The sun filtered through the tall glass windows of Arcanum Academy, scattering soft light across the marbled halls. The academy stood at the heart of the capital like a jewel its towering spires, floating runes, and shimmering barriers a reminder that here, knowledge was power, and magic ruled all.
Cassian walked through the main courtyard with a book in hand The Theory of Magicules: Core Dynamics, Volume III. His robes were worn at the edges, and his bag had a tear stitched poorly along the strap. He didn't care. His attention was buried in the chapter on mana compression thresholds, a complex topic most students skipped unless it was on the exam.
"Cass, seriously?" a voice called out behind him. "You're reading that trash again?"
He turned and smiled faintly. It was Renna, his best friend and maybe the only person in the academy who didn't treat him like he was invisible. Her fiery red hair was tied up, and her robes were pristine as always. She had top grades and a quick tongue, and she never understood why Cassian cared so much about theory.
"You don't even have magic," she said, walking beside him now. "Why do you study more than half the class?"
"Because understanding magic is still better than pretending it doesn't exist," he replied simply. "Even if I can't use it."
"Ugh, you sound like Professor Maelis."
Cassian chuckled.
They reached the main doors just as the morning bell rang. Students rushed inside from all directions, some flying in on enchanted boards, others arriving through temporary portals summoned by upperclassmen.
Renna pulled Cassian by the sleeve. "Come on, you'll get stomped if you don't move."
Professor Maelis stood tall at the front of the room, a long coat embroidered with glowing blue runes trailing behind him. His voice was always calm, but sharp enough to cut through a room full of restless teenagers.
"Magicules," he began, drawing a complex sigil in the air with a flick of his finger, "are not magic themselves but the essence from which magic is formed."
Cassian sat up straighter, quill ready. He didn't miss a word when Maelis spoke.
"Every living thing emits magicules," the professor continued. "But only those with an active magic core can will them into spells."
He pointed to the diagram now floating in the air: a glowing human form, surrounded by misty energy.
"This energy surrounds the body like a second skin. Manipulating that energy requires precise thought, intent, and an anchor a spell matrix."
Another flick of the professor's hand, and a glowing glyph appeared.
"Spell matrices are crafted using runes, which act as instructions to the magicules. Basic ones, like Ignis, create fire. But compound runes, like Ignis + Spirare, produce explosive combustion by combining flame with acceleration."
The class leaned forward in interest especially the ones who preferred fire spells.
Cassian, meanwhile, was scribbling as fast as his hand would move.He didn't just copy notes he rewrote the theory, added observations, and drew connections between chapters. Where others memorized, he understood.
After class, while most students left laughing or tossing small spells at each other, Cassian remained behind.
Professor Maelis didn't even need to ask. "Another question, Cassian?"
"Two, actually," Cassian said, stepping forward. "You said magicules are tied to life, but what happens if someone has no core at all? Do they still emit magicules?"
The professor raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"Yes. All living things leak magicules. But without a core to control them, those magicules are ambient—unfocused, directionless. Like a candle melting instead of burning."
Cassian nodded slowly. "Then... in theory, could someone manipulate ambient magicules around them instead of their own?"
Now that question gave Maelis pause.
"In theory? Yes. But ambient magicules are weak, unstable, and unpredictable. No mage would rely on them alone."
Cassian didn't argue. He just wrote that down.
The academy dining commons buzzed with chatter. Long tables were full of students eating enchanted meals that glowed, floated, or sizzled with spicy illusions.
Cassian sat near the far corner with Renna and a few others Kiro, a lazy genius who only woke up when duels were involved, and Ella, his girlfriend.
Ella sat beside him, stealing bites from his plate like she always did.
"You're going to starve one day," he said dryly.
"Not with you around," she replied, grinning.
Ella was calm, quiet, and unbothered by the academy's ranking system. She had soft features and long black hair tied in braids down her back. She didn't care that Cassian had no magic. She liked that he listened.
"Hey, did you hear about the duel this weekend?" Kiro asked, leaning in. "Top rankers going at it again. Someone's trying to beat Arven the Ice Tyrant."
Renna snorted. "Bet it's just another firehead with a death wish."
Cassian stayed quiet, watching them all talk. It felt... strange. He had friends. He had someone who cared about him. And yet, there was always this distant feeling, like he was watching his own life from outside.
Because no matter how hard he studied or how deep he understood magic, he couldn't use it. Not like them.
Cassian stayed late in the Arcanum library. The towering shelves held knowledge from every age some of it banned in other kingdoms, some guarded by living sentinels made of parchment and ink.
He sat at a lonely desk, surrounded by candlelight and books. One in particular drew his eye tonight:
"Bloodlines and Forbidden Inheritance: A Study of Anomalous Magic"
He hadn't seen this one before. It was old. Dusty. Hidden behind a false row of grimoires.
As he flipped through it, something clicked inside him. A phrase. A passage.
"Some lineages do not grant magic, but resist it born not to shape the flow, but to erase it."
His breath caught.
"A wielder of such a bloodline is not a mage, but a null. An anomaly that magic itself fears."
Cassian stared at the page for a long time.
Something inside him stirred.
He didn't know it yet, but this night was the first step toward everything changing.