The weeks following the Trial of Powers were tumultuous.
The Academy had once been a place of order, of training, of heroes.
Now, it was a place where tensions simmered just below the surface. The light and the dark were no longer just words — they were realities. Living, breathing systems that shaped every student's life.
For Arin, the pressure of being the golden child of the Veyla family grew heavier with every passing day.
She had trained to be the hero the world expected her to be, but now she was faced with a reality where light was not enough to shield her from the growing darkness.
Her Heroic System, the Celestial Vow, had gifted her great strength and unmatched power, but it had also demanded more. Arin was forced to push herself beyond her limits, constantly trying to prove her worth — not only to the Academy but to the world.
Every time she thought of her sigil — that golden light that marked her as the Hero of the Light — it felt like a weight she could no longer carry.
The students had seen her rise. They had seen her shine.
But what they didn't see were the cracks beneath the surface.
Kai's journey had been a dark reflection of Arin's.
While she was celebrated, he was treated like a curse. The Abyssal Rebirth twisted within him, granting him the ability to copy others' powers, but at a cost. With every use of his power, the darkness stole more of his humanity, leaving him a hollow shell.
He had felt it — the darkness rising inside him. Every time he copied someone's power, it consumed him, took him deeper into the Abyss.
One night, as Kai trained alone in the secluded training halls, the power surged again. His body trembled as his mind fractured.
"This isn't who I am," he muttered to himself, but his hands shook as the shadowy sigil on his arm flared, marking the Abyss's hold on him.
"I need to control it," Kai gritted his teeth. "I can't let it take me."
His thoughts were interrupted as Soren — the wielder of the Tempest's Resolve — walked into the room.
"Kai," Soren said, his voice calm, but his eyes intense. "You need to face it. You can't keep hiding from it."
Kai turned sharply, glaring at Soren. "What do you know about it? You think just because you have wind and storm powers, you can understand this?"
Soren held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "No," he said softly, "I'm not trying to understand it. I'm trying to help you. We're not meant to fight alone, Kai."
Kai stood in silence, the Abyss swirling within him. For a moment, the darkness seemed to whisper, pulling him deeper into its grip. He clenched his fists, but he couldn't escape it. The power called to him, demanded that he submit.
"I'm not a hero," Kai said through clenched teeth, "I'm a monster. And this system, this curse, it's turning me into something worse."
Soren's gaze softened, and he walked up to Kai, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're all monsters, Kai. Even Arin. She might be the light, but that light comes with a burden. She's just hiding it better than you are."
Kai looked at Soren, his eyes burning with frustration. "What's your point?"
"The point is that we're all human," Soren replied. "And we're all broken. But that doesn't mean we have to fall into darkness. We can fight it."