Sion's eyes narrowed and he looked around him but saw no one there and his brows furrowed in confusion, wondering what he was hearing.
He tried to ignore it, but at this point it was too much; it felt as though someone was in the room with him, watching him closely and he did not know what to do about it, but one thing he did know was that he had to find out the source of it.
He got up from his bed and locked his room door then went and lay back down, closing his eyes to try and get some sleep, since he had no idea whether the whisper was from within his head or something else entirely.
After a little while, he finally managed to fall asleep, with no sound and nothing to disturb him.
At first, it was darkness, his dreams were completely still.
Not the kind that offered rest, but the kind that pressed against the lungs, heavy and suffocating. Sion drifted in it, everything was silent, unmoving—until the world began to crack.
A single sound pierced the stillness.
It was a loud thud.
Like a heartbeat. But not his. Louder. Older. Coming from beneath and his brows furrowed in his sleep, as he wondered what was going on with him and what was happening.
The darkness began to split like glass under pressure. Cracks laced with red light spread around him, and from below, a voice slithered up through them. Not loud, but clear, echoing through the void that he found himself floating in.
"He wakes… Far too early, it was not supposed to happen; you were not supposed to happen."
Sion twisted in his sleep, brows furrowing in a tight knit, for he had no idea what was going on.
"You are not meant to bear it yet, child of no throne. Yet still… you carry the eye; a person born in your situation was not meant to have it."
The cracked void shifted. Now, he stood barefoot on a black glass-like floor, a sea of his own reflection. It was all visible in its shine, but it wasn't his current reflection.
It was him… before. Before the summoning. Before the change. Human. Normal. Angry. Alone and beside him, stood the mere frame of the body he was currently in, his eyes closed, almost dead.
And behind that reflection…
A towering figure stood, featureless, made of smoke and eyes, each blinking slowly. One glowed red. One dark blue. One matched the mark on his back.
Sion tried to speak, but his throat was seized, it was as though the space around him did not give him permission to do anything but breathe and the feeling made him uncomfortable.
"You are the vessel born of ash and will. The kings will fear you. The gods will want you leashed. Remember…"
The void began to slowly collapse around him, like pebbles being washed away from the shore by strong waves.
"The more you awaken..."
"...The less you, you will be, you will be a mixture of both, remember you are not alone."
And then silence.
Sion jerked upright in bed, breath ragged, heart hammering against his chest as though the fear of death again had been instilled within him.
His skin was clammy. The pain in his back had returned, faint but present, like a low hum warning him it had not been just a dream and he could feel it in his very bones, something was going to happen soon enough, something that he would not be expecting.
And for a few seconds after waking, he swore he could still see eyes watching him from the walls.
He rubbed his face with shaking hands.
Sion leaned back against the bed, his mind wary and he managed to fall back asleep, this time one with no dreams at all, which for a normal human being would be uncomfortable and a red flag warning.
After a long night, the next morning, he woke up to a loud knock and his brows furrowed, his eyes flickered open as he sat up with a groan.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"I am the leader of the section that you will be placed in. The orientation for new students here will be starting soon, so hurry up and get ready to join everyone in the great hall," The person said.
"Okay, I will be there," He replied, and sighed when he heard the retreating footsteps. Knowing they were gone, he felt a little relieved.
Still shaken, Sion stood and slowly went to the bathroom to freshen up. While doing so, the water streamed down him as he thought back to everything that has happened so far.
His instincts whispered that whatever path he was on… there was no turning back now.
And the Academy, whatever it truly was, might be the place it all began to unravel.
After a while, he finished freshening up and got dressed into the academy's uniform that was given to him. Once he finished, he grabbed what he needed and walked out of his room, heading into the main building in the yard.
He used the guides on the wall to find his way to the great hall. While walking, Sion could not shake the heaviness pressing on his shoulders, but it was not just from the dream but also from the mark still burning faintly beneath his clothes. It throbbed in slow pulses, as if something within was watching… or waiting.
A few curious students passed him by with sideways glances, murmuring to one another. Some whispered with intrigue, others with amusement or vague disdain.
He barely heard them and if he did, he simply did not care enough to what they had to say.
At the end of the corridor, massive double doors opened before him without a touch, an enchantment, most likely and revealed the Great Hall.
The ceiling soared high, enchanted with floating lanterns that cast a gentle violet glow, and long rows of students already sat in perfect lines, dressed in Academy black and silver. Faculty members sat elevated behind a wide stone dais, flanking a tall, dark red-robed figure who looked down with sharp, calculating eyes.
Sion stepped inside.
And the hall… quieted.
He could feel it, eyes locking on him from all sides. Whispered comments flickered around the edges of the hall.