Awakening II: The Silent Flame
The applause for Siya Firebone slowly faded as she stepped away from the circle, her hair glowing faintly like drifting sparks. The board confirmed her S-rank talent, and murmurs of awe filled the room.
Miss Nye Rains smiled proudly. "Well done, Siya. A powerful start to the day. Now, let's continue."
She called several more names. Each student walked forward, awakened a talent, and received their evaluation—most in the B or A range. Fire, earth, wind, water… all the familiar elemental affinities danced through the room.
Isaac sat near the back, his hands tight in his lap. He wasn't nervous about others—only about himself. He could still feel that strange dream echoing in his head, like someone whispering in a forgotten tongue.
Suddenly, the teacher called a name that silenced the class.
"Aria Nocturne."
Isaac looked up.
A girl stood from the far-left corner of the room. She had not spoken to anyone all morning. Her skin was pale, nearly porcelain, with hair like moonlight—silvery white with threads of faint lavender. Her eyes were the strangest thing: grey at first glance, but constantly shifting, like smoke trapped behind glass.
She walked slowly to the Awakening Circle, each step soft and deliberate, like she had walked this path before in a dream.
> "Who's that?" "Isn't she the girl who transferred from the southern continent?" "No—she was born here, I think. But she never awakened… until today."
Miss Nye hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "You may begin."
Aria stepped into the center of the circle.
Nothing happened.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
Fifteen.
The elemental stones didn't respond. The magic formation flickered like a dying flame. Whispers began rising.
> "She's a failure?" "No way... is she...?"
Then the room froze.
A strange heat and cold flooded the air simultaneously.
The Awakening Circle turned black—not with shadow, but with burnt space, like reality had been scorched. A pulse of raw pressure cracked the floor.
Miss Nye raised a shield, but even she stumbled backward.
Aria stood motionless, her eyes closed. When they opened—they were burning silver.
From her chest, a sigil erupted. Not of any known element—but something ancient.
> A dying star.
A collapsing flame that whispered secrets to the void.
"Impossible…" the head appraiser muttered from the booth. "That mark—it's not elemental. It's pre-elemental... like a soul brand."
Isaac's eyes widened. His heart skipped a beat.
He had seen a similar mark… in his dream.
Aria lifted her hand. A small flame flickered above her palm. But it wasn't fire.
It was ashlight.
Colorless flame. Neither hot nor cold. A flame that remembered.
Then it vanished.
The circle shattered.
Aria fell to her knees.
Miss Nye rushed to her. "What… what was that, child?"
But Aria looked only at Isaac.
Her silver-burning eyes locked with his for a split second.
> "The soul brand," she whispered, so faint he wasn't sure if she had spoken aloud.
"He has it too."
Then she collapsed.