The Tour
Aryavarta's priest academy loomed in the predawn gloom, its obsidian walls swallowing the faint starlight. Nero trailed behind Ledger, his breath visible in the chill.
"Why's it so quiet?" Nero whispered, eyeing the shadowed corridors.
Ledger smirked. "Perfect time for kidnapping."
Nero jabbed him in the ribs.
"Ow! Kid, you're all bones and nerves," Ledger grumbled, rubbing his side. "Relax. Level 3 mage, remember? You're safe."
Nero didn't feel safe. The academy's library yawned before them—a labyrinth of floating tomes and spiraling shelves that vanished into darkness.
"Summon any book," Ledger said, snapping his fingers. A grimoire materialized in his hand. "No climbing. Unless you want to break your neck."
Nero gulped.
The Princess and the Pest
In the warrior training hall, dust motes swirled in shafts of pale dawn light. Ledger gestured to a dummy riddled with scorch marks. "This is where you'll learn to—"
A gasp cut him off.
Princess Ayumi stood in the doorway, her silver robes shimmering like moonlight. A shadow writhed at her feet—a pulsing, ink-black beetle the size of a hound.
"Your Highness!" Ledger bowed, but his voice sharpened. "Why is there a dark clavit loose?"
Ayumi flushed. "I… borrowed a sample. For research."
The clavit hissed, its mandibles snapping toward Nero.
Ledger's chakra flared. "Nero, stay back!"
Too late. The clavit lunged, drawn to Nero's soul like a moth to flame.
The Beast Awakens
The second floor reeked of iron. Blood streaked the walls. At the center stood a grotesque hybrid—half-insect, half-man, its carapace glistening with dark magic.
"Vaspa Clavit," Ledger muttered. "Abyssal evolution."
The beast roared. Ledger hurled a barrier spell, but the creature shattered it with a swipe of its clawed arm. Ayumi's purification magic fizzled—pathetic sparks against the gloom.
Nero's skull throbbed. Not again. Not again.
Memories surged—his sister's laughter, her body lifeless in his arms. Blue flames erupted from his fists.
"Nero, no!" Ledger shouted.
But Nero was already moving.
Cosmic Reckoning
The clavit laughed as Nero's punches landed, each strike ricocheting back through the clone it had crafted. Blood soaked Nero's tunic, but the flames burned brighter.
"Pathetic," the beast sneered, pinning Nero to the floor. "You're just a—urk!"
Cosmic fire engulfed Nero. The clavit's claws melted. Its screams died as the flames consumed it, leaving only ash.
Nero collapsed. The fire split—tendrils healing Ledger's wounds, stitching the shattered floor, reviving scorched trees outside.
But Nero's blood still pooled beneath him.
Ayumi cradled his head. "Why didn't it heal you?"
Ledger stared at the fading flames. "Some sacrifices even cosmic power can't undo."
Epilogue: Whispers in the Ash
The knights found them at dawn—Ayumi tear-streaked, Ledger limping, Nero unconscious.
No one noticed the shadow coalescing in the forest. A figure knelt, tracing the clavit's remains.
"Primordial's" it murmured. "The Gates stir."