Stepping into Arcadia again, Kyle felt a different kind of warmth settle over him. Maybe it was because this was his hometown—or maybe it was the fact that, for the first time in a long while, he felt light.
He walked at an easy pace, the weight on his shoulders finally lessened. He still had questions—about the diary, the ring, the awakening—but for now, he was content.
His thoughts drifted as he walked, until a sudden hand on his shoulder made him jump. He turned—and smiled.
"Dad!"
Kalum stood there, silver hair glinting in the sun, a relaxed smile on his face. Even at thirty-five, he turned heads. His bronze skin, long black coat, and piercing eyes gave him an air of quiet authority.
"You done with your business?" Kalum asked.
Kyle nodded. He had a lot to say, but the street wasn't the place for it.
As they walked toward home, Kalum grinned. "You're in luck. Your mom cooked shrimp in red sauce, honey-glazed fish with pineapple, and garlic chicken."
Kyle's stomach growled. "Wow, I can't wait.."
They reached the house in under twenty minutes and knocked a little loud, worrying that Aeiana, is in the kitchen and didn't hear the knock. After a few minutes, soft footsteps rushed toward the door.
"Mom, I'm back," Kyle smiled at his mother as the door opened.
Aeiana blinked at the sight of them both. "You two came home together?"
"I found him wandering the streets like a lost person," Kalum teased.
"Don't pick on him. Kyle, take your things inside, wash up, and let's eat." She pulled him inside and gave Kyle a gentle push toward his room.
Kalum rolled his eyes. Forgotten again—the fate of every husband when the son is home. He followed after them, and once Kyle shut his door, he wrapped his arms around Aeiana from behind.
"Aren't you going to ask how my day was?" he said playfully.
Aeiana turned with a soft laugh, hugging him back. "Alright. How was it?"
Kalum's smile faded slightly. "More missing cases. Poor folks, orphans from the slums. The organization thinks it could be villains—people abusing their awakened powers. They want to check as well if Arcadia's been affected."
Aeiana frowned. "They've been missing for months?"
"Some of them, yeah. Around two hundred in total. And no real trace. I mean—how do you hide that many people?"
"A school? A training camp?" she guessed, but even as a seasoned mage, she knew it sounded far-fetched.
Kalum shook his head. "Let's not talk about this now. Come on, let's eat."
The table was already set, every dish perfectly arranged. Shrimp glistened in red sauce, golden garlic chicken, and honey-glazed fish with pineapple bits are spread around the fish. The air was thick with the smell of sweet, savory goodness.
Kyle emerged, hair still wet and clothes fresh. Aeiana sighed at the sight of his damp head.
"I tried to dry it," he said sheepishly. "But I was too hungry."
He sat opposite her, arranged their tableware, then waited until his parents joined him before taking a bite. The shrimp exploded with flavor—crunchy, sweet, rich. He closed his eyes, savoring it.
After lunch, they moved to the living room. Kyle sat between his parents on the couch, the ring on his finger catching the light.
"So," Kalum asked quietly, "what happened?"
Kyle took a breath. "I found a diary in the attic. It mentioned something about Nulls and pointed me to the Forest of Orcan. There… I found this ring."
He lifted his hand. The black band didn't glow or shine, but its runes gave off a sense of age and mysterious power.
"I don't know how… but after finding it, the diary guided me to something called the Trial of Fire. I passed it. I'm awakened now."
Kalum and Aeiana exchanged a glance. Kyle had clearly gone through something intense, even if he skimmed the details.
Kalum leaned forward. "That ring… doesn't it seem familiar?"
Aeiana nodded slowly. "Maybe, I've seen something like it in a book. I'll try to remember."
Kyle perked up. "Thanks Mom and Dad. The problem is—I don't know how to activate it."
"It's simple," Kalum said. "Find a calm state. Think back to your awakening—what you felt, what you saw. Clear your mind and say 'Unlock.' That usually works. When an elemental rune will appear on your body, that's mean your power is activated and you can already wield it"
Kyle nodded. He hadn't learned this in class—he left before semester break, chasing the awakening he thought would make him feel whole. He wanted to be a hero. To stop being left behind.
He sat straighter, eyes closed. He remembered the trial—the fire, the heat, the surge of something ancient moving through him.
"Unlock," he whispered.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
Frustration crept in. Doubt followed.
What if it wasn't real? What if I can't use it?
Kalum gently held his head. "Relax. Maybe it's different for you. Maybe it has to be through the ring."
Kyle's eyes lit up at that.
Right. His awakening wasn't normal. Maybe this ring works differently.
Still, questions raced through his mind.
How do I activate it through the ring? What if his awakening was a false imagination from himself?
"No," Kyle said under his breath. He sat straighter again. This time, he let everything go. He focused not on the trial, but on the ring. Its presence. The feeling of something sealed inside it.
Kyle closed his eyes, pushing aside the doubts, the fear, the feeling that maybe… he was just broken.
He placed a hand over the ring.
Focus. The fire. The pressure. The moment it all changed.
"Unlock," he whispered.
Nothing.
He grit his teeth. Again. "Unlock."
Still nothing.
But then—
A subtle tingling.
Barely there. The tingling did not last 5 second. His hand twitched as the ring pulsed faintly under his palm, the runes glowing at the same time, yet it vanished. He tried to look at his hand, if there is any rune appear.
He remembered what he'd read: when someone awakened, an elemental rune would etch itself onto their body, the location shaped by their profession.
For knights or swordsmen, the rune took the form of a blade across the forearm.
Healers bore their mark on their palms.
Assassins—at the back of the neck.
Mages, often across the heart or the center of the forehead.
But Kyle saw no change. No searing mark. No glowing emblem.
Was it a failure?
Or something else entirely?
His eyes snapped open.
"What… was that?"
Kalum and Aeiana turned their heads.
Before anyone could speak, a sharp buzz echoed from Kalum's mobile phone.
He picked it up. Frowned.
"What is it?" Aeiana asked, her voice quiet but tense.
Kalum's expression darkened. "Patrol just spotted something near the eastern outskirts. They say it's fast, inhuman, moving in the shadows."
Aeiana went still. "Creature? In Arcadia?" Arcadia is a small town, and small population, this town does not have high rise buildings like others, but the thing they can boast is, the food and safety.
Kalum nodded slowly, eyes drifting toward Kyle.
Kyle stared down at his ring—now silent again.
Still. Cold.
But something inside him whispered:
That wasn't nothing.
The room fell silent.
Outside, the wind shifted—just enough to rattle the windows.
And somewhere, unseen, something began to move.