RUINS

  The morning air was crisp as Ethan and his classmates gathered outside the Academy gates. Today was their first major excursion beyond the academy walls—a field study in the Ruins of Eldros, an ancient site said to hold remnants of forgotten alchemy and celestial magic.

  Professor Alaric and two other instructors stood at the front, their expressions serious.

  “Today’s objective,” Alaric began, “is to analyze and document any traces of old-world magic that still linger in the ruins. Some of you will study the alchemical symbols left behind, others will collect samples of enchanted minerals. However—” his gaze hardened, “this is not a controlled environment. The wilderness is unpredictable, and creatures corrupted by Moonstone Residue have been spotted in the area. If you encounter a threat, do not engage recklessly. Work as a team, and call for help if necessary.”

  Despite the warning, excitement buzzed among the students. Most viewed this as a chance to show off their skills outside the Academy walls.

  Ethan, however, had a different reason for being eager.

  For the past few nights, he had been training in secret, using what he had learned from the ancient Leo Notebook. He had begun to understand the true nature of his Heart’s Sight, the ability that allowed him to see the world’s code—the hidden alchemical structures of reality itself. More than that, he had practiced controlling his Leo aura, blending it seamlessly with his Virgo mastery.

  Now, it was time to see how far he had come.

  ?The Ruins of Eldros

  The ruins were a sight to behold. Towering stone pillars jutted from the earth like the ribs of a forgotten titan, covered in glowing celestial symbols that pulsed faintly with residual magic. Broken pathways crumbled underfoot as the students split into groups, exploring different sections of the site.

  Ethan was paired with Orion, Callan, Selene, and Lysandra—a mix of commoners and nobles, making for an… interesting dynamic.

  Lysandra, of course, scoffed. “Great. Stuck with you again,” she muttered.

  Orion grinned. “You say that like we’re not the best group here.”

  Selene, who had grown more comfortable around Ethan since the Moonborn Beast battle, gave a small nod. “Let’s just focus. We don’t know what’s out here.”

  They began examining an old, collapsed structure, studying the engravings left behind. Ethan traced his fingers over the symbols, his Heart’s Sight activating instinctively.

  The world shifted.

  He saw layers of reality peel back, revealing streams of golden and green inscriptions—the alchemical threads of Virgo, interwoven with something much older.

  “These ruins are… alive,” he muttered, eyes widening.

  Lysandra frowned. “What?”

  “The symbols,” Ethan explained. “They’re not just ancient decorations—they’re still active, even after centuries. The magic here is unfinished, like a script waiting to be completed.”

  Selene touched the stone beside him, her Cancer aura briefly flickering as she tried to sense what Ethan was seeing. “I can feel something,” she admitted. “Like echoes of the past.”

  Before they could investigate further, a deep, guttural growl echoed through the ruins.

  Then, the ground shook.

  From the shadows of the broken temple, creatures emerged—massive, hulking beasts with bodies that shifted and twisted unnaturally, as if they were struggling to maintain a solid form. Their eyes glowed with corrupted moonstone energy, and their elongated claws scraped against the stone as they snarled.

  “Moonborn Beasts,” Selene whispered.

  Only… these were bigger than the ones they had faced before.

  More evolved. More dangerous.

  One of them lunged.

  Lysandra reacted instantly, summoning a barrier of energy to knock it back. The creature barely stumbled before charging again.

  “Move!” Orion shouted, dragging Callan aside as another beast slammed down where they had just been.

  The students scrambled to form a defensive position, but Ethan wasn’t running.

  His pulse steadied.

  His mind sharpened.

  Now.

  He exhaled, drawing on his Virgo aura, the green glow flickering around his hands. With a swift movement, he pressed his palms to the ground, channeling transmutation magic.

  The battlefield changed.

  The broken ruins beneath their feet shifted and reformed, stone slabs rising into defensive barriers, altering the terrain to their advantage.

  Selene blinked. “You can do that?”

  “I can do a lot more,” Ethan muttered.

  The beasts roared in frustration, charging again.

  Ethan moved.

  A golden spark ignited in his chest—Leo’s power.

  He dodged a strike with inhuman reflexes, his body moving before his mind even registered it. The beast’s claw missed by inches, and in that instant, he twisted midair, summoning Virgo symbols around his fists.

  He punched forward.

  The air rippled, and the beast was blasted back, its body slamming into a stone pillar with bone-cracking force.

  Orion gawked. “Okay—what?”

  Another creature lunged.

  Ethan saw it before it moved.

  Time seemed to slow.

  The golden inscriptions of the world became clearer—his Heart’s Sight was fully active.

  He read the code in an instant. Saw the weak points. Saw how the creature’s corrupted energy held it together.

  With a precise Virgo-infused strike, Ethan severed the energy threads connecting its limbs. The beast collapsed, unable to hold its form.

  Selene’s eyes widened. “You just—rewrote its structure?”

  Ethan didn’t answer. His instincts screamed—one was still behind him.

  Too late.

  The biggest of the creatures swiped at him, claws aiming for his back.

  Then—a blur of silver and black intercepted the attack.

  Solis.

  With a single swipe of his claws, the beast was sent flying, its body dissolving into mist before it could even hit the ground.

  Silence.

  Then—Solis landed gracefully on Ethan’s shoulder.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  He yawned. “I was wondering when you’d need my help.”

  Ethan, breathless, stared at his so-called “gift”, still processing what just happened.

  The others, too stunned to speak, simply gawked.

  Then, Lysandra broke the silence.

  “…That is not a normal cat.”

  Orion groaned, flopping onto the ground. “You think?!”

  Ethan exhaled, letting his energy settle.

  The ruins were quiet once more. The beasts had been vanquished. And now, the only thing left was the aftermath of what they had just witnessed.

  Selene stepped forward. “Ethan… what exactly are you?”

  Ethan looked down at his hands—the Virgo symbols still flickering, the Leo warmth still lingering in his chest.

  For the first time, he didn’t know how to answer.

  But one thing was certain.

  He wasn’t just an alchemist.

  He wasn’t just a student.

  He was something more.

  ?THE HUNT

  The weight of what they had discovered in the Ruins of Eldros still lingered in Ethan’s mind long after they had returned to the Academy. The ancient murals, the hidden texts, the eerie sensation that something far older than the kingdom itself was stirring beneath the surface—it gnawed at him, whispering that the world was far more dangerous than they had been taught.

  But he had no answers. Only questions.

  And now, with little time to process, they were being sent on their first major field expedition.

  Ethan knew this trip into the Emberwood wasn’t just about capturing a Lesser Emberfang. It was about testing them. Not just their abilities—but their resolve.

  And after what he had seen in the ruins, Ethan had a feeling that this expedition would be far more than a simple hunt.

  ?THE EXPEDITION BEGINS

  The sun hung high as students of the Academy of Stars gathered at the southern gates. The anticipation in the air was palpable.

  Professor Selene stood at the front, her violet gaze scanning the gathered students. “Beyond these gates lies the Emberwood—a place teeming with magical energy, but also home to creatures that do not take kindly to trespassers.”

  Ethan barely registered her words. His mind was still caught on the inscriptions he had seen in Eldros—the ones that shifted when he activated his Leo sight. The way the ruins reacted to his presence, the feeling of something ancient watching him.

  Then Selene spoke the words that snapped his attention back into the present.

  “The objective,” she continued, “is to track and capture a Lesser Emberfang.”

  Ethan stiffened.

  That name.

  He had seen it before.

  In the ruins.

  One of the fragmented inscriptions had mentioned the fire-born beast whose soul wavers between light and darkness.

  A chill ran through him. He hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time—there were too many other things demanding his focus. But now… it wasn’t just a carved phrase in a forgotten ruin. It was real.

  Ethan clenched his fists.

  Coincidence?

  No.

  There were no coincidences anymore.

  ?THE AMBUSH

  Tracking the Lesser Emberfang had been easier than expected. Too easy.

  Ethan and Lysandra moved swiftly, following the faintly glowing paw prints leading deeper into the Emberwood. The crimson trees whispered in the wind, the air thick with the scent of burnt earth.

  “There,” Lysandra whispered, pointing to a clearing ahead.

  The creature was beautiful.

  The Lesser Emberfang was feline in shape, but its body pulsed with embers beneath its blackened fur, its eyes glowing like molten gold. Flames flickered along its spine as it prowled along a jagged rock formation, its tail leaving trails of heat in the air.

  But Ethan’s instincts screamed that something was wrong.

  “Wait,” he said, holding out a hand before Lysandra could step forward.

  Her blue eyes flicked toward him in irritation. “What?”

  “This is too easy,” Ethan muttered. “Why is it out in the open?”

  As if answering his question, the shadows in the trees stirred.

  A deep growl rumbled from the forest.

  Then—chaos.

  From the treetops, two Blightfang Stalkers dropped down—a pair of gaunt, elongated wolf-like creatures with sickly green veins running through their bodies. Their eyes burned with unnatural hunger, and their claws dripped with venom.

  Lysandra barely had time to react before one lunged at her.

  Ethan moved on instinct.

  He grabbed her wrist and pulled, yanking her back just as the beast’s claws swiped through the air where she had been standing.

  The second Blightfang launched at Ethan.

  His Virgo aura flared, and he moved.

  The world slowed. His mind calculated. The ground was unstable—loose dirt beneath his feet. The creature’s momentum was heavy, but reckless.

  Instead of blocking, Ethan shifted his weight, stepping sideways and twisting his wrist.

  Virgo was mastery. And mastery was about control.

  He redirected the Blightfang’s charge, sending it crashing into the ground.

  But there was no time to celebrate.

  Lysandra regained her footing, summoning a spear of crystallized arcane energy and launching it toward the other Blightfang. The beast dodged at the last second, but the impact of her spell sent up a cloud of dust and shattered bark.

  Ethan exhaled sharply.

  They weren’t just fighting the Emberfang anymore.

  This was a full ambush.

  And they were in the center of it.

  The Blightfangs circled, their muscles coiling, ready to strike again.

  Lysandra shifted beside Ethan, her aura flaring. “Alright, commoner,” she muttered. “You got any bright ideas?”

  Ethan’s eyes flicked between the creatures.

  “Yes.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

  He took a slow breath.

  And then—he let go.

  For the first time since discovering his power, he stopped overthinking. Stopped holding back.

  His Virgo aura flared green—but beneath it, something deeper stirred.

  Gold.

  Not enough to be seen, not enough to be noticed—but enough to feel.

  His heartbeat steadied.

  The world sharpened.

  The Blightfangs lunged.

  Ethan moved.

  His body flowed between their attacks with precision—every movement controlled, every step calculated. He redirected their strikes, shifting the battle itself into his rhythm.

  And then he took it further.

  He activated his Virgo alchemy, rewriting the terrain beneath them.

  The loose dirt beneath his feet solidified into a smooth, reflective surface—ice.

  The first Blightfang slipped, its claws unable to find traction.

  Ethan twisted, summoning a Virgo inscription in the air with a swipe of his fingers.

  Bind.

  The moment the creature hit the ground, vines erupted from the earth, latching onto its limbs and constraining it.

  One down.

  The second Blightfang snarled, leaping toward him.

  Ethan flicked his wrist. The ice beneath the beast shifted—melted—becoming liquid in an instant.

  The creature’s weight plunged it into the sudden pool of water.

  Ethan raised his palm.

  Flash-boil.

  The water turned into steam in an instant, sending the beast flying backward from the force of evaporated air.

  Before it could recover, Lysandra struck.

  She spun, her arcane spear morphing into a massive lance of ice, and drove it straight into the beast’s chest.

  It let out a gurgled snarl before collapsing.

  Silence.

  The battle was over.

  Ethan exhaled, his aura dimming. His heartbeat slowed back to normal.

  Lysandra was staring at him.

  “…What the hell was that?” she muttered.

  Ethan wiped his brow, glancing at the frozen battlefield. “Alchemy,” he said simply. “Modification of matter.”

  Lysandra scoffed, but there was a hint of something else in her expression—acknowledgment.

  “You fight like a noble,” she said after a pause.

  Ethan smirked. “Thanks. But I’m still a commoner.”

  Before she could retort, a third growl rumbled through the clearing.

  They turned—only to see the Lesser Emberfang staring at them from atop the rock formation, its molten eyes glowing brighter than before.

  But something was wrong.

  Its flames were no longer steady. They flickered unnaturally, twisting, as if being manipulated by an unseen force.

  Ethan’s stomach turned.

  The prophecy’s words echoed in his mind.

  “The fire-born beast whose soul wavers between light and darkness.”

  The Emberfang wasn’t just a creature of fire.

  It was cursed.

  And whatever power had been waiting in the ruins of Eldros—

  —was watching now.

  ?THE CURSED FLAME

  The Lesser Emberfang stood atop the rock formation, its molten eyes locked onto Ethan and Lysandra. The flickering flames along its spine wavered—no longer the natural flow of fire, but something corrupted, twisting.

  Lysandra noticed it too. “That’s… not normal.”

  Ethan’s jaw tightened. The patterns in its fire reminded him of something—the shifting symbols he had seen in the Ruins of Eldros.

  This wasn’t just a beast of flame.

  It had been altered.

  Before either of them could react, the Emberfang let out a guttural snarl. The flames along its back surged unnaturally, flaring outward in dark tendrils. The air itself seemed to waver from the heat, but there was something else—a deep, pulsing energy beneath it.

  Ethan’s heartbeat quickened. This wasn’t just fire magic.

  This was something older.

  The beast launched forward.

  Lysandra threw up a crystalline barrier, ice forming in the air between them. But the moment the cursed flames touched it—

  The ice shattered.

  Ethan pulled Lysandra back just as the explosion sent shards flying in every direction. The ground beneath them cracked, scorched black from the impact.

  “Alright,” Lysandra coughed, wiping soot from her cheek. “That’s new.”

  Ethan’s mind raced. Normal fire wouldn’t have destroyed her ice so easily. The corruption in the flames—it was breaking down magic itself.

  If they didn’t handle this carefully, it wouldn’t just burn them.

  It would consume them.

  ?FIGHTING THE EMBERFANG

  The Emberfang prowled forward, its molten body leaving scorched paw prints in the dirt. Its tail flicked, and a jet of corrupted flame spiraled toward them.

  Ethan didn’t hesitate.

  His hands moved instinctively, tracing a pattern in the air. Green energy flared from his fingertips as he cast—

  “Deflect.”

  A Virgo inscription materialized in front of them, redirecting the incoming flames to the side. The fire struck a tree, which instantly blackened and withered as if aged by centuries.

  Ethan’s eyes widened.

  That wasn’t just fire.

  It was time decay.

  Lysandra swore under her breath. “That thing’s flames are eating magic and life? Fantastic.”

  The Emberfang wasn’t waiting. It lunged forward again, moving unnaturally fast.

  Lysandra flicked her wrist, conjuring several frost lances and launching them at the beast. The first few shattered on impact, but one managed to pierce its side—only for the wound to instantly cauterize.

  The creature didn’t even slow down.

  Ethan clenched his fists. They needed a different strategy.

  His mind raced. If its flames corrupted whatever they touched, then he needed to separate the flames from the creature itself.

  Which meant—

  Alchemy.

  Ethan slammed his palm into the ground, his Virgo aura flaring as he inscribed a quick alchemical formula into the dirt beneath them. The symbols burned green, spreading out in a circle.

  Lysandra glanced at him. “What are you—”

  “Shifting the battlefield.”

  The moment the Emberfang pounced—

  The earth beneath it collapsed.

  A pit formed instantly, swallowing the beast mid-air. Ethan had transmuted the soil beneath it into sand, destabilizing the ground entirely.

  The Emberfang crashed into the pit, disoriented for just a moment—but it was enough.

  Ethan’s hands moved again.

  “Isolate.”

  A barrier of energy formed at the edges of the pit, cutting off the flames trailing from the creature’s body. The cursed fire sputtered against the barrier, struggling to spread—but it couldn’t.

  The flames weren’t just magic.

  They were alive.

  And Ethan had just trapped them.

  The Emberfang roared, trying to reignite itself—but without the cursed fire sustaining it, its body weakened.

  Lysandra took the opening.

  She summoned a spear of pure frost, its energy crackling in the air.

  “Stay down,” she muttered—then hurled it straight at the beast’s heart.

  The spear struck true.

  The Emberfang let out a final, shuddering growl—before its molten body solidified, turning into nothing more than blackened stone.

  The cursed flames, trapped in Ethan’s barrier, flickered weakly—then dissipated into the air.

  Silence fell.

  Ethan exhaled, his shoulders tense. The alchemy had worked, but barely. His mind replayed the battle—the flames, the unnatural energy, the symbols in the ruins.

  That wasn’t an ordinary creature.

  Something had changed it.

  And something out there was still watching.

  Lysandra nudged the Emberfang’s stone corpse with her foot. “Well. That was unpleasant.”

  Ethan ran a hand through his hair, his pulse finally settling. “Tell me about it.”

  She shot him a look. “You do realize you just transmuted an entire battlefield mid-fight, right?”

  He shrugged. “Seemed like the best option.”

  Lysandra scoffed. “Typical.” But there was no irritation in her tone—just grudging respect.

  A rustling in the trees made them both turn.

  From the shadows, a group of Scorpio students stepped into the clearing. Their leader, a tall girl with piercing black eyes, studied the remains of the Emberfang before her gaze settled on Ethan.

  “…Interesting.”

  Ethan narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been watching.”

  The Scorpio student smirked. “We watch everything.”

  Lysandra crossed her arms. “You could’ve helped.”

  “Oh, but this was much more informative.” The Scorpio girl tilted her head slightly. “This beast—it wasn’t natural.”

  Ethan stiffened. “You noticed too.”

  The Scorpio student nodded. “And I have a feeling this isn’t the only one.”

  A heavy silence followed.

  Then, from deep within the Emberwood—

  A distant roar echoed.

  One much larger than the Emberfang they had just fought.

  Lysandra exhaled sharply. “Oh, come on.”

  Ethan glanced down at the blackened remains of the creature, then up toward the distant treetops.

  Whatever had tainted this creature wasn’t done yet.