The rope burned my wrists.
Not metaphorically — literal, itchy, dry-burning fibers that left scratches every time I moved. Someone had tied me up like I was a particularly annoying delivery.
My head throbbed. Something sticky was crusted in my hair. My blood. Great.
The candlelit room flickered with shadows, and I could just barely make out the silver bowl in front of me.
The same one from the vision.
> ⚠️ [Echo of Death Confirmed]
Fragment Fulfilled: Silver bowl. Head injury. Dim light.
Current Status: Bound. Bleeding. Pissed.
And still, somehow, with five days left.
"I thought I was done for," I said, my voice scratchy. "But this is a bit... dramatic, don't you think?"
He didn't answer. Just walked forward, dragging something — a dull knife, or maybe just a piece of metal that hated fun.
"Do you know why you're here?" he asked finally.
"Because I skipped breakfast?"
"You're here because your father broke a vow. Years ago. A pact sealed in blood and flame."
Of course.
This wasn't about me.
This was about Lord Theron Drakopoulos, whose political deals were as warm and affectionate as a spiked guillotine.
"Let me guess. You wanted his help, he said yes, and then pretended he'd never heard of you?"
"Your father swore to deliver something. He failed. So now… we take from him. Blood for blood."
"So you're going to… sacrifice me? Bit cliche."
"No sacrifice. A reminder. That even the weakest son bleeds the same."
He stepped forward. Held the knife over the bowl.
"I'm not the same Noah you think I am," I said, mostly out of desperation. "I'm—"
"No more lies."
Cool. So we're just ignoring metaphysical truth today.
I braced for the pain. But then—
Bang.
A door slammed open.
Nurse Vivianne.
And behind her — two palace-crest guards with staves drawn and a faint scent of burning magic in the air.
The hooded man hissed, turned, and threw something — a shimmer of silver smoke.
A distraction.
By the time the guards rushed in, he was gone.
Just… gone.
Vivianne ran to me, kneeling at my side.
"You absolute disaster," she muttered. "You were out for an hour. An hour."
"I missed you too," I groaned.
She healed the head wound first. Her magic was cold and precise, like someone stitching light together with a needle.
"You're lucky," she said. "We tracked your mana trail. And the guard saw you vanish near the café entrance."
I glanced at the silver bowl, still full of nothing. The ritual hadn't finished.
But the Echo had still been real.
And that scared me more than anything else.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
> 🎉 Mission: – COMPLETED
Despite being kidnapped
Reward Granted:
+1% Stamina Cap
+1% Mana Cap
Physical Condition: Improved
New Trait Unlocked: [BLACK FLAME]
Wait. What.
> 🔥 [New Ability: BLACK FLAME]
Type: Unknown Elemental Signature
Affinity: Null
Effect: Unknown — dormant until triggered
Note: This is the first instance of Black Flame recorded in system history. Proceed with caution.
"Vivianne," I whispered.
"Don't talk. You lost a lot of blood."
"I think I'm… changing."
We made it back to the Academy under guard. Vivianne filed something official — maybe a security breach, maybe a "noble nearly bled out during lunch." I wasn't paying attention.
Because something was burning inside me.
Not mana.
Something colder. Darker. Deep.
Back in the infirmary, while Vivianne was preparing another potion, I sat up and held out my hand.
Just to test.
Just to see.
I thought about fire.
About pain. About fear. About the idea of burning so bright that even the shadows couldn't ignore you anymore.
And the flame came.
But not red.
Black.
A flicker — sharp and smoky and wrong.
It danced across my fingers, soundless.
Vivianne turned. Her eyes widened.
She dropped the vial she was holding.
"Noah," she whispered. "What… did you just do?"
"I don't know," I said, staring at the flame. "But I think I just broke another rule."
> ⚠️ [BLACK FLAME: ACTIVE – Dormant Form Stabilized]
Condition: Mildly Stable
Soul Integrity: Holding steady
Time Remaining: 5 Days
Still five days.
Still not dead.