’m fine," Eilara lied. Her skin felt paper-thin, and her pulse thrummed a frantic, jagged rhythm in her ears. "I’m not fine at all."
She stumbled off the platform, every shadow in the room seeming to reach for her ankles. "I should go back to the dorms."
"Yeah," Mary smiled, though the expression didn't reach her eyes. It looked more like a grimace. "Tomorrow we have training in spells. You’ll need your strength."
When Eilara finally collapsed onto her thin mattress in the drafty, poor-conditioned hut, the silence was broken by a frantic scratching. Lina was there, clutching a letter with trembling fingers.
"For you, Eilara," she whispered, her voice cracking. She dropped the envelope onto Eilara’s lap as if it were burning her.
Eilara ripped it open. A small, iron key fell out. It was ice-cold—colder than the night air—and stained with something dark and dried. The card tucked inside was written in a cramped, jagged hand:
Dear Eilara Moore,
We are delighted to inform you that you have achieved the highest attack rank in the history of this institution. You are a singular talent.
This key will lead you to my private office. You are expected tomorrow at 3:00 AM sharp. Do not be late. The price of tardiness is... significant.
Yours faithfully,
Professor Alaric
"Meeting?" Eilara croaked. A cold knot of dread tightened in her stomach. She tried to tear the letter, but the parchment felt like leathery skin, resisting her pull. Finally, it snapped in half. She hurled it into the bin, but she couldn't stop looking at the key. It sat on her nightstand, humming with a low, necrotic energy.
The "next day" never truly felt like morning. The sun was a bruised purple smear against a gray sky when Eilara woke, her body aching as if she’d been hit by a carriage.
"Lina?" Eilara mumbled, her throat raw. "Can you get my books, please?"
Lina didn’t snap back with her usual wit. She growled, a low, animalistic sound, but she obeyed, dropping a stack of unfinished homework onto the bed. The papers were covered in strange, reddish ink. "You better start working, Eilara. Before he comes for you."
Eilara kicked the work off her bed, the heavy silence of the hut pressing in on her. "I won't be doing any work, Lina," she whispered to the empty room. "I will be training with magic. I have to be ready for whatever is behind that door."67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43wFMnvr0N
and then Add to home screen.