The air was colder than usual as evening settled over the academy grounds. A faint mist crawled across the forest floor, coiling like fingers from something ancient and waiting.
Kael stood with Mikaho and Zehr near the wooden fence that bordered the outer edge of the known maps—the edge of the Forbidden Zone.
Ashen stood just a few steps away, his arms folded, gaze firm. His cloak fluttered gently in the wind.
"Don't step beyond that ridge," Ashen said, pointing toward the dense, darker woods beyond. "That place... it's not for you. Not yet."
Kael frowned. "But what's there? Why hide it from us?"
Ashen's eyes didn't move. "Some things are buried for a reason. And if you force them to rise... they don't return quietly."
There was silence.
Then Ashen turned and walked away, his single hand resting on the hilt of his sword. But Kael's eyes stayed on the ridge.
Later that night, after the academy fell into silence, the three friends stood again at the fence.
"We're really doing this?" Zehr asked, adjusting his cloak.
Mikaho gave a small nod. "If there's something hidden there, we need to know."
Kael tightened the straps on his boots. "Ashen said not to go… but he didn't explain why. That makes me want to see it even more."
The three of them crossed the fence.
As soon as they passed the ridge, the world seemed to shift.
The air grew thick and still. The trees looked older, gnarled and hunched like they were watching. A low sound hummed from beneath the earth—a vibration rather than a noise.
"Why does it feel like the ground is... breathing?" Zehr muttered.
They moved slowly, every step crunching over dry leaves that looked long dead. No birds. No wind. No stars above—just clouds, heavy and unmoving.
They reached a clearing where a stone arch stood, broken in the middle, half-swallowed by vines. Strange symbols ran along its edges—nothing like what they'd seen before.
"This place wasn't on any map," Mikaho whispered.
Suddenly, a rustle.
They froze.
From behind the stone arch, a flicker of red light flashed—like a dying heartbeat. Then it vanished.
Kael stepped forward, heart pounding. "What is this place?"
Before any answer could come, the wind returned all at once—cold and fast. A whisper echoed between the trees:
"Not yet... not yet..."
Mikaho grabbed Kael's arm. "We should go."
Kael hesitated… then nodded.
They turned back, the path suddenly longer than it had felt before.
And somewhere, far from them—but connected to them now—a seal shifted.
Back at the Academy
Ashen stood on the rooftop of the academy tower, staring at the dark woods. He could feel the shift.
"They crossed the ridge," he said to himself.
He didn't move to stop them. He simply closed his eyes.
"They have to see it for themselves."
Note to the Readers:As secrets deepen and danger draws closer, the official theme song of Season 1 – "The Forbidden Wake" is now live!🎧 Listen now on the SUNO website under The Forbidden Wake profile.