Morning came quietly.
Too quietly.
The Academy grounds were still covered in the scars of the previous night's disaster.
Broken stone.
Cracked runes.
Burn marks.
Fragments of shattered mana constructs.
Repair teams moved through the courtyards while professors restored damaged barriers and sealed unstable sections of the arena.
The Celestial Convergence banners still hung from the towers.
But they no longer looked festive.
Several had been torn apart by the shockwave.
Others were stained with dust and ash.
The great arena itself had been closed.
A massive barrier surrounded it.
Nobody was allowed inside.
Not students.
Not guests.
Not even most instructors.
The Academy was pretending to return to normal.
But nobody believed it.
⸻
Inside the infirmary—
Avdhoot opened his eyes.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar.
White stone.
Healing runes.
Soft blue light.
His body felt heavy.
His chest still hurt.
His ribs ached every time he breathed.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Nothing.
No black flame.
Just his palm.
He stared at it.
He remembered the dream.
His mother's voice.
Don't trust the fire.
Don't let them wake it.
His fingers curled slowly.
"Aai…"
The word barely escaped his mouth.
The door opened.
Priya walked inside.
She stopped when she saw him awake.
For once—
She didn't make a joke.
"You finally decided to wake up."
Avdhoot looked toward her.
"How long?"
"Almost a day."
His eyes widened slightly.
"A day?"
Priya nodded.
"You scared everyone."
Avdhoot tried to sit up.
Pain immediately shot through his chest.
He grimaced.
Priya stepped forward.
"Don't."
"I'm fine."
"You're terrible at lying."
Avdhoot looked away.
Priya pulled a chair beside the bed and sat.
For several moments, neither spoke.
Then she asked quietly—
"What happened up there?"
Avdhoot looked at her.
"With the cloaked man?"
She nodded.
Avdhoot hesitated.
"I fought him."
Priya gave him a flat look.
"I saw that."
"I couldn't hurt him."
"I also saw that."
Avdhoot looked down at his hands.
"He wasn't trying to kill me."
Priya's expression changed.
"What?"
"He could have."
A pause.
"He was much stronger."
Priya leaned forward.
"How much stronger?"
Avdhoot thought about it.
"I don't know."
That answer bothered him.
"But…"
He remembered the fight.
The effortless movements.
The way the figure had stopped his fire.
The way his attacks had been erased without resistance.
"He wasn't fighting me seriously."
Priya went quiet.
"That's what I was afraid you'd say."
Avdhoot looked at her.
She folded her arms.
"Raivan thinks the same thing."
"And Manaswini?"
"She's been studying everything she can find about the breach."
Avdhoot's eyes narrowed.
"What about Irawen?"
Priya's expression became more serious.
"He hasn't left the Academy grounds."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But he's been asking questions."
"About me?"
Priya nodded.
"Mostly."
Avdhoot looked toward the window.
The morning sunlight entered the room.
Everything looked normal.
Students were walking between buildings.
Birds flew above the towers.
Somewhere in the distance, a bell rang.
But underneath that normality—
Something felt wrong.
"Priya."
"Hm?"
"Did anyone see the flame?"
She frowned.
"What flame?"
Avdhoot hesitated.
"The black one."
Silence.
Priya's expression changed.
"You didn't tell anyone?"
"No."
"Did Irawen see it?"
"I don't know."
Priya stared at him.
"Avdhoot…"
Her voice became quieter.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
Avdhoot looked at his palm.
"Because I don't know what it is."
Priya leaned back.
"Fair."
She paused.
"But we're going to figure it out."
Avdhoot looked at her.
She gave him a small smile.
"You're not doing this alone."
For a moment—
The weight inside his chest became slightly lighter.
Then the door opened again.
Raivan entered.
Manaswini followed behind him.
Manaswini carried several books.
Far too many books.
Priya looked at them.
"You didn't sleep, did you?"
"No."
"You look terrible."
"I know."
Raivan closed the door.
"How are you?"
Avdhoot nodded.
"Better."
Raivan studied him carefully.
"Good."
A pause.
"Because we have a problem."
⸻
Manaswini placed the books on the table.
Several ancient-looking volumes landed with heavy thuds.
Avdhoot stared at them.
"What are those?"
"Historical records."
"About the breach?"
"Not exactly."
Manaswini opened the first book.
"About the Academy."
Avdhoot frowned.
"The Academy?"
She nodded.
"I started looking into the inscriptions we saw beneath the arena."
She turned several pages.
"At first I thought the corruption had been introduced recently."
She pointed to a diagram.
"But it wasn't."
Avdhoot leaned forward.
"What do you mean?"
"The structure beneath the arena isn't new."
She turned another page.
"It's old."
Raivan crossed his arms.
"How old?"
Manaswini looked uncomfortable.
"Older than the current Academy."
Priya blinked.
"That's impossible."
"I thought so too."
Manaswini pointed to another illustration.
"The current Academy was built approximately two hundred years ago."
She turned another page.
"But these foundation inscriptions…"
Her finger stopped.
"…predate it."
Silence.
Avdhoot stared at the diagram.
A circular formation.
Several intersecting lines.
And at its center—
A symbol.
The same symbol he'd seen in the dungeon.
His expression changed.
"That."
Manaswini looked at him.
"You recognize it?"
"The dungeon."
She froze.
Raivan stepped closer.
"What about it?"
Avdhoot pointed to the center.
"The same marking was underneath the ancient platform."
Manaswini's eyes widened.
She quickly pulled another book from the stack.
Pages turned rapidly.
Then—
She stopped.
"There."
The same symbol appeared.
Not in the dungeon.
Not beneath the arena.
But beside an old handwritten note.
Manaswini read it silently.
Her expression slowly drained of color.
"What does it say?" Priya asked.
Manaswini didn't answer immediately.
"Manaswini."
She swallowed.
"It says…"
Her finger moved across the faded writing.
"…that the symbol belongs to something called the Hollow Flame."
Avdhoot's heart seemed to stop.
The room became completely silent.
Raivan frowned.
"The Hollow Flame?"
Manaswini nodded.
"It's mentioned only twice in the entire archive."
Priya leaned closer.
"And what is it?"
Manaswini shook her head.
"That's the problem."
She turned the page.
"Every reference after this point has been removed."
Avdhoot stared.
"Removed?"
"Pages were deliberately cut out."
Raivan's expression hardened.
"By whom?"
Manaswini looked at the book.
"I don't know."
Avdhoot's eyes narrowed.
"Someone wanted this forgotten."
"Yes."
The room fell silent again.
Then—
A knock came at the door.
Everyone turned.
The door opened.
Irawen Solas stood outside.
His expression was unreadable.
"Leave."
Priya frowned.
"We're in the middle of—"
"Leave."
His tone wasn't angry.
It was worse.
Absolute.
Priya looked at Avdhoot.
Then Raivan.
Manaswini reluctantly gathered the books.
As they passed Irawen, he stopped Manaswini.
"Leave the book."
She hesitated.
"Professor…"
"Now."
She handed it over.
Irawen entered.
The door closed.
For several seconds—
Neither spoke.
Irawen walked toward Avdhoot.
He looked at him carefully.
"How do you feel?"
"Tired."
"Pain?"
"Some."
"Mana?"
Avdhoot hesitated.
"Normal."
Irawen's eyes sharpened.
"Don't lie to me."
Avdhoot looked away.
"Unstable."
"How?"
"I don't know."
Irawen placed the ancient book on the table.
Avdhoot immediately recognized the symbol.
"The Hollow Flame."
Irawen's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
"You've heard that name."
"Manaswini found it."
"Of course she did."
He opened the book.
Avdhoot watched him carefully.
"You know what it is."
Irawen didn't answer.
"You know."
"I know what the records claim."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
Irawen closed the book.
"Because most of the records are wrong."
Avdhoot stared at him.
"Then tell me the truth."
Irawen looked toward the window.
"The truth is that some things are buried for a reason."
"My parents?"
Irawen's expression hardened.
Avdhoot noticed.
"You know something about them."
"I knew your mother."
The room seemed to become colder.
"You knew her."
"Yes."
"What did she know?"
Irawen didn't answer.
"What was she protecting me from?"
Still nothing.
Avdhoot's voice became sharper.
"Why did the cloaked man say they died protecting me?"
Irawen finally looked at him.
"Because he wanted you to ask that question."
Avdhoot frowned.
"So it's a lie?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what is it?"
Irawen remained silent for a long moment.
Then he spoke.
"Your mother was afraid of what would happen if certain people discovered what was inside you."
Avdhoot's heartbeat quickened.
"Inside me?"
Irawen nodded.
"Something that has been dormant for a very long time."
Avdhoot remembered the black flame.
"Is it the Hollow Flame?"
Irawen's eyes narrowed.
"No."
Avdhoot frowned.
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know."
That answer shocked him.
"You don't know?"
"I know more than you."
Irawen's voice was calm.
"But not enough."
Avdhoot looked at his hands.
"Then what am I?"
Irawen didn't answer immediately.
When he finally spoke—
"You're a boy."
Avdhoot stared at him.
"What?"
"You're eleven years old."
Irawen's expression softened slightly.
"You're not a prophecy."
"You're not a weapon."
"And you're not some ancient creature waiting to be awakened."
Avdhoot said nothing.
Irawen continued.
"You're a student who has been forced to survive things no student should have faced."
A pause.
"Don't let people convince you otherwise."
The words struck Avdhoot differently.
Not because they answered his questions.
Because they didn't.
But because Irawen seemed genuinely determined not to let him become something defined by other people's expectations.
Avdhoot lowered his gaze.
"Then why is this happening to me?"
Irawen looked toward the damaged window.
"That is what we're going to find out."
⸻
Elsewhere—
Deep beneath the Academy—
A sealed chamber remained untouched.
No repair teams entered it.
No professors walked its corridors.
No students knew it existed.
Ancient stone surrounded the room.
At its center stood a circular formation.
The same symbol appeared there.
The Hollow Flame.
But the formation wasn't dormant.
A thin purple line pulsed beneath the stone.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"First seal…"
A pause.
"…fractured."
Another pulse.
"Second seal…"
Nothing.
Then a faint crack appeared.
"…responding."
A figure stood in the darkness.
His face remained hidden.
He placed his hand against the ancient formation.
The symbol glowed.
"He's awake."
A second voice answered from somewhere deeper.
"Too early."
The figure smiled.
"That's the interesting part."
"What happens now?"
The figure looked toward the ceiling.
Toward the Academy above.
Toward the boy sleeping in the infirmary.
"Now we stop forcing the door."
A pause.
"We let him open it himself."
⸻
Back in the infirmary—
Irawen stood beside the window.
Avdhoot was silent.
His mind was filled with questions.
His mother.
The Wildwood Valley.
The dungeon.
The Convergence.
The cloaked figure.
The Hollow Flame.
The black fire.
None of it made sense.
Then—
Irawen spoke.
"There is one thing you need to understand."
Avdhoot looked up.
"The person you fought today wasn't trying to defeat you."
Avdhoot nodded.
"I know."
"He was measuring you."
"I know."
"No."
Irawen turned toward him.
"You don't."
Avdhoot frowned.
"He wasn't measuring your strength."
A pause.
"He was measuring your reaction."
Avdhoot's eyes narrowed.
"To what?"
Irawen's gaze dropped toward Avdhoot's right hand.
"The fire."
Silence.
"He wanted to see whether it would respond to him."
Avdhoot slowly looked at his palm.
"And did it?"
Irawen didn't answer.
That was enough.
Avdhoot remembered the black flame.
The moment the cloaked figure had spoken.
The way the energy inside him had shifted.
The way the figure had looked surprised.
"He wasn't surprised by my attack."
Irawen nodded.
"He was surprised by what answered it."
Avdhoot's breathing slowed.
"Then what answered him?"
Irawen's expression became grim.
"That's what concerns me."
⸻
Night fell.
The Academy finally became quiet.
Avdhoot sat alone beside the infirmary window.
Moonlight crossed the floor.
He looked at his palm.
Nothing.
He waited.
Nothing.
He closed his eyes.
Breathed.
Still nothing.
He remembered the cloaked figure's words.
It isn't fire.
It changes.
When the fire inside you finally remembers what it is…
Avdhoot opened his eyes.
"Show me."
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"Come on."
Still nothing.
He clenched his fist.
"I know you're there."
Silence.
Then—
A tiny spark appeared.
Not orange.
Not red.
Black.
It hovered above his palm.
Avdhoot stared.
The flame didn't flicker like ordinary fire.
It moved slowly.
Almost like breathing.
He reached toward it.
The moment his finger touched the flame—
The world disappeared.
For a fraction of a second—
He saw a place he had never seen before.
A massive stone chamber.
Hundreds of pillars.
A black sky beneath the earth.
And at the center—
A gigantic sealed door.
Something stood behind it.
Something he couldn't see.
Something enormous.
Then—
His mother's voice.
Not from the dream.
Not distant.
Not distorted.
Close.
Terrified.
"Avdhoot…"
His eyes widened.
"Aai?"
Her voice whispered one final sentence.
"Don't open the Hollow Flame."
The vision shattered.
Avdhoot jerked backward.
The black flame vanished.
He stared at his palm.
His heart hammered against his chest.
Outside—
The Academy bells began ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Then a third time.
Not the morning bell.
Not the class bell.
An emergency bell.
Avdhoot looked toward the window.
Red warning lights ignited across the Academy towers.
Somewhere outside—
Students began shouting.
Then came a voice amplified across the entire Academy.
"All students remain inside their designated buildings."
A pause.
"Do not approach the eastern grounds."
Avdhoot's expression changed.
Eastern grounds.
The direction of the old sealed structures.
The emergency announcement continued.
"This is not a drill."
Avdhoot stood.
His body still hurt.
His mana was unstable.
He had barely recovered.
But he was already moving toward the door.
Because deep inside him—
Something had recognized the warning.
And somewhere beneath the Academy—
Something had just awakened.
[End of Chapter 39]