The smell of old parchment and arcane ink hit Kael the moment he entered the Arcanum Hall.
Tall, spiraling bookshelves reached the ceiling. Floating platforms glided between levels, glowing softly. Crystal screens flickered with moving texts. Students in various uniforms sat at rune-etched desks, some reading, some casting silent spells from memory.
Kael wasn't used to silence. Or calm. Or being alive this long, really.
He took a seat in the back.
Across the hall, Zara Myne watched him with faint amusement.
"New blood," she muttered, sliding into the seat next to him. "And already a crowd favorite."
Kael blinked. "You're… talking to me?"
Zara raised an eyebrow. "You thought Noctis kids were all fangs and flex? Relax, I'm Aether. We're smarter."
She tossed a book onto his desk: Blood Theory & Mutagenic Traits: A Beginner's Curse.
"You'll need this. And about twenty more."
Before Kael could answer, the instructor entered. Or rather, she arrived.
Matron Halira, blindfolded and ancient, drifted into the hall, her feet not touching the ground. Her voice rang like a chorus.
"Lesson One: Blood is not power. Blood is memory. And memory… is corruption."
She raised her hand—and half the students collapsed in seizures, foaming at the mouth.
Kael flinched. Zara didn't.
"Don't worry," she said. "She's just filtering out the weak."
Kael stared. "That's legal?"
Zara shrugged. "This is Eclipse Academy. If you can't survive class, you won't survive the real test."
Kael checked his Codex. His screen flickered again:
> New Trait Learning Opportunity Detected
Bloodwave Resistance – Passive
Source: Instructor Halira
Assimilation Possible (Passive-Only Absorption)
Cost: 30 Codex Units
Confirm? [Y/N]
He confirmed.
A dull ache spread through his skull—then vanished. When Halira pulsed again, Kael felt it... but didn't fall.
He was learning. Fast.
---
Later, outside the hall, Zara walked with him through the glass corridors overlooking the training grounds.
"You're not like the others," she said. "No crest. No house tattoo. But your aura... it's loud."
Kael sighed. "I didn't ask for any of this."
Zara looked at him. "No one does. We just get bitten… by fate, by blood, or by someone else."
A pause.
"Watch your back, Kael. The faculty won't protect you. The Houses won't accept you. And Lucien? He will try again."
Kael nodded.
Good. Let them.
Because his Codex wasn't done yet.
> Codex Tier: 0.1 → 0.2
New Slot Unlocked: Active Skill Slot (1)
Choose a Trait to Promote:
— Shadow Leap
— Instinctual Bind
— Blood Vitality