When I woke up, I stretched slowly, only noticing a few seconds later that it had long since grown dark outside. The room was filled with the dim light of a magical lantern from the street, filtering through the curtains. The sleep had been so deep that, for a moment, I had even forgotten where I was.
Only after tapping the emblem on my uniform twice did I see glowing numbers appear.
Half past eleven.
I shot up from the bed.
The drowsiness vanished instantly.
Grabbing the key, I hurried toward the door. Stepping into the corridor, I quickly locked the room and headed for the stairs. The first floor of the dormitory was surprisingly quiet. A few stufons sat at tables, speaking softly among themselves, while someone else was reading a book, completely immersed in it.
No one paid much attention to me.
Once outside, I headed back toward the academy.
The night air was cool and refreshing. Magical lanterns lining the paths bathed the grounds in a soft bluish glow, making the academy seem almost unreal.
Only now did I realize I had forgotten to ask the dean whether I would need to explain myself to the guards because of the late visit.
Though at this point, it was already too late to go back.
When I reached the gates, I found them still open.
That surprised me far more than it should have.
Stepping inside, I quickened my pace.
Only a few minutes remained until midnight.
The academy looked completely different at night.
During the day, it was filled with voices, footsteps, conversations, and movement, but now an almost unnatural silence reigned around me.
The corridors seemed longer.
The shadows deeper.
The light of magical lamps reflected off the white stone, making the space feel cold and lifeless.
I did not meet a single stufon along the way.
Not one professor.
As if the entire building had died.
The feeling was deeply unsettling.
After climbing the stairs, I quickly headed toward the swordsmen's wing and soon stopped in front of a familiar door.
The Talent Evaluation Office.
Taking a short breath, I knocked.
"Come in," Ama`Lein's voice called out immediately.
Pushing the door open, I stepped inside.
The room had changed beyond recognition.
The furniture had been pushed against the walls, clearing the center of the chamber. Several magical circles had been inscribed on the floor in intricate patterns, connected by thin lines, with mana slowly flowing through them.
Candles in metal holders stood at the edges of each circle, filled not with ordinary wax, but with a thick dark liquid.
Their flames burned steadily.
Too steadily.
As if they did not obey normal laws.
The air was heavy with the scent of metal, herbs, hot wax, and something sharp and unfamiliar.
It made my head spin slightly.
Ama`Lein sat in an armchair in the far corner.
Noticing me, he rose and approached at an unhurried pace.
"You're almost late," the dean remarked coldly.
A small glass bottle containing a cloudy gray liquid appeared in his hands.
Then he handed me a deep metal bowl.
"Listen carefully. You need to mix the contents of this elixir with your blood, then apply the mixture over your entire body."
Silently, I shifted my gaze from the bowl to the bottle.
I was already starting to dislike where this was going.
"You'll collect your blood in here until the container is filled to approximately this mark," Ama`Lein said, pointing to a line inside the bowl. "After that, add the elixir, stir it three times, and apply the mixture to your skin. Then sit in the center of the ritual circle and enter meditation."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"Your task is to establish contact with Hes and awaken the mark."
I let out a heavy breath.
Blood again.
Removing my uniform, I was left wearing only my undergarments.
The chill of the room immediately seeped into my skin.
For several seconds, I considered where to make the cut so I could collect enough blood without passing out too early.
In the end, I sat down on the floor and ran the knife along my arm just below the elbow.
The pain came instantly.
Sharp and unpleasant.
I held the bowl beneath the wound and began to wait.
Blood slowly dripped inside.
The minutes stretched on agonizingly.
Gradually, my fingers began to go numb.
Then a light tingling spread through my legs.
Everything in front of my eyes became slightly less clear.
I set the bowl on the floor and braced myself against the stone with my free hand to keep my balance.
My head spun harder and harder.
My face had probably turned pale by now.
When the container was nearly full, I turned my head toward the dean.
Ama`Lein silently nodded.
Walking over to me, he touched his ring and retrieved a healing tablet.
"Take it."
Without arguing, I immediately tossed it into my mouth.
Warmth began spreading slowly through my body, sealing the wound and restoring feeling to my limbs.
Without wasting time, I poured the elixir into the bowl.
The liquid mixed with the blood, becoming thick and viscous.
After stirring the mixture three times with difficulty, just as the dean had instructed, I began applying it to my body.
It was freezing.
So cold that goosebumps immediately covered my skin.
I quickly rubbed the mixture over my legs, chest, arms, and stomach.
My neck and face were left for last.
Once finished, I rose to my feet with effort.
My legs trembled slightly.
Each step toward the center of the ritual circle felt heavier than the last.
Reaching the center, I slowly lowered myself onto my knees, straightened my back, and closed my eyes.
At first, there was only silence.
Then came voices.
Quiet.
Distant.
Indistinct.
With every second, more of them appeared.
They overlapped, intensified, turning into chaotic whispers, then into screams.
The voices sounded directly inside my head.
Louder.
Louder.
Until suddenly, everything fell silent.
"Alurik. You can open your eyes now."
Hearing the familiar voice, I obeyed.
Before me, a bonfire was burning once again.
The same one.
Or perhaps another.
But this time, I finally saw my companion.
Hes.
The Goddess of Chaos stood opposite me, illuminated by the warm glow of the fire.
"So I was right," I said quietly, lowering my head. "You really are the goddess Hes."
She smiled.
"That's right. But you can just call me Hes."
That was how our first real meeting began.
I spent a short while thinking over her offer to become a Herald.
Lowering my gaze, I involuntarily recalled my life.
The absence of magical talent.
My family's disappointment.
Renunciation.
The loss of my title.
Exile.
Too much in my life had always been decided by others.
Too often, I had been forced to accept someone else's will simply because I lacked the strength to change anything.
If I had possessed power sooner, everything might have turned out differently.
A familiar anger slowly rose inside me.
Heavy.
Burning.
Almost soothing.
Lifting my gaze, I looked directly at the goddess.
"Yes. I agree to become your Herald."
After that, the pain began.
Real pain.
Merciless.
Hes placed the mark upon me, and the energy of chaos began entering my body, restructuring it.
It felt as though my bones were breaking all over again, my muscles tearing apart and knitting back together, while my skin burned from the inside out.
I screamed.
How long it lasted—minutes, hours, or days—I did not know.
When the pain finally subsided, I could barely breathe.
Hes explained that the human body was incapable of containing her power all at once.
That was why the changes would occur gradually.
Then she allowed me to see the flow of energy within myself.
In my lower back, I discovered a kind of reservoir—a sphere only partially filled.
When it was full, my body would advance to the next stage of transformation.
After that, I asked her questions.
About the gods.
About the Exodus.
About magic.
And I learned the truth.
The gods had not abandoned our world.
They had merely restricted the flow of magic, having grown disappointed in the races that had ceased to value it.
Most of the magic had been redirected into another world.
And according to Hes, the possibility of the gods returning now partially depended on me.
On me.
The thought felt almost absurd.
Before sending me back, Hes offered only one piece of advice:
"Trust no one, Alurik. A friend can betray you faster than an enemy. And an enemy may one day become more valuable than any ally."
A click echoed out.
The world around me shuddered.
I opened my eyes sharply.
Before me was once again the Talent Evaluation Office.
The candles were burning low.
The air still smelled of blood and herbs.
Ama`Lein was watching me intently from his chair.
But now, I was no longer the same person who had entered this room tonight.
I had become a Herald.
And there was no longer any path back.