The dormitory halls were silent, save for the distant hum of magical wards and the occasional creak of wood settling in the night air. Moonlight streamed through arched windows, casting silver bars across the floor. Most students had long since gone to bed.
Kaito sat cross-legged on the rug in his room, Echo of Arcanum resting across his lap. The sword's surface pulsed with a subtle blue glow, matching his slow, deliberate breaths. He tried to empty his mind—tried to listen, as Professor Vexis had instructed.
But something kept tugging at the edge of his awareness. A pressure in the air. A weight that didn't belong.
His eyes snapped open.
Footsteps.
Heavy. Purposeful. Coming closer.
The doorknob turned before he could stand.
And then the door splintered inward.
A hulking figure filled the threshold, bathed in moonlight and menace.
Darius.
His frame was massive—easily seven feet tall—wrapped in armor etched with pulsing war-runes that glowed faint red beneath the surface. Scars crisscrossed his exposed arms, and his eyes, a deep iron gray, locked onto Kaito with predatory stillness.
"Found you," he said simply.
Kaito scrambled to his feet, the Echo humming to life in his grip. "Who—"
"I am Darius," the man interrupted, stepping into the room. The floor creaked beneath his boots. "Some call me the Unbreakable. I do not seek titles. Only proof."
"Proof of what?" Kaito asked, trying to steady his voice.
"That I am the strongest," Darius said, drawing a blade the size of a greatsword from the leather strap across his back. Unlike Echo, it had no glow, no flourish—just raw steel, chipped and battered from endless battles. "And you carry something that must be earned. The Echo."
Kaito's grip tightened. "You're with the Silver Court."
Darius gave the faintest nod. "They sent me. But I would have come eventually. I felt it. That blade… it calls to strength. It calls to me."
Without warning, he stepped forward—and the floor cracked beneath the weight of his presence.
Kaito barely rolled aside as the sword came down, carving a deep gash through the stone floor. The impact shook the walls.
"This isn't a battlefield!" Kaito shouted. "You'll kill someone!"
"I came for you," Darius said, calm as a boulder. "Fight me. Or I will bring this place down until you have no choice."
The Echo's blade shimmered brighter in Kaito's hand, reacting—not just to Darius's raw strength, but to Kaito's rising fear, his unwillingness to run.
Kaito's pulse thundered. He couldn't beat this man—not in a straight fight. But maybe… he didn't have to.
He raised the Echo defensively. "You want a fight? You'll get one. Just not here."
Darius tilted his head. A flicker of approval passed over his expression. "Then run. I will follow. And when you turn to face me, we will see which of us is chosen."
Kaito bolted—not out of fear, but strategy. Through the ruined door, down the hall, leaping over startled students, Echo clutched tightly in his hand.
Behind him, Darius followed at a steady, relentless pace.
Not running.
Just waiting.
Kaito's boots skidded across the polished stone as he rounded a corner of the dormitory hall. His heart pounded. He could hear Darius behind him—not running, but coming like an unstoppable avalanche.
Boom.
The wall beside him exploded.
Kaito was thrown forward in a cloud of stone dust and splinters, tumbling across the floor with a grunt. Pain flared along his ribs. Darius had punched through the wall.
"Running proves nothing," Darius growled, stepping through the jagged opening. His massive form emerged from the debris like a monster from legend, crimson runes on his arms glowing hotter now. "Stand. Face me."
Kaito coughed, pushing himself upright. He held the Echo before him, its glow flickering anxiously in the dark.
But before Darius could move again—
"That's far enough, titan."
The voice rang out like silk across steel.
From the upper archway overlooking the courtyard, a slender figure landed in a smooth, graceful motion. Long blonde hair flowed behind her like golden firelight. Her blade, Whisperfang, shimmered with a sharp glint as she raised it in one hand, eyes narrowing with a catlike gleam.
Seraphine Vaelaris.
"Breaking walls? Hunting students in the dead of night?" she said with a teasing pout. "I don't recall giving anyone permission to start a war on academy grounds."
Darius paused, his sword lowering a fraction. "You're not my target."
"You are now," she said coolly.
In a blur, she vanished—then reappeared behind him, Whisperfang slashing across his back. Sparks flew as her blade scraped across his runic armor.
Darius grunted and spun, swinging wide. She ducked under the blow with unnatural grace, twisting midair in a dazzling flourish and landing beside Kaito.
"You alright, sweetheart?" she asked without turning, tone playful.
"I've been better," Kaito muttered.
"He's marked you. That means he won't stop." She smiled slightly. "Lucky for you, I don't like it when grown men stalk my students."
Darius raised his blade again.
And then—
"Enough."
The air rippled.
Time seemed to still.
A storm of arcane energy swirled through the corridor as a man stepped out of a shadow cast by nothing.
Dean Marcellus Kain.
His regal robes shimmered with woven sigils of sapphire and gold. His beard, immaculately trimmed, barely moved as he spoke, but his eyes—piercing blue and ancient—glared at Darius with utter authority.
"You trespass on sacred ground," the Dean said, each word laced with magic. "You threaten a student under my protection."
Darius tensed, but did not lower his weapon.
"I came for the blade," he rumbled.
"You'll leave with your pride, if I allow it," Marcellus replied. "But another step, and you will learn the meaning of true invulnerability."
Seraphine sheathed Whisperfang with a whisper of steel. "He's yours, Dean. Though I must admit… he's rather handsome in that brutal warlord way."
Kaito stood frozen, torn between awe and confusion.
Marcellus gestured once.
A glyph circle erupted beneath Darius—vast and glowing, inscribed with runes no one else recognized.
The titan stepped back.
A flicker of uncertainty crossed his face.
"This is not over," Darius said, his voice low. "I will return, boy. And when I do… you will fight me."
The circle flared—and in a crackling burst of blue light, Darius vanished.
Kaito let out a shaky breath.
Silence fell.
Then Seraphine exhaled and brushed dust from her hips. "Well, that was fun. You really do attract all the wrong kinds of attention, Kaito."
Marcellus turned to him, expression unreadable. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we talk. About the Echo. About him."
Kaito met the Dean's gaze and nodded.
But inside, he knew—tonight wasn't just a warning.
It was a promise.
The dorm corridor was still cracked and dust-filled, faintly lit by moonlight spilling through the shattered wall. With Dean Kain gone in a ripple of arcane shimmer, only the fading magic in the air marked that anything had happened at all.
Kaito stood motionless, his breath still unsteady, the Echo of Arcanum humming quietly in his hand.
Then soft footsteps echoed behind him.
Seraphine Vaelaris approached, her blade now fully sheathed, her posture relaxed—but her eyes remained sharp. The usual flirtation in her smile had dimmed, replaced with something quieter… more serious.
"You're trembling."
Kaito blinked and looked at his hands. He was. Slightly.
"I'm fine," he said.
"You're not." She stepped closer and brushed a thumb against a smear of dust on his cheek. "But you will be."
Her tone was softer now—less the teasing enforcer, more the protector.
"I've seen that look before," she added, voice dropping. "The one you have right now. It's what people wear when they realize how fragile everything really is."
Kaito didn't answer right away. The weight of Darius's gaze… the memory of that enormous blade descending toward him… it hadn't faded yet.
"I couldn't even touch him," he finally muttered. "He barely tried. And I… I couldn't stop him."
Seraphine's expression didn't shift. "Of course you couldn't. Not yet."
He looked up, startled. "You're not surprised?"
She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Kaito, that man is a monster wrapped in runes and rage. You're still learning to walk with a blade that hasn't finished waking up. But you stood your ground. That matters more than you think."
Before he could reply—
"Kaito?"
The sound of hurried footsteps turned both their heads.
Elya rounded the far corner, her robes uneven, hair loose from sleep. Her eyes were wide with panic.
"I heard the explosion—what happened? Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly, rushing toward him.
"I'm fine," he said quickly, offering her a weak smile.
But she didn't stop. Elya practically crashed into him, throwing her arms around his middle, holding him tightly.
"You're not fine," she whispered.
Kaito stiffened—then relaxed into her hug, the tension easing from his shoulders just a little.
"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Seraphine tilted her head, watching the two of them quietly. A faint, knowing glint returned to her gaze, but she said nothing.
Elya pulled back just enough to look at him properly. "Was it… was it him? The one from your visions?"
He nodded.
Her jaw tightened. "Why here? Why now?"
"Because he's after the Echo," Seraphine said, stepping forward again. "And Kaito's finally making enough noise for people like that to listen."
She looked to the shattered stone and cracked floor beneath them. "You're going to have more nights like this, both of you. He made that clear. He'll be back."
Kaito gripped the hilt of the Echo tighter.
"I'll be ready next time," he said.
Seraphine gave him an approving nod. "Good. Because this? This was just his introduction."
She turned, her long hair catching the moonlight. "For now, both of you get some rest. I'll have the wards reinforced and the mess cleaned before the morning bell. Pretend none of this happened if you like. But remember it."
She paused at the ruined archway.
"And Kaito?" she added, casting a final glance over her shoulder, voice suddenly low and sultry. "Next time you want to have a midnight rendezvous… try to pick someone who doesn't swing a six-foot sword."
With a wink, she vanished into the shadows.
Elya let out a shaky laugh.
"Why do the most terrifying people here also have the best timing?" she murmured.
Kaito sighed. "I don't know."
They stood in silence for a moment, watching the stars above through the broken ceiling.
But even as quiet returned, one truth remained:
This was only the beginning.