The Proving Grounds were dying.
Trees cracked and toppled under invisible forces. The earth itself split along jagged seams, coughing up smoke and shimmering fragments of corrupted String. At the heart of the devastation stood Kael Ryuu — battered, bloodied, and burning from within.
The Wraithborn swarmed around him.
They slithered through the mist — grotesque parodies of life, stitched together by broken fragments of the world's lifeblood. Their snarling mouths spoke of hunger. Their hollow eyes spoke of hate.
But Kael stood firm, Kurozan humming like a heartbeat at his side.
The Void within him, long dormant, stirred.
His gloves shimmered with unstable glyphs — elemental forces roaring to life across his arms, wild and unpredictable. Fire cracked, stone rumbled, wind shrieked, and lightning coiled around him like angry serpents. His breath steamed in the cold, rune-soaked air.
Ahead, the mist parted.
Something worse approached.
The Wraithborn General emerged — a towering monstrosity crowned with jagged bone, armored in shadows that bled into the ground. Each step it took made the corrupted String scream and recoil.
Its hollow gaze locked onto Kael.
Recognition.
A Void-bearer.
Kael's hand tightened on his blade. His pulse slowed, his mind sharpened. For the first time, truly — he wasn't afraid.
---
Above, at the Academy's command tower...
The control room was chaos.
Master Illovar barked orders, while arcane maps flickered and died. Emergency beacons screamed from every quadrant of the Proving Grounds.
"This is no longer a trial," he spat. "We're losing them."
Senn Valeris strapped on his battered armor, silent and grim. At his side, Captain Selai readied her Spirit-forged spear, her expression unreadable.
Captain Veyna leaned over the main display — knuckles white, teeth gritted.
Hesitation danced across her face.
"We pull them out now," Selai said.
Senn simply nodded.
"Mark."
The order was given.
---
Back on the battlefield...
Kael weaved between the Wraithborn, Kurozan cutting arcs of death through mist and flesh. His unstable runes flared with raw fury — elemental magic slamming into the General's armor, slowing but never stopping its monstrous advance.
His muscles burned. His spirit frayed.
The General's clawed hand lashed out — faster than sight — ripping through a summoned barrier of stone. Kael staggered, blood splattering the ground.
Not enough...
Not yet...
His hand hovered over one final rune — glowing violently, forbidden and unstable:
Time.
With a desperate roar, Kael slammed it into the earth.
The world shattered.
Runic forces detonated outward — bending light, warping sound, tearing the mist apart. Trees disintegrated. The very fabric of the Proving Grounds twisted around the boy who refused to fall.
---
Far above, aboard the extraction skyship, Senn felt it.
The ground, the air, the String itself — all quivered from the blast.
He turned toward the battlefield, a grim smile breaking across his face.
"That's my boy," he murmured, before leaping into the night, blades drawn and eyes blazing.