The voice departed. The fracture vanished. The sky returned to its ancient, absolute stillness.
Yet, not a single soul believed that anything had truly ended. On the contrary… the prevailing sensation resembled that of someone who had glimpsed the shadow of a cataclysm on the horizon, only to realize that the cataclysm itself had not yet arrived.
All eyes remained anchored to the exact spot where the rift had closed, as if the world were collectively waiting for its return—or dreading it.
Nir, however, was not looking at the sky. He was looking at himself.
For the very first time since the awakening of this power, he was not thinking about the world. Nor his enemies. Nor the future. He was consumed by a single, solitary question:
*Who am I?*
Hours bled away. The night eventually dissolved, and with the very first thread of dawn, the academy had transmuted into an entirely different place.
Orders were being barked everywhere. Guards deployed in massive numbers. Lecture halls were systematically sealed. And the fear… grew in absolute silence.
This was no longer about a student without an aura, nor an unclassified ability. It had evolved into something far grander—something that threatened the very foundations upon which this world was constructed.
Nir stood upon the highest precipice of the academy's tallest tower. The wind whipped violently at his clothes as his eyes contemplated the distant horizon.
Tranquil, familiar footsteps approached from behind. He had no need to turn; he recognized their owner instantly.
The entity spoke:
"Have you made your decision?"
A heavy silence lingered for a few heartbeats. Then, Nir countered:
"Yes."
The entity's gaze shifted up toward him.
"And what is it?"
Nir closed his eyes, then opened them with absolute deliberation.
"I am going to uncover the truth."
The entity's features remained unaltered, yet its demeanor appeared slightly less detached than usual.
"The truth is not always something you wish to know."
"Yet, ignorance has never granted survival to anyone."
Silence fell once more. Then, a faint smile traced the entity's face—a rare, ghostly expression.
"Then you are ready."
At that exact millisecond… something deep beneath the academy convulsed.
It was not a seal shattering, nor a magical circle activating. It was something far older. Immeasurably older.
The entity stopped smiling. It spun around, casting its gaze directly downward. For the very first time, a flash of genuine caution manifested in its eyes.
Nir detected the shift instantly.
"What is it?"
The entity did not answer immediately. It remained frozen, staring intently at a distant, abyssal point deep beneath the earth. Then, it spoke:
"This... should not be waking up."
The air constricted violently. The winds intensified into a howling gale. And then… a sound echoed. A sound that no one heard with their physical ears, yet everyone perceived with absolute clarity.
*Thump.*
Only once. But the entire world shuddered.
Windows fractured. Towers trembled. Several students collapsed directly to the ground from the sheer shock of the vibration.
Nir snapped his head up, a violent shudder rippling through his entire body. Because that sound… was no ordinary noise. It was a pulse.
A heartbeat.
*Thump.*
The second one arrived. Stronger. Heavier. Older. As if a colossal, primordial heart had begun to beat after a slumber that had endured for thousands of years.
The entity's eyes widened. For the very first time since their encounter, it looked genuinely struck with shock.
It whispered in a hushed, trembling undertone:
"Impossible…"
Nir locked his eyes onto the entity.
"What has awakened?"
Silence stretched. Then, the entity answered with profound deliberation, like someone uttering a name that should never be spoken aloud:
"The Source of Auras."
Nir froze dead in his tracks.
"What?"
The entity hoisted its gaze toward the heavens, yet its vision pierced straight through them—stretching far beyond, back to prehistory, before civilizations, before magic itself.
Then, it spoke:
"The entity that gifted this world its magic..."
It paused for a fraction of a second, then concluded:
"...has just opened its eyes."
Deep within the abyssal roots of the academy… beneath unnumbered layers of seals and absolute oblivion… something titanic began to shift.
An entity that had slept for so long it had transitioned into mere myth. But myths… do not always die.
Sometimes… they awaken.