Aethelos: The Bastard of Light

Eli stood alone in the academy courtyard. The light from the lamps barely reached the area where he was. Around him reigned a heavy silence. · The negative thoughts arrived uninvited. · He remembered how many times he had failed when trying to protect Yana. · He remembered the Repulse that hadn’t come out during Professor Kael’s class. · He remembered the way he had accused his own friends of being part of the terrorist movement. · Each failure returned stronger than the last. His chest tightened. Doubt grew. · Am I really capable of surviving this night? · A hand settled on his shoulder. · Eli turned suddenly. Brock was there, wearing a calm, tired smile. · “We’ll be here waiting for you,” the tutor said. “Because we’ve always believed in you.” · At that moment Yana and Lygar appeared. · Yana stepped closer and spoke firmly: · “We’re a team.” · Lygar stayed a little further back, hands in his pockets. He let out an exaggerated sigh. · “They forced me to come. But… crush the mission, Mix.” · At the end of the sentence, a small, ironic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. · The words of the three of them broke the cycle of dark thoughts. Eli began to remember other things: the moment he forced Layonel to fight seriously, the Captations, everything he had already overcome to get this far. · He took a deep breath and looked at the group. · “See you at dawn.” · Without another word, he turned and walked toward the training forest. · As soon as he crossed the line of trees, the air changed. · It became colder. Denser. The sounds of the academy disappeared completely. In their place came unknown noises — branches cracking in the distance, something moving through the vegetation, a silence that seemed to be watching. · It didn’t take long for the first Schulon to appear. · Eli stopped. He analyzed the situation. An attack with Light would make noise. Noise could attract more predators. On this night, being discovered too early could mean death. · He clenched his fists and advanced in silence. · He fought hand-to-hand. Fast, precise, without wasting aura. The Schulon fell without much sound. Then came two weak Luzlon. He eliminated them discreetly as well. · The night went on. Eli moved carefully, breathing controlled, senses on high alert. Until that point, he was managing. · That was when he heard voices. · Human voices. · Low, but clear enough to understand they weren’t creatures. Someone was in the forest with him. · Eli froze. His heart accelerated. · He needed to know what was happening. · With extreme care, he began to approach the sound.