Page 161 of Court of Aether and Shadows

The floor between us suddenly cracked, dark energy seeping up through the fissure like toxic smoke. Liam spun around, his shadows immediately reaching for me, but Nyx's void energy had already created a protective barrier around our group.

"What the actual void is that?" Solaris demanded, his sun-bright power flaring defensively. The bandage on his cheek glowed slightly with residual healing energy.

"Nothing good," Cypress muttered, his elemental tattoos shifting from their usual playful patterns to something more aggressive. The plants in nearby decorative urns began to writhe, responding to his tension.

Liam finally met my eyes, and the fear I saw there made my blood run cold. "We need to move," he said urgently. "Now. Before it?—"

The crack widened suddenly, dark power erupting from it like a geyser. Students scattered, screaming, as the darkness began to take shape – something ancient and terrible, reaching for us with tendrils of pure malevolence.

"Well," Nyx said with forced cheerfulness, her void energy strengthening around us, "I guess we're going to be late to class after all."

The thing from the depths rose higher, and somewhere in the academy, alarms began to wail.

So much for a normal first day of school.

Shadows Strike

~LIAM~

The darkness erupting from the fissure wasn't natural shadow – I would know, having lived with that power my entire life. This was something older, something corrupt. It reeked of ancient malice and carried traces of void energy that had somehow gone wrong.

"Formation!" I barked, my wolf instincts taking over as the threat manifested. "Diamond guard, now!"

My pack responded instantly, months of training together overriding any previous tension. Nyx materialized at Sparrow's left, her void energy already weaving complex patterns of protection. Solaris took the right, his sun-bright power creating a barrier of pure light, while Cypress moved to cover our rear, his elemental tattoos blazing with purpose.

I took point, my shadows spreading out to create the front line of defense. Together, our powers merged to form a perfect cube around Sparrow, each side reinforced with different court magic.

"Really?" Sparrow's exasperated voice came from within our protective barrier. "I can fight too, you know!"

"Not against this," Nyx replied grimly, her galaxy eyes tracking the writhing darkness. "There's something wrong with the energy signature. It's like... corrupted void magic, but twisted with other courts' power."

Around us, chaos reigned. Students fled in all directions, their court robes trailing panic-sparked magic. The academy's crystal architecture groaned under the assault of whatever was trying to force its way through the realms.

"We need to close that fissure," Solaris called out, his light magic pulsing with effort as another wave of darkness crashed against our barriers. "The longer it stays open, the more can come through."

Cypress's elemental tattoos shifted rapidly, each pattern trying to analyze the threat. "The structural integrity of the entire floor is compromised. If we don't act fast, this whole section could collapse."

"Then let's stop talking and start acting," I growled, feeling my wolf form pushing against my control, eager to be released. "I can shift, use my shadow walking to?—"

"No!" Nyx's sharp command cut through the chaos. "Can't you feel it? The air itself is wrong. Shifting now could be suicide."

"We don't have time to debate this," I argued, watching more dark tendrils emerge from the crack. "Sparrow?—"

"Has exactly four minutes and thirty-seven seconds to get to Lord Helios's class," Sparrow interrupted from within our protective cube. "Unless you all want to explain to the Aether Lord why we're late on our first day!"

Despite the dire situation, Solaris let out a strained laugh. "She has a point. Helios isn't known for his patience."

"Focus!" I snapped as a particularly violent surge of darkness lashed out at our barrier. "We need a plan. Now."

Cypress's voice took on that analytical tone he used when processing complex magical theory. "If we combine our powers in the right sequence – void to destabilize, shadow to contain, light to purify, and elements to seal – we might be able to force whatever this is back through the fissure."

"And then what?" Nyx demanded, her void energy crackling with frustrated power. "Hope it doesn't come back for round two while we're trying to learn proper realm walking etiquette?"

"Three minutes!" Sparrow called out helpfully.

"For void's sake—" I started, only to be cut off by Solaris.

"Liam, she's right about the shifting. Something about this energy is targeting court-specific magic. If you transform now, you'll be especially vulnerable."

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