It began with the wind.
A breeze unlike any Caelum had felt before cool, perfumed, and humming faintly with energy. As the sun dipped behind the mountains, the academy grounds lit up with a glow that wasn't flame, but magic.
The Aether Bloom had begun.
---
The Festival Grounds
Across Arcvale, flowers that had never existed the day before now bloomed in full color: soft blues, pulsing violets, and petals etched with glowing runes. The trees whispered in languages no one understood. Even the statues seemed to breathe.
Students flooded the courtyard in enchanted robes, each one infused with light. Lira had set her sleeves ablaze — harmlessly, of course. Eo wore a dress that shimmered like moonlight. Ardyn, still as stone, refused to change from his usual black.
Caelum… wore a secondhand tunic that the wind kept tugging at. He hadn't wanted to come. He didn't feel like he belonged in a place this radiant.
But something was pulling him outside.
---
By the lake, students released sky lanterns crafted with magic and memory. Each lantern was tied to a thought or wish.
Caelum watched his float upward, glowing faintly blue.
"I don't want to run anymore."
As it rose, a sudden gust of wind (his wind?) caused the lantern to spin violently. Runes etched into its paper burst to life, revealing a hidden message:
"Beneath the Vault, the storm still sleeps."
He froze.
"What… was that?" he whispered.
Eo stepped beside him, her expression unreadable. "Did it answer you?"
He nodded.
"I think it does that for those who listen."
---
Later, the academy's Grand Hall transformed into a dream of light and magic. Illusions of starlight danced across the ceiling. The band played music that stirred the heart and unsettled the spirit.
Caelum lingered by the wall, unsure what to do with his arms.
Lira appeared, grabbed his wrist. "If you stand there any longer, you'll turn into furniture."
"What are you—?"
"I'm saving you from yourself. You owe me a dance."
Before he could argue, she was pulling him into the crowd. Her fire danced with his wind. They spun, stumbled, laughed and for once, he felt like someone real.
For a moment.
---
Each house presented a trial. Lunaris built an illusion maze, shifting constantly with memory and fear.
Caelum entered with Ardyn and Eo, unsure what to expect.
What he saw was… home.
His father, in the fields. The smell of soil. The barn. But then the illusion twisted his father burned, the sky darkened, the field collapsed into endless wind.
He screamed, but no sound came.
Only Eo's hand pulled him back.
"It's not real," she whispered. "It's not real."
He gasped, and the illusion shattered.
When they exited the maze, Ardyn looked pale.
"I saw a grave," he muttered. "My grave."
---
Near midnight, the flowers began to fold and pulse. One by one, the Aether Blooms curled inward, and the Veil shimmered above the academy.
Suddenly, a deep hum echoed through the ground.
Caelum stumbled.
He wasn't the only one. Dozens of students fell to their knees. The air twisted. And somewhere in the forest behind the Umbra dorms, a flower glowed black.
Black.
Not blue. Not violet. Black.
And it pulsed in rhythm with Caelum's heartbeat.
He walked toward it, drawn by something ancient.
As his fingers brushed the petals, wind exploded outward and a vision struck him:
A chained door in darkness. Screams behind it. Eyes that were not eyes.
And a voice: "Arkanite… You are not ready."
---
The pulse faded. The flower crumbled.
No one else saw it.
No one else felt it.
Except Caelum.
The festival ended in laughter, cheers, and color.
But for him, the night ended with a whisper in his ear.
"The Vault is waking."