Chapter 16: Hidden Power

The next morning, Rian awoke with a heavy weight on his chest. The previous night's conversation with Headmaster Eldric was still fresh in his mind, and the uncertainty about his magic gnawed at him. His powers were changing, evolving, and he had no idea how to control them. Worse, if what the headmaster said was true, these abilities could become dangerous.

Dante, ever the morning person, was already up, pulling on his boots. "Ready for another day of probably-not-getting-expelled?" he said with a grin.

Rian gave a half-hearted smile. He hadn't told Dante about his conversation with the headmaster yet, but he figured it was better to wait. Dante was his closest friend, but he didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.

As they headed to their first class, they passed by a group of students huddled together, whispering urgently. One of the students, a girl with fiery red hair and a reputation for gossip, noticed Rian and Dante.

"Hey! You two fought a dark spirit, right?" she asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

Dante flashed his usual cocky grin. "Sure did."

The girl leaned in closer, her voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "Do you know anything about the disappearances?"

"Disappearances?" Rian's brows furrowed. This was the first he'd heard of it.

The girl nodded gravely. "A few students have gone missing over the past week. They were last seen near the western woods."

Rian exchanged a glance with Dante, who had clearly been caught off guard by the news as well.

"We've been hearing whispers," Dante said, looking back at the girl. "But no one's told us much. Why would they be near the western woods?"

"They say it's haunted," the girl replied, her voice full of mystery. "Dark spirits gather there. Some students sneak out at night, daring each other to get close to the edge of the forest, but... none of them have come back."

Rian felt a chill run down his spine. The western woods had always been a forbidden area, rumored to be full of dark magic. But if students were disappearing, it meant something more sinister was going on.

Later that day, Rian sat in his Advanced Magical Theory class, struggling to focus. The lesson was about arcane runes, but his mind kept drifting back to the disappearances. He had a nagging feeling that it was all connected—the dark spirit they fought, his growing powers, and now these strange events happening at the academy.

Professor Eris, their theory instructor, was in the middle of explaining the complexities of elemental runes when Rian's hand involuntarily twitched. He glanced down, startled to see faint tendrils of blue energy crackling around his fingers. Panicking, he clenched his fist, willing the power to dissipate.

But it didn't. Instead, the energy surged, lighting up the air around him.

"Rian?" Professor Eris's sharp voice cut through the silence. The entire class turned to stare at him.

Rian quickly dropped his hands beneath the desk, trying to hide the magic. "I'm fine," he muttered, though his heart pounded in his chest.

Eris narrowed her eyes. "See me after class."

After class, Rian lingered in the empty room, waiting as Professor Eris gathered her notes. Eris was one of the academy's more enigmatic professors—brilliant but distant. She had always seemed to keep an extra-close eye on Rian, though he wasn't sure if it was because of his talent or something else.

"Show me," she said once they were alone, her voice calm but firm.

Rian hesitated, but he could tell from her expression that there was no point in hiding it. He slowly raised his hand, allowing the blue energy to crackle to life around his fingers. The glow was stronger now, more vibrant, almost alive.

Eris studied him, her expression unreadable. "This is not the magic you've been trained in," she said quietly. "Something has changed in you."

"I know," Rian admitted. "I can't control it."

Professor Eris stepped closer, her eyes narrowing slightly. "It's not just that. This power feels... ancient. Old magic. Dangerous magic. Where did this come from?"

Rian thought back to his fights with Dante, the constant pushing of his limits. Could that really be the cause? But then there was the dark spirit—the battle, the rush of energy. He explained everything to Eris, including what the headmaster had told him.

When he finished, Eris was silent for a long moment. Then, she sighed. "Headmaster Eldric was right to tell you to be cautious. This magic isn't just growing inside you—it's responding to something."

"Responding to what?" Rian asked, his heart pounding.

Eris shook her head. "That's what we need to find out. But for now, I suggest you train. Focus on controlling it before it controls you."