Violet stood alone in the upper chamber of Velden Academy's Tower of Echoes. The rising sun filtered through stained glass, casting soft gold and crimson hues on her pale skin. Her hair, glowing faintly with embers from the Hollow Flame, swayed gently in the breeze. Her wand rested in her palm, fingers curled loosely around it as if it were the last thread connecting her to everything she believed in.
The Hollow Flame had changed her. Not just her abilities—but her very presence. She could feel it under her skin, humming like a sleeping storm. Yet in that moment, she wasn't afraid. She was… grounded.
Echo's footsteps echoed from the stairwell. "You're early," he said.
Violet turned to face him. "I never slept."
He didn't ask why. He could see it in her eyes—whatever happened in the city ruins had shaken her.
"You saved people," he said.
"I nearly lost control," she replied, looking down at her hands. "The Hollow Flame—it's not just power. It remembers things. I heard them. My parents. Their last words. Like they were burned into the flame."
Echo sat beside her on the cold stone ledge. "Maybe that's how they're still with you. Through your fire."
She offered a small smile. "Then I'll burn bright enough that they never fade."
---
By midday, rumors had spread across the academy. The Hollow Flame had been seen. A breach near the ruins. Violet, Echo, and the others were already being summoned by the Council of Mages.
Iris stormed into the study room, throwing her pack down. "We're being reviewed for expulsion. They said you tampered with ancient boundaries."
Violet looked up from her notes. "We didn't tamper. We reacted."
Ren, leaning against the bookshelf, folded his arms. "They're scared. That's what this is. Fear makes old men try to silence things they don't understand."
The door creaked, and the Seeker entered. His mask was off, revealing sharp gray eyes and streaks of silver in his dark hair. He carried a scroll sealed with the crest of the High Arcanum.
"The Council will see you now," he said.
---
The Council Hall was circular and carved from obsidian, lined with floating lanterns whose flames responded to magic. At the center stood the Circle Table, etched with the names of every Grand Magister in the academy's history.
Violet stood at the center, flanked by Iris, Ren, Echo, and the Seeker.
Magister Thorne, tall and thin with a voice like iron, rose first. "Violet Ash. You brought forth a power thought lost. The Hollow Flame has awakened, and with it, danger."
Professor Kael nodded grimly. "We felt the pulse of its magic across three ley lines."
Violet stood her ground. "And I stopped the breach. There were civilians—children. I didn't cause the flame. I answered it."
"Your words are bold," Thorne replied. "But magic of that nature cannot be contained. It must be isolated. Controlled."
Violet stepped forward. "You taught us that power is to be used with purpose. I found mine. I won't stand by while the Rift spreads."
The Seeker's voice rang out, low and powerful. "If you exile her, you exile your best chance of survival. The Rift doesn't care for your politics."
Silence fell.
Professor Lianne, the youngest member, finally raised her hand. "I vote she remains."
Others followed—some reluctantly, others defiantly. When the final vote was cast, the result stood: Violet could stay. But she would be watched.
As the chamber emptied, Magister Thorne lingered. "You've set something in motion, girl. Fire always spreads."
Violet held his gaze. "Then I'll learn to wield it before it consumes everything."
---
Back at the tower, she unfurled a hidden scroll from her mother's collection. Glyphs shimmered like starlight.
"What is it?" Iris asked.
Violet traced a symbol. "It's not just a spell. It's a gate map. It shows where Rift openings are most likely to emerge."
Ren leaned over her shoulder. "There's one nearby. The Echoing Spire."
Echo's brow furrowed. "It's unstable. No one's returned from its core."
"I will," Violet whispered. "And I'll bring back the truth."
---
Violet stood before the Echoing Spire three nights later. The sky overhead was cloaked in clouds, and moonlight flickered through the thick mist that clung to the ground. The spire loomed above her like a broken tooth jutting from the earth—twisted, ancient, and pulsing faintly with violet light. It hummed with unstable magic.
Echo, Iris, and Ren stood behind her, uneasy.
"You sure about this?" Iris asked.
Violet nodded. "The Rift is growing. We saw what happened to Haven's Edge. If we don't act, more cities will fall."
Echo placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Then we're with you."
Together, they stepped into the spire.
---
The inside was nothing like the outside. The moment they crossed the threshold, space seemed to bend. The corridors shifted, stone melting into glass, then metal, then into a dreamlike forest. The rules of the world didn't apply here.
"It's reacting to our memories," Violet murmured.
Ren looked around nervously. "Then mine must be broken."
Suddenly, the ground cracked beneath them. A fissure erupted with blue flame, and a creature—part smoke, part shadow—lunged from the rift.
"Back!" Echo shouted, raising a barrier of kinetic mana.
Violet's wand ignited, her fire pure and golden. "This one's mine."
She launched forward, casting three glyphs in quick succession. Her flames coiled like serpents, striking true and searing the beast's body. It let out a distorted screech before vanishing into ash.
More followed.
They battled their way down through shifting terrain and unpredictable corridors. Time itself became unreliable. Hours passed—or maybe days. None could tell.
Finally, they reached the heart.
A crystalline chamber suspended over a void of stars. In the center stood a monolith, cracked and glowing from within. Surrounding it were echoes—holographic imprints of past mages, fighting, dying, screaming.
"This is where the first Rift bled through," Violet whispered.
The monolith pulsed in response.
Violet stepped forward.
"Careful," Echo warned.
But she didn't stop. Her wand lifted, and the Hollow Flame responded to the monolith's light. As the flames touched the surface, a vision flooded her mind.
She saw her mother. Her father. The night of the dungeon outbreak. But this time, she saw more—a rift fragment had embedded itself in their home. The monsters weren't random. They were drawn to it.
They had died protecting something.
She gasped, falling to her knees.
Iris rushed forward. "Violet!"
"They knew," Violet choked. "My parents… they were Guardians."
Echo's eyes widened. "Then that means…"
"They didn't die by chance. They were targeted. The rift fragment was a key. One of many."
She rose shakily. The monolith was crumbling, her Hollow Flame unraveling the false reality within.
Suddenly, a voice echoed across the chamber.
"So the daughter awakens."
A figure stepped from the shadows, cloaked in Rift energy. His eyes glowed like dying suns.
"Who are you?" Violet demanded.
"I am what your world forgot. I am the Riftbound."
The Riftbound lifted a hand, and reality cracked. Echo, Iris, and Ren were flung back as the floor twisted.
Violet stood alone.
The Riftbound attacked, flinging spears of void mana. She countered with shields of flame, weaving between blasts and retaliating with controlled bursts. The fight was fierce. Each blow tore at the chamber's walls. Glyphs shattered mid-air. Space folded.
Violet's body screamed with effort, but she held the line.
"I won't let you win," she hissed.
The Riftbound laughed. "Then burn, little spark."
He struck her directly—she flew backward, slamming into the monolith. It cracked fully, revealing a core of swirling gold and black.
Her Hollow Flame surged in response, pouring from her like a tidal wave. The chamber began to collapse.
Violet rose, bloodied but alive. "You want fire?"
She unleashed everything. Glyphs, incantations, pure will. Her flame enveloped the Riftbound, pushing him to the edge of the void.
"THIS IS FOR MY PARENTS!" she screamed.
One final burst—and he was gone.
The chamber shattered.
---
They awoke on a hillside outside the spire. Morning sunlight bathed the ruins. The spire was gone.
"Did we win?" Ren muttered.
Violet sat up, her hair singed at the edges.
"No," she said. "We delayed it. But now I know the truth."
She looked to the horizon, where other spires glinted faintly in the distance.
"They're coming. The Riftbound aren't done. And neither am I."
---
Back at the academy, the Council convened again.
This time, they didn't question her. They listened.
And when Violet laid the Rift Key—the monolith core—upon the table, a hush fell.
The war was no longer distant. It had begun.