The echoes of the trial still rang across Valdros Academy.
Though the ceremonial hall had been emptied, its marble tiles still bore the weight of what had transpired — a boy standing defiant before the Council, glyphs ignited across his body, and the dragon's mark blazing in defiance.
Karl stood in the private observatory tower, gazing over the glowing skyline of Valdros. The academy shimmered beneath a silver moon, but his thoughts were not at peace.
Behind him, a familiar presence stepped in.
Theron Valen.
No armor. No insignia. Just a man — a father — with eyes carved by years of silence and scars that couldn't be seen.
"You've grown taller," Theron said quietly.
Karl smirked. "That's the first thing you're saying after all this time?"
"It was the safest."
They both laughed, though the air was heavy.
Karl turned, eyes narrowing. "Why did you stay away?"
Theron's expression faltered. "Because being near you… would have made them come sooner."
Them.
The word didn't need a name.
The Council. The old enemies of the Veil. The ones who feared his bloodline.
Karl looked down at his palm. The glyph pulsed. "They came anyway."
Theron nodded solemnly. "And you stood. Just like your mother would have."
That silence broke something fragile between them.
After a moment, Karl asked, "Did you know about the dragon?"
"I didn't know its name," Theron admitted. "But I knew something ancient lived within you. I felt it the day you were born. The mark flared before you even cried."
"And you still let me live like a commoner."
Theron walked over to the window. "That wasn't a punishment. It was a protection. Greatness demands humility. And knowing hunger, knowing love — that makes you someone worth following."
Karl stared at him, emotions warping. "Do you regret it?"
Theron met his gaze. "I regret nothing… except that I couldn't protect you from what's coming."
Elsewhere in the dormitories,
Aeris stood outside the courtyard with Nyra and Kael. The trio had become inseparable — not just in battle, but in the kind of bond forged under pressure.
"You've seen how his glyphs have grown, right?" Kael muttered. "It's not normal. Even for a prodigy."
Nyra crossed her arms. "It's more than glyphs. The way his mana responds — it's like it's listening to something older than this world."
Aeris nodded quietly. "The Council fears him… not because he's strong. But because he's familiar."
"Familiar?" Kael tilted his head.
She hesitated. "They've seen him before. In stories. In visions. In Veil echoes."
Just then, Raiven's voice crackled from the bond plane.
"They don't just fear him. They fear what happens if he remembers everything."
Thalorean grunted. "Typical Council rats. Always so quick to seal what they don't understand."
Aeris coughed back a laugh. "You two should really stop fighting in my mind."
"Then keep him away from my tail fur." Raiven growled.
"I was grooming it!" Thalorean snapped.
Kael blinked. "Why do their arguments sound like an old married couple?"
Nyra smirked. "Because they probably were."
Later that night,
The main courtyard was alight with golden lanterns.
Banners fluttered. Students whispered. Staff adjusted their collars.
A formal announcement had been posted:
"Three days from now — The Aetherian Convergence Ceremony will commence. All students and staff are required to attend."
Guests and families of select students are invited under the Headmaster's Seal."
— Signed,
Elaris Caelestis,
Headmaster of Valdros Academy.
Back in her private quarters,
Headmaster Elaris stood with her hand against a translucent mana screen, watching the glyph echoes ripple.
Behind her, Councilor Corvian stepped inside unannounced.
"You made the ceremony public."
"I did," Elaris replied, not turning. "Because hiding greatness never works. It only festers fear."
"He's dangerous."
"So are you. And yet I tolerate your politics."
Corvian stepped closer. "The boy's Soulbind is beyond classification. A talking wolf with Veil-infused aura. Glyphs that mimic ancestral flow. And now… there's talk of an unclassified core."
Elaris finally turned. Her silver hair shimmered beneath the moonlight.
"Let me be clear," she said softly. "Karl Valen is mine to protect under the Academy's seal. If any Councilor attempts otherwise…"
A pulse of raw mana exploded from her palm — splitting the glass globe behind her into fractal shards.
"…they'll answer to me."
Back in Karl's dorm,
Aeris leaned against the wall while Karl polished his blade. Nyra sat cross-legged, munching on mana rice crisps.
"You're bringing your family?" Aeris asked.
Karl hesitated. "Yeah. They've never seen this part of me. Or this world."
Nyra blinked. "You mean they don't know you're glowing with glyphs and bonded to an ancient Veil-wolf who insults royalty?"
Raiven scoffed. "I don't insult royalty. I insult pretenders."
Karl smiled. "They just think I'm their slightly weird, overly quiet son."
Aeris' voice softened. "They're going to be proud."
He looked up. "You're coming too, right?"
She smiled faintly. "Wouldn't miss it. Though, uh… you might want to warn your parents that my Soulbind speaks and is incredibly opinionated."
"Elegantly opinionated," Thalorean corrected, "unlike your messy wolf friend."
Raiven snarled, "Say that again, antler head."
Karl chuckled. "They'll love you both."
Nyra raised an eyebrow. "Love who exactly?"
"Everyone," Karl said.
"Even Kael?"
Karl sighed. "Even Kael."
From the window, a soft moonbeam touched the table where a scroll lay sealed. The glyph on it pulsed with layered runes — one Karl had never seen before.
"What's that?" Aeris asked.
"I don't know," Karl replied. "It was left in my room this morning. Sealed in Headmaster Elaris' insignia."
He broke it open. The scroll unraveled into a three-fold script, revealing an ancient glyph and four words that chilled his spine.
"The Dragon Has Stirred."
In the shadows beneath the academy's underground chambers,
A cloaked figure whispered into a broken mirror. "He's waking too soon. The glyphs are not stabilizing."
The mirror replied with an inhuman voice. "Then hurry. Before the sixth tether frays."
A pause.
"If the boy unlocks the Veiled Core… the gates won't hold."
Three days later,
The Aetherian Convergence Ceremony began.
Families poured in. Nobles descended. Commoners stood proudly.
And at the center of it all — stood Karl Valen.
His parents beside him.
Theron in a pressed but worn coat, looking like a man who never expected such halls to welcome him.
His mother, Mira, wide-eyed and clinging to Karl's younger sibling — a little girl named Lys.
Nyra stood beside Karl, her coat freshly pressed. Kael beside her, arms crossed, trying not to look nervous.
Aeris approached in silver-blue ceremonial robes. And behind her, stepped her own aunt — a Council Elder with narrowed eyes.
The moment their families stood across each other, tension rose.
Then Mira stepped forward and smiled. "You must be Aeris. My son writes about you."
Karl coughed. "MOTHER."
Theron grinned. "Nice stance. You train him?"
Aeris blinked. "We… spar."
Nyra leaned to Kael. "I give it five minutes before someone challenges someone else to a duel."
Kael nodded. "Or a marriage proposal."
Raiven groaned. "Why is everyone so emotional?"
Thalorean huffed. "Because that's how these stories always begin."
And as music played… and mana flowed around the grand gathering…
A tremor shivered through the earth.
Below the Academy…
The glyph beneath the arena pulsed for the first time in decades.