The arena buzzed with energy as the screens tracked Lorian's every move, replaying his dramatic confrontation with Zephyr. The audience watched with rapt attention as Lorian launched himself straight into the whirlwind meant to keep him at bay, twisting deftly through the air to seize the relic. The image of Zephyr's stunned expression as Lorian emerged with the relic in hand drew a wave of murmurs and scattered applause.

"Did he just—?" one student began, eyes wide. "He used the wind to get closer! That's insane."

"Zephyr must be fuming," another chuckled. "I didn't think anyone could outmaneuver him like that, especially not a first-year."

As Lorian's battle against Zephyr's team continued on the screens, the crowd leaned in, captivated by the young Aeloria's skillful evasion and counters. The camera followed him sending a trio of students crashing into each other with a perfectly timed kick, causing one of them to misfire a spell into a nearby column. The resulting explosion sent dust and stone flying, prompting an excited cheer from the audience.

Among the upperclassmen, skepticism remained. "Sure, he's flashy," scoffed a third-year, "but he's just getting lucky. They'll catch him soon."

"Yeah," another added, "and did you see him almost get singed by that fireball? A close call isn't skill, it's just sloppy."

But even those cynical voices were drowned out by the younger students, who were thrilled by the display. "That was awesome!" a first-year girl exclaimed, her eyes shining with admiration. "He's actually holding his own against Zephyr's whole team!"

A few rows up, a different voice piped up with a playful tone. "Not gonna lie," a girl said, "he's pretty hot."

A nearby boy raised an eyebrow. "You mean when he's deflecting spells with a relic, or when he's kicking people around?"

"Both," she replied with a grin. "It's kind of impressive."

"Speak for yourself," the boy mumbled, crossing his arms. "Some of us aren't that impressed by kicks."

The screen shifted to Lorian's encounter with Elara's team in the forest, drawing even more interest. The audience watched as Elara's magic illuminated the trees, Vivienne's vines surged forward, and Julian's earth walls closed in. The relentless coordination was impressive, but Lorian moved with a precision that left even the most experienced spectators raising their eyebrows.

In the Aeloria family box, Thaddeus leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Lorian expertly dismantling Elara's team's efforts. For the first time, a rare expression crossed his face—a small, approving smile. He had always harbored a quiet disappointment about his son's meager magical abilities, but now Lorian was displaying more strength and skill with light magic than Thaddeus had ever expected. This was not the boy he had considered a magical dud; this was something else entirely.

Beside him, Lady Sera's posture was tense, her gaze fixed on Lorian. She could sense the surge of magic within him, far beyond what she had ever intended for him to wield. He's broken the seal... but how? she thought, her fingers tightening on the armrests as she struggled to mask her growing unease.

A few seats away, Lady Cerys and Aric exchanged a glance. Both had known Lorian's limitations with light magic, and this was far beyond anything they had seen from him before.

"He's come a long way," Aric remarked, his voice filled with genuine surprise. "He's never shown this level of control before."

Lady Cerys, usually composed and critical, nodded subtly. "It's... impressive," she admitted, though her gaze remained searching, as if still looking for a flaw in his performance.

The screens then showed Lorian knocking Elara's rapier from her hand, only to get tangled in Vivienne's vines and drop the relic. The crowd collectively gasped as Celeste's water magic shot out, snatching the relic in midair before Lorian could recover it.

"Got it!" Celeste's triumphant voice echoed across the arena, drawing cheers from many onlookers. But the attention quickly returned to Lorian, who was already rising to his feet, his aura surging with a light that bathed the forest in a brilliant glow.

"Since when can he do that?" a student murmured, awe mixing with confusion as the screens showed Lorian surging forward, his light magic slicing through Julian's earth wall as if it were paper.

Thaddeus's approving smile widened slightly, the years of doubt and disappointment momentarily swept aside by pride. For the first time, he allowed himself to think that perhaps his son was not the failure he had secretly feared.

The audience watched with breathless anticipation as Lorian clashed with Elara, their strikes quick and precise. The siblings' eyes met for a brief moment on screen before Lorian's voice could be heard. "Sorry, El," he said, just before launching a swift kick to her midsection.

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The crowd gasped collectively as Elara was sent flying backward. Some spectators winced at the sight.

"That was a bit much, wasn't it?" a girl whispered, her brow furrowed. "I mean, he did say sorry..."

"Yeah, but still," another muttered, "he didn't have to launch her halfway across the forest."

A younger boy nearby chuckled. "Guess that's what you get for trying to take down big bro."

The scene then shifted to Lorian sprinting back into the forest, the relic held tightly in his grasp as he disappeared into the shadows. The buzz among the crowd was a mixture of excitement and curiosity—some were eager to see how long he could keep going, while others were already speculating about who would catch him next.

As the cameras followed Lorian's path through the dense underbrush, the energy in the arena swelled. The young Aeloria was no longer just an unexpected challenger—he was becoming the competitor everyone was watching.

***

Aldric’s gaze shifted from the dimming orb to the ancient tome on the table, his mind buzzing with dark anticipation. The pieces were falling into place, and the time to move from preparation to execution had come. Lorian's unexpected resilience had quickened his decision—if the boy could stir up this much excitement now, then striking while the academy's attention was fixated on him would be all the more effective.

He approached the center of the chamber, where a raised platform of stone lay inscribed with a complex series of runes and symbols. At its heart, the Heart of the Abyss pulsed with dark energy. The jagged, obsidian-like crystal was a relic of the Demon Wars, its surface veined with streaks of crimson and shadow that seemed to flow like liquid. As Aldric began to chant, his voice low and resonant, the crystal responded, drawing power from the network of runic stones placed around the academy. The dark energy infused into the Heart of the Abyss grew stronger, and Aldric could feel its power coursing through him, heightening his senses and flooding his veins with a cold, exhilarating force.

"It's time," he murmured, his voice echoing through the chamber. "Let them see what true darkness looks like."

As he continued the incantation, the crystal throbbed with increasing intensity. Dark energy surged from the Heart of the Abyss, spiraling upward and converging into a pulsating sphere of shadow above the academy grounds. The orb expanded, crackling with malevolent force, before exploding outward in a burst of dark light that blotted out the sky for an instant. As the shadows dissipated, a twisted, black symbol remained hanging in the air—an intricate pattern of runes and jagged lines resembling a broken crescent moon. The dark signal hung over the arena, ominous and unmistakable. It had not been seen since the Demon Wars—a symbol that heralded chaos and despair.

Gasps of horror and confusion erupted from the spectators as they craned their necks to see the dark mark searing the sky. The academy grounds were momentarily gripped by a dreadful silence as the meaning behind the signal sank in. Then, chaos erupted.

Black-robed figures began to emerge from among the crowd, their faces obscured by deep hoods. Each figure carried a weapon or cast a spell, unleashing a wave of attacks on the unsuspecting spectators. Screams of panic filled the air as innocent students and faculty alike were struck down or thrown into disarray. The dark-robed assailants moved with terrifying precision, targeting the exits and sealing off potential escape routes.

From his hidden chamber, Aldric observed the scene through the orb, his expression a mask of cold satisfaction. The academy was descending into pandemonium exactly as he had planned. With the signal active, the runic barrier began to awaken, its invisible threads tightening around the entire campus. The once bustling grounds were now becoming a prison, and the air was thick with an oppressive dread that sapped the will of those caught inside.

The Heart of the Abyss pulsed rhythmically, each beat infusing Aldric with even more power. As the dark energy surged through him, a voice echoed within the chamber—deep, rumbling, and filled with unrestrained excitement.

"YES... YES, FINALLY," Izhaldrath's voice resonated like a storm. "The time has come, Aldric. The gate opens, and true darkness shall walk this world again."

Aldric's lips curled into a dark smile as he whispered a new incantation, channeling the energy from the Heart of the Abyss into the runic network. The blood of the fallen seemed to move with a will of its own, pooling together and flowing in unnatural patterns along the ground, guided by the ancient symbols Aldric had etched in secret.

The crimson streams began to converge toward a single point at the heart of the arena, forming a macabre circle of blood. Dark energy crackled around the perimeter, and the ground within the circle began to shimmer, as though the very fabric of reality were being unraveled. Aldric chanted louder, his voice resonating with power as the runes on the chamber walls pulsed in rhythm with his words, feeding magic into the growing ritual.

Slowly, the blood circle twisted and expanded, rising up into the air to form a swirling vortex. The portal's surface rippled like liquid darkness, reflecting the broken crescent symbol still hanging above the arena. Then, with a deep rumble, the vortex burst open, revealing the fiery glow of the netherworld beyond. The portal became a gateway—a bridge connecting the academy to the demon realm.

Dark silhouettes began to emerge from the portal, their forms shifting and writhing as they crossed over into the mortal world. The first demons to appear were lesser fiends, hunched and grotesque, their glowing eyes flickering with malice. They crawled out of the portal with eager hunger, their claws scraping against the stone as they surged forward, tearing into any living thing that came within reach.

But as the blood continued to feed the portal’s energy, more formidable demons began to step through—hulking brutes with horns and fangs, winged horrors with leathery wings, and even spectral wraiths that drifted across the battlefield, their ghostly whispers seeping into the minds of those nearby, driving them to madness.

The academy, once a place of learning and magic, had become a war zone. Screams of terror and the roars of demons echoed across the grounds as Aldric's plan reached a fever pitch. From his vantage point, he could see students and instructors desperately fighting back, but the sheer number of demons, coupled with the robed assailants, made any attempt at organization seem futile.

Aldric watched the scene with dark satisfaction, his hand still raised as he channeled power into the portal. The Heart of the Abyss pulsed in his grasp, its power coursing through him like a dark tide, filling him with strength and euphoria.

“Let the play commence,” he whispered, his voice filled with malevolent delight as he oversaw the beginning of the academy’s descent into despair. The signal had been given, and the darkness that followed would leave no soul unscarred.