The sun over Halberd Academy had dimmed somehow. Not in brightness, but in warmth. The sky was still blue, the towers still cast their proud shadows on the ancient flagstones, but everything now held an edge, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Inside the restored Circle Room, six figures stood beneath the kaleidoscopic light of floating crystal lanterns. The floor pulsed faintly beneath them a sigil of ancient elements etched in silver and bone, responding to their presence. One by one, the six had arrived. And now, they faced each other for the first time.
Andrew Whitmore stood near the center, his expression carefully neutral, though his mind buzzed. He felt Whitmore stirring under his skin, not in malice, but in curiosity. Ryo Takemura leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, his eyes sharp and unreadable. Lilienne Dumas perched at the edge of the circle like a cat watching everything, her smile enigmatic. Jason Mercier stood tall and motionless, his eyes flicking to every corner, measuring, testing.
Lisa Cindrel, clad in that pristine overcoat of hers, stood beside Jason like a blade in its sheath silent but ready to cut. And lastly, Seraphina Kade, with her silver hair and haunted eyes, drifted in like a dream made flesh. She stared openly at Andrew.
"You're Andrew Whitmore," she said aloud, her voice like crystal chimes.
Andrew turned, slightly uncomfortable under her gaze. "Yes. And you are..."
"Seraphina," she smiled. "I saw you in a vision once. You stood at the edge of a cliff. The stars behind you were falling."
Jason raised a brow. Lisa rolled her eyes slightly.
Andrew scratched his neck awkwardly. "Uh... nice to meet you."
Seraphina tilted her head. "You're even more beautiful in person."
A pause.
Ryo let out a laugh, half-mocking, half-genuine. Andrew coughed into his hand and tried to change the subject. "So… are we all here then?"
Professor Albrecht entered at that moment, saving him from further embarrassment. He held a scroll in each hand, bound with ancient seals. Behind him, Dean Halvorsen and Head Enchanter Valtan stepped forward.
"Now that you're all assembled," Albrecht said, placing the scrolls gently on a round obsidian table, "it's time to explain why you've been called."
The room dimmed as Valtan raised a hand. A pulse of magic sealed the doors. The six fell silent.
"Each of you comes from a bloodline or legacy that connects you to the Old Threads of this world," Dean Halvorsen began. "You are not merely students. You are catalysts. And something has begun to stir in the seams of our reality."
Valtan unfurled one of the scrolls. Glowing runes leapt into the air, hovering like stars.
"The scrolls are living maps," Albrecht explained. "They show disturbances,tears,where the boundary between this world and another is weakening."
Andrew stepped closer. The runes shimmered when he approached.
Lilienne narrowed her eyes. "It's reacting to him."
"Each scroll will attune to one of you," Valtan said. "They contain knowledge, warnings, and riddles. But be warned. They do not lie but they don't always tell the truth in ways you expect."
Jason stepped forward, his voice quiet. "What are we fighting?"
Dean Halvorsen hesitated. "We're not entirely sure."
A chill spread through the room. Even the lanterns seemed to flicker.
Lisa's voice was sharp. "You summoned us without knowing what we're facing?"
"We know this," Albrecht said. "It's older than words. It predates the written histories. We've only seen echoes of it... and those were enough to crumble cities."
Silence.
Andrew looked down at the scroll now floating in front of him. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Later, the group sat together around a fire in the old tower's lounge converted hastily into a war room.
Ryo was the first to break the silence. "So, this is real. Not just politics. Not a stunt."
"No," Lilienne said, sipping tea. "It's far older. I saw one of the leylines burning in my dreams."
Jason sat with his elbows on his knees. Lisa stood behind him, arms crossed.
"We've been chosen," Jason muttered. "Not because we're ready. But because no one else can be."
Lisa looked at him, something rare and unguarded flickering across her face. "You're not alone in this. Not this time."
He met her eyes briefly and nodded.
Andrew, meanwhile, sat beside Seraphina, who had moved closer since they left the Circle Room.
"You're not like the others," she said softly.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because when you stand still, the world listens. I hear the wind hold its breath around you."
He chuckled, uncomfortable. "That sounds poetic."
"It's prophecy."
Kate's laughter echoed in his memory. Her teasing words. Her warmth. And yet here was Seraphina, radiant and strange, drawn to him like a moth to fire.
Andrew leaned back, exhaling slowly. "What happens now?"
Ryo tossed a dagger up, catching it mid-air. "We train. We track. And we stay alive."
As the night deepened, the scrolls pulsed from where they were kept on the table. Unfurled slightly, one whispered a line only Andrew heard
"What was split shall seek the whole. And when shadow and soul walk as one, the door shall open."
Andrew's breath caught.
Whitmore stirred.
And so began the first night of the Chosen Six. Bound by fate. Marked by blood. And haunted by a truth too old to name.
The Gifted had arrived.
But whether they would survive each other… remained to be seen.