Ascension of the Arcane king

A SILENCE TOO LOUD...

The Academy was quite when Elias and Seraphina returned.

Too quiet.

The usual Hum of Magic in the air felt weaker. The torches lining the Grand hall flickered unnaturally their flames dim, barely clinging to life.

Something had changed.

And Elias could feel it.

The moment they crossed the treshold, the headmaster's voice echoed from the shadows.

" you spoke the word didn't you?"

Elias stiffened.

Seraphina instinctively shifted closer to him, her body tense.

From the darkness, headmaster Aldric stepped forward his eyes unreadable. The lines on his face seemed deeper, like he had aged in the past few hours.

Elias swallowed. "How do you-?:

"Because the world felt it, Aldric interrupted, his tone sharp. "And it is already beginning to change."

THE BEGINNING OF REALITY...

Elias frowned. "I contained it."

Aldric sighed, rubbing his temple. " you think containing it means control?" He gestured towards the Grand windows lining the hall "Look outside boy."

Elias hesitated, then stepped forward.

And his breath caught.

The sky- it was cracked.

Thin, jagged fractures laced across the night pulsing with a faint silver glow.

Reality itself was splintering.

Elias's hands curled into fists. "This... this wasn't supposed to happen."

Aldric's voice was quieter now. Graver.

"You cannot Unleash power like that and expect the world to remain Unchanged .

Seraphina inhaled to her, his expression unreadable.

"It means the watchers aren't the only one who felt his awakening."

A chill ran down Elias's spine.

"Something else is coming."

THE SHADOW AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD....

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then-

A bell tolled.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Elias's heartbeat quickened. That was the warning bell.

Aldric's expression darkened. "They're already here."

Before Elias could ask who, the great doors of the Academy burst open.

A gust of Ice-cold wind Tore through the hall, and with it- a presence.

It was diffferent from the watchers. Not just observing. Not waiting.

It was hunting .

The torches died .

Shadows twisted unnaturally, stretching towards Elias like hungry hands.

And then-

A voice.

Low. Ancient. Amused.

"So you are the Arcane King Reborn."

THE STRANGER IN THE DARK...

The figure that stepped through the doors was unlike anything had ever seen.

Tall. Cloaked in robes that shimmered like a living void, devouring the light around them.

But it was the eyes that sent ice through Elias's veins.

Not silver like the watchers. Not glowing with raw magic.

They were empty.

Pure black.

Like a void that had never known light.

Elias's throat went dry.

Aldric bowed his head.

Seraphina took a step back. "Who-"

Aldric's voice was tight. "An emissary of the Abyss."

Elias had heard the name before. In whispered legends. In Forbidden texts.

The Abyss.

A realm of nothingness. Of endless hunger.

A place that did not just consume power- it devoured existence itself.

And now, it had sent a messenger.

For him.

THE FIRST OFFER...

The figure did not move closer. It didn't need to.

It stared. Studying Elias like a puzzle it had finally solved.

Then, in a voice that Sent tremors through the very walls-

"Do you know what you are boy?"

Elias forced himself to stand tall. "I know enough."

The figure tilted its head. "Do you?"

The shadows behind it shifted, twisting into shapes- visions.

A battlefield drenched in magic. An army Bowing before a single figure wreathed in violet fire. A Throne carved from a dying star.

And then-

A great war.

A clash between two forces a powerful that the world itself shattered beneath their fury.

One side fought to conquer.

The other.... to erase.

Elias felt something cold settle in his gut.

Because he already knew which side he was Meant To Belong To.

"You are not just the heir of the Arcane King," the figure said. " you are the last hope of existence itself."

Elias's breath hitched.

"What...?"

The figure smile.

And the world shuddered.

THE CHOICE THAT WOULD SHAPE THE FUTURE...

"You believe the watchers are your greatest threat," the figure continued. "You are wrong."

It took a step forward, and for the first time- Elias felt it.

A weight so crushing, so absolute, it nearly brought him to his knees.

Not just power.

Absence.

A force that could erase him from existence with the mere thought.

Elias's fingers twitched. His instincts screamed at him to run.

But he didn't.

He met those empty black eyes head-on.

"What do you want from me?"

The figure smiled.

"A simple thing, really."

It lifted a hand, and for a moment, the entire academy dimmed- as if reality itself struggled under its presence.

"Choose, Arcane king."

It pointed behind Elias.

To Seraphina.

"Choose to stand against me- and watch her perish".

Elias's breath stopped.

Seraphina froze.

"And if I don't?" Elias whispered.

The figure's smile grew.

"Then kneel."

Silence.

Seraphina's lips parted, her eyes wide. "Elias-"

Elias's heartbeat thundered in his ears.

This wasn't a warning.

It was a demand.

Kneel- or lose everything.

Amd for the first time-

He had no idea what to do.