---
The flames had long since faded, but the scars remained.
Valeforge Citadel—once called the Beacon of the Eastern Plate—was now a smoldering corpse of stone. Its towers were broken teeth against the skyline. Essence still shimmered faintly in the air, twisting like ghostly ribbons. The Vault had vanished, leaving only its devastation behind.
The sky was gray now. Heavy. As if the heavens themselves were in mourning.
---
⛰️ Deep in the Catacomb Woods – South of Valeforge
A wounded deer hobbled through the trees, its side pierced by shards of black crystal. It sniffed the air—then froze.
Something moved in the fog.
A blur of shadows darted between the trunks. And then—a blade of light tore through the mist.
> Thump.
The deer collapsed, lifeless. Its blood evaporated midair.
From the shadows stepped a woman clad in cracked silver armor, her cloak tattered and her expression colder than steel.
Eira Stormvain.
She knelt beside the corpse, touching its wound. Her eyes narrowed.
"Null Essence…" she whispered. "So they're already here."
Behind her, a squad of six armored scouts emerged from the woods, all bearing the symbol of the royal guard—a silver flame surrounded by a crown.
One of them spoke. "Captain Stormvain. Orders?"
Eira stood slowly. Her grip tightened on the Heavenbreaker Spear slung across her back.
> "We find the boy. Before the Obsidian Choir does."
---
⚡ Meanwhile – Kairos & Aeron
Kairos dragged his feet through the ash-covered hills west of Valeforge, his stomach growling like a dying beast.
"I'm starving," he groaned. "Again."
Aeron didn't look back. "You just destroyed a city and unleashed god-knows-what from a forbidden Vault. Maybe we focus on not being hunted for a while?"
Kairos pouted. "Do you ever smile?"
"I'll smile when you stop being a walking catastrophe."
Their banter faded as they approached a hidden cave system near the edge of the Plate, an old smuggler route Aeron remembered from his mercenary days.
Inside, the walls pulsed faintly with ancient runes. Essence crystals lined the ceiling like glowing veins.
Kairos collapsed against a boulder. "So… what now?"
Aeron looked away.
"We need answers. Real ones. The Vaults… the Choir… your powers. There's only one place to start."
Kairos blinked. "Where?"
> Aeron turned. His eyes were hard.
"Skyrift Academy."
---
🏰 Scene Change – Skyrift Academy (Heaven Layer)
Far above the clouds, nestled within a floating cluster of gravity-defying spires, lay Skyrift Academy — the most elite Arc-Wielder school on the Plate.
A place where Essence was not just studied… but mastered. Where students flew on wind glyphs, dueled in the skies, and summoned legendary Anima Beasts from ancient contracts.
Within a massive glass chamber, a council of masked instructors observed a glowing magical map. On it, a red pulse flickered — the location of the destroyed Vault.
One of them spoke, her voice tense. "The Thirteenth has been opened."
Another muttered, "This changes everything."
Suddenly, the doors opened.
A tall figure entered — Headmaster Zeyros, wielder of the Astral Lattice, and one of the only living people to survive a direct attack from the Obsidian Choir.
He studied the map.
> "Bring the survivors. Prepare the Ascension Trials. The war is beginning again."
---
🧠 Flashback – Kairos as a Child
The world was fire.
Screams. Soldiers. His mother crying.
Kairos, only eight at the time, clutched a tiny wooden sword as his village burned behind him. He remembered seeing a black figure standing in the fire—tall, cloaked in living shadows—watching him.
And then it disappeared.
He never spoke of it. He buried it deep.
Now, that same chill returned as he sat in the cave with Aeron.
> "That figure… it was the same feeling as that Vault."
His fists clenched.
"I need to get stronger," he whispered.
Aeron looked at him. "Then you better be ready. Skyrift isn't for jokes or hot-headed idiots."
Kairos smirked. "Well, I'm both."
---
💀 Elsewhere – Inside the Abyss Veil
Deep within the unending black below the Plates, a cathedral floated upside down — made of stone and bone and screams.
This was the Choir Sanctum, where forbidden Essence was birthed.
Zareth stood alone in the Hall of Eyes, surrounded by floating mirrors that showed every Plate across the system. Each mirror reflected a child — each one marked by strange Essence anomalies.
"The Thirteenth Vault was supposed to be sealed forever," Zareth muttered.
Beside him, Crucia the Bleeding Witch emerged, her skin laced with cursed veins, her eyes like dying suns.
She giggled.
> "The boy's Essence is unstable. We could twist it. Corrupt it."
Zareth turned to her. "Let him burn a while longer. The flame must rise before we snuff it."
---
🌌 Back with Kairos and Aeron – That Night
Kairos sat outside the cave, staring at the stars.
The night was quiet, peaceful. But inside, he was anything but.
"Do you ever wonder if… we're even meant to survive this world?" he asked softly.
Aeron sat beside him, arms crossed.
"No."
Kairos looked at him, surprised. "No?"
Aeron glanced at the sky.
"We weren't born to survive it. We were born to break it."
Kairos blinked. Then grinned.
"That's the scariest inspirational thing you've ever said."
They both chuckled.
And then… the sky rippled.
A white flash blinked overhead — a falling star? No. A burning glyph.
A message written in Essence — glowing in midair.
"Kairos Velhart. You are summoned to Skyrift Academy."
"Ascension Trial begins in 3 days."
Kairos's smile faded.
Aeron whispered, "They found you."
Kairos stood, heart pounding.
> "Good. Let them. I'm tired of running."
---
🔥 Final Scene – Eira's Camp
Eira stood before her squad, sharpening her spear.
"We're heading for Skyrift. Intel confirms the boy's on the move."
A soldier frowned. "Why would the academy accept a Vault-borne?"
Eira didn't answer at first.
Then: "Because Headmaster Zeyros is desperate. And because the last time a Primordial Awakened… six Plates shattered."
She looked up at the moon.
> "If this Kairos loses control again… we may have to kill him before the Choir gets to him."
---
END OF CHAPTER 2
---
✅