Arin's footsteps were unnaturally quiet as he slipped through the heavy oak doors of the Celestial Library. The twilight glow that bathed the marble floors outside gave way here to soft lamplight, casting long shadows between towering shelves of ancient tomes. His mind still buzzed from the meeting with Headmaster Drayven—the weight of the principal's words anchoring itself in his thoughts: "I have a feeling you're hiding more than just nerves…" .
He paused at the entrance, drawing in a slow breath. The library was vast—its vaulted ceiling painted with constellations that seemed to shift and shimmer as he moved. Only a handful of students remained at this hour, heads bowed in study or whispering conspiratorially over weathered manuscripts. Even the usual hush felt reverent, as though the very air vibrated with knowledge.
Making his way to a secluded alcove, Arin unrolled a thin parchment the size of his palm—the summons from the principal's tower, which had appeared as a soft purple glow on his ID tag earlier that day . He glanced around to ensure no one watched, then unfolded it:
"Report to the Celestial Archives. Seek the Fragment of Truth. Trust only what you can touch."
No signature. No further instruction.
A chill ran down Arin's spine. Drayven's summons had felt personal—more than a courtesy call. Now, with this cryptic directive, Arin understood why the principal had been watching him so closely. The "Fragment of Truth" could mean any number of secrets hidden in these archives—but what, and why, would Drayven entrust it to him?
Setting the parchment aside, Arin let his fingers brush over the spines of the nearest shelves, scanning titles in languages he only half-recognized: Histories of the Elder Races, Runic Maps of the Lower Planes, Mana Convergence in Hybrid Cores… his amber eyes paused at one volume bound in deep indigo leather, its cover embossed with a single silver spiral. There was no title—just the spiral. He pulled it down.
Inside, the pages were blank—until a faint script glowed into existence beneath his fingertips:
"To those who tread between worlds, the black and the white both speak. Seek the place where wind and earth entwine, and let your heart be the key."
Arin's breath caught. His dual affinity—earth and wind—had been a secret he guarded fiercely . Now that secret was written here, in a tome no one else could see. The library seemed to tilt around him.
A soft rustle behind him made Arin spin. A slender figure stood in the archway: Lireya. Her silver hair caught the lamplight, and her blue mana core glowed faintly through her robes. She offered a small, guarded smile.
"I'm sorry to startle you," she said quietly, stepping forward. "I… noticed you came here alone." She tilted her head toward the indigo book in his hand. "That's one of the hidden volumes. Not many know it exists."
Arin closed the tome gently. "I have… reason to find it." He studied her. She was polite, but there was curiosity—and perhaps sympathy—in her gaze. "I don't suppose you're here by coincidence either."
Lireya's gaze flickered to the summons parchment on the table. For a moment, her expression darkened. Then she nodded. "I received the same summons. I'm to retrieve something called the Fragment of Truth." She paused, choosing her words. "I thought… we could help each other."
Arin frowned. He had learned not to trust alliances born in a moment—but Drayven's message had been clear: trust only what you can touch. Lireya's offer was tangible. And two heads were better than one when deciphering hidden lore.
"All right," he said, closing the book and tucking it under his arm. "But we go carefully. And we share what we learn." He stood. "Where do we begin?"
She pointed down an aisle lined with crystalline lanterns. "The Ward of Vanished Runes—Section E. The shelf of elementally bound texts. There's a door at the end, sealed by a wind-etched sigil." Lireya hesitated. "Only someone with a wind affinity can open it… and someone with earth magic to steady the threshold."
Arin's pulse quickened. He hadn't used either core publicly since his Awakening Ceremony, where he'd kept his hidden depths fully concealed . Yet here was the chance to wield them—together, he and Lireya could breach the ward.
He inhaled, centering himself. The air around him stirred faintly—a ribbon of wind twisting at his fingertips, as though eager to obey. At his feet, the stone floor hummed with latent mana.
Lireya gave him a reassuring nod. "Whenever you're ready."
Arin placed his palm against the ancient door. With deliberate calm, he willed wind and earth—letting the currents swirl and the ground solidify beneath his hand. The sigil glowed, then unfurled like a flower of light. The door swung inward on unseen hinges.
Inside, the chamber was small, lit by a single orb of pale blue flame. On a pedestal lay a crystalline fragment—no larger than his thumb—pulsing softly with white and black veins. The Fragment of Truth.
Arin's heart hammered. He stepped forward—but Lireya's hand on his arm stopped him.
"Be careful," she whispered. "Such power can cut deeper than any blade."
He nodded, and together they reached out. The moment their fingers touched the fragment's surface, the orb's flame leapt high, bathing the room in starlight.
Visions flickered before Arin's eyes: memories not his own—ancient battles where mages reshaped continents; the moment the first Dual-Core awakened; Drayven himself, standing before a council of grand mages, offering the fragment in exchange for a promise.
Arin gasped and pulled back. The room stilled; the orb flared and died. Lireya's eyes were wide with awe.
"We have to bring this back," Arin said, voice low. "But… I need to understand what I saw."
Lireya nodded, her face solemn. "Together, then."
As they turned to retrace their steps, Arin felt the fragment's pulse in his pocket—a steady heartbeat of ancient magic and hidden truths. Outside, the library's hush welcomed them back, as though nothing had happened. But Arin knew it had. He was no longer just a student concealing his strength. He was the keeper of a secret that might change the fate of Dorothrel Academy—and the world beyond its walls.
And whatever lay ahead, he would face it at Lireya's side… and with the dual core at his command, unhidden at last.