Page 10

Torric

I reach Kaia's door before dawn, when the academy's shadows are deepest. My fire rune pulses with restless energy, making the corridor's torches flare in response. The power in my blood feels different lately, wilder, more demanding. Like it knows something's coming.

Through the gap beneath her door, I spot Bob patrolling in slow, purposeful arcs.

The shadow pauses his rounds to investigate my boots, and I swear he gives me an approving nod before resuming his guard duty.

Even now, their growing personalities throw me off—though Bob's stoic professionalism is easier to respect than Carl's ceiling antics.

"Kaia," I call softly, knocking. "We need to move."

No response, but her shadows shift beneath the door. Another one joins Bob—probably Patricia taking notes. A third shadow, smaller than the others, drifts through the gap like smoke. It bobs peacefully in the air before me, seeming to study my face with genuine curiosity.

"What in the void…" I start, but Finn's voice cuts me off.

"Walter!" he exclaims, appearing beside me with his usual terrible timing. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to, little guy. "

I raise an eyebrow. "Walter?"

"Look at him," Finn gestures to the tiny shadow, which does a lazy flip in response. "He's clearly a Walter. Has that sophisticated explorer vibe, you know? Like an old cartographer who once mapped the stars and then retired to haunt a library."

"I don't know how you come up with these names," I mutter, but the shadow, Walter, seems pleased, drifting closer to investigate the glow of my fire rune.

The door opens before I can protest further. Kaia stands there, wings half-furled behind her, shadows coiling protectively at her feet. The sight still knocks the air from my lungs. Not just how beautiful she is, but the raw power she radiates. My fire rune burns hotter in response.

"Let me guess," she says, voice rough with sleep. "Time to go save the world?"

"Something like that." I try for gruff but probably fail. Hard to maintain distance when her violet eyes meet mine, when her wings shift like they're reaching for me too.

The small shadow floats between us, doing another pleased flip before settling near Kaia's shoulder. Her expression shifts to curiosity as she studies the unfamiliar shadow.

"Who's this little one?" she asks, watching as the shadow investigates her wings with delicate interest.

"Walter, apparently," I explain, gesturing toward Finn. "He's on a mission to name every shadow in existence."

"He's got that distinguished air about him," Finn defends. "Like a gentleman explorer who got lost in the library and decided to stay. "

Kaia laughs, the sound hitting me square in the ribs. "Walter," she repeats, testing the name. "It suits him." Her other shadows seem to welcome the newcomer, even Bob pausing his patrol to acknowledge Walter's presence.

"We should go," I say, forcing myself to focus. "Malrik's waiting at the portal grounds."

She nods, sobering. Her wings draw closer, and her shadows shift into more defensive positions. Even Walter's peaceful bobbing takes on a purposeful quality.

"Ready to face certain doom?" Finn asks cheerfully.

Kaia's smile is fierce. "With you guys? I should be terrified."

The words settle something in my chest, even as my fire rune blazes with protective fury. Whatever we're walking into, whatever corruption Absentia holds, she won't face it alone.

I won't let her.

When we reach the portal grounds, Kaia pauses, her wings drawing close as she looks at our assembled group. Her shadows swirl anxiously around her feet as she turns to face us.

"Last chance to back out," she says, trying for lightness, but the shadows curling around her ankles betray the strain. "Except you, Malrik, I know this is your fight too. But the rest of you… you don't have to do this."

Finn, lounging against a pillar and tossing some glowing trinket in the air, snorts. "Nice try, Trouble. But we've been over this."

"More like organizing a revolution," I say, moving to stand beside my brother. "Did you really think we'd let you face certain doom without us? "

Bob, hovering near Kaia's shoulders, puffs up with what might be pride, while Mouse chirps his approval from her feet. Even her newer shadows seem to dance with excitement, feeding off her emotions.

"This isn't a game," Malrik starts from his position by the portal, but Aspen steps forward, cutting him off.

"No," my twin says quietly, his ice-blue eyes meeting Kaia's violet ones. "Which is exactly why you need us. All of us."

I move to stand beside my brother, feeling the familiar sync of our power. "We're stronger together." I hold her gaze, willing her to understand what we're really saying. "You're stronger with us."

The silence that follows feels heavy with meaning. Her shadows swirl around her in patterns that mirror the emotion I can see building in her eyes.

"You'd really walk into a corrupted shadow realm? Risk everything just to…" she trails off, like she can't quite believe we're all still here.

"Because you're family," Finn says simply, all traces of humor gone. "And family doesn't let family face ancient evil alone. It's like, rule number one."

Something in Kaia's expression softens then, making her shadows dance. The sight does something strange to my ribs, makes my fire rune pulse with a warmth that has nothing to do with power.

"I just want you all to be sure," she says quietly. "Once we cross over…"

"Save the noble sacrifice speech for after we survive," I cut her off, but I can't help smiling. "Now, can we get this apocalyptic field trip started before Malrik's frown becomes permanent?"

"Final equipment check," Malrik announces, all business despite the way his silver eyes keep darting to Kaia .

That's when we see it, Walter bobbing peacefully near the portal's edge.

Unlike the other shadows that pulse with nervous energy, Bob maintaining a perimeter while the others dart between us - this one seems utterly unconcerned with the tension around it.

Walter doesn't just observe—he studies. Like he already knows what we're walking into.

"Walter?" Kaia breathes. "How did you get here?"

The tiny shadow does a lazy flip in response, somehow managing to look both innocent and pleased with itself.

"He probably knew we'd need him," I say, watching as the little shadow drifts closer to investigate my boots.

Walter bobs in what might be agreement before floating up to eye level, regarding me with what I swear is curiosity. Despite myself, I feel my lips twitch into a smile. There's something endearing about the little guy.

"Two minutes," Malrik calls out. The portal's hum deepens, making my bones vibrate. "Remember, we stay together. No heroics."

That last bit seems directed at me, which is rich coming from the guy who basically volunteered us for this suicide mission. But before I can respond, power surges through the archway. The portal's surface ripples like black water, and something stirs in my blood.

I watch as Kaia takes a deep breath, her wings unfurling slightly as she turns to face the portal. The shadows at her feet swirl in anticipation, and I can feel my own power responding, fire coursing through my veins.

"Everyone ready?" Kaia asks, her voice steady despite the tension I can see in her shoulders.

"Always," I reply, stepping closer to her side.

Our eyes meet, and for a moment, the world narrows to just us.

The fire in my blood surges, not with the familiar heat of battle, but with something warmer, more protective.

The moment stretches, charged with unspoken words, until Finn clears his throat.

"As touching as this pre-battle bonding is," he says, "we should probably get moving before the portal destabilizes or something equally dramatic happens."

Kaia nods, breaking our gaze. "Right. Let's do this."

The moment we step through the archway, Absentia slams into me like a physical force.

The corruption in the air is thick, heavy, clinging to my skin like oil.

An unfamiliar ache blooms in my chest—not pain exactly, but a hollow warmth that demands attention.

I try to ignore it, focusing on the wrongness that permeates this place.

"Everyone alright?" Malrik calls, his voice tight. I notice him press a hand to his chest, just for a moment.

Before anyone can answer, my blood ignites.

The fire rune on my chest blazes like it's trying to consume me from the inside—but beneath the burn is a new kind of ache, hollow and magnetic, like gravity bent around Kaia.

Beside me, Aspen staggers, his water rune flaring bright enough to cast eerie blue shadows across the jagged landscape.

"What's happening?" he grits out, frost spreading from his feet in patterns like lightning. The burning spreads through my veins like molten metal, my muscles straining against my clothes. Everything sharpens—sounds, smells, the pulse of wrongness in the air.

I glance at Aspen and see the change taking him too. His lean frame expanding, shoulders broadening as ice crystals dance across his skin. My shirt tears as another wave hits, power flooding my system. The fire in my blood roars for release, for battle .

"Berserkers," Malrik breathes, his silver eyes wide. "Impossible. They were meant to be extinct."

I try to respond but my voice comes out as a growl, deeper and rougher than before. Through our twin-bond, I feel Aspen's own transformation. Ice where I'm fire, but the same primal force reshaping us both.

The ache in my chest intensifies, and I find myself taking an unconscious step toward Kaia. Each movement away from her feels wrong somehow. I notice Aspen drifting closer too, like we're caught in her orbit. Even Finn and Malrik seem to be circling nearer, though they might not realize it.

"Fascinating," Finn says, but his usual humor sounds strained. He's rubbing his chest absently. "I'm guessing this isn't part of the normal realm-hopping experience?"

The corruption of Absentia presses in, thick and wrong. But beneath it, something deeper stirs—a calling that thrums through blood and bond alike. And Kaia… Kaia is the center of it all.