Chapter 20: Rise of the Veiled Flame
The rain had not stopped since the night Samuel sensed the red-eyed observer. It drenched the courtyard, soaked the stones, and ran in rivulets down the academy's high towers like silent tears. But inside the heart of the Unseen Oath, the atmosphere burned not with fear, but purpose.
Samuel had exposed the traitors. Their names still echoed through the minds of every member present, stirring questions and anxieties. The two coerced spies had been given a choice: redemption or exile. One chose exile. The other Alric, a former street runner with nimble fingers and a sharp wit had stayed. Samuel had seen the resolve flicker in his soul and let him prove himself anew.
But the third?
She was never found. Not fully.
Whoever had come willingly to betray them had covered their tracks with precision. System-obscured, presence masked, and loyalty hidden beneath the polished smile of camaraderie. Even with [Discerning Echo], Samuel only caught fragments. A false emotion here. A fleeting hesitation there.
They were still among them.
That morning, Samuel gathered the core of his inner circle not just Aralyn and Mira, but also Kael, Alric, and two new recruits who had shown exceptional initiative: Linna, a support mage specializing in protective runes, and Darius, a war-scarred close-range brawler with a mysterious military background.
He led them to an abandoned section of the underground training vaults, far from prying eyes and surveillance sigils.
"This is not a classroom," Samuel began. "This is where we forge what the academy will one day fear."
Aralyn raised an eyebrow. "Are we forming a militia now?"
Samuel's eyes burned faintly, system glyphs faint behind them. "No. We're forming something the academy has never seen. An oath. A code. A presence that exists in the cracks between power and politics."
Kael muttered, "Cryptic much?"
Mira shot him a look. "Shut it and listen."
Samuel activated the trial.
[Faction Trial: Forge of the Unseen] Objective: Build a foundational team of seven. Survive simulated crises. Prove cohesion under pressure.
The vault transformed around them. Walls shifted. The ground trembled. Flames, shadow constructs, and artificial anomalies swirled into a controlled chaos all shaped by the system into challenges that targeted their weaknesses.
It was brutal.
Kael's recklessness nearly got Mira killed.
Darius distrusted Alric, forcing the latter into near isolation.
Linna froze in a moment of doubt that allowed a shadow beast to wound Aralyn.
And yet Samuel watched. He did not interfere. He gauged reactions, tracked every detail through the system's lens. Pain was a better tutor than praise.
When the simulation ended, they were bruised, bloodied, and breathless.
But they were also stronger.
"Not bad," Aralyn muttered, dabbing blood from her cheek.
"We failed most objectives," Mira pointed out.
Samuel smiled faintly. "But we survived. Which means we can adapt."
[Faction Trial Complete]
Faction Bond: Initiated
Unlocked: Hidden Skill - [Veiled Unity]
It was a passive aura a link that allowed the seven of them to sense one another's presence within a short range, regardless of interference.
News of the trial though its details were kept secret spread quickly. Whispers of an elite unit within the Unseen Oath reached even the High Council of Zenith Academy. The council convened in a hidden chamber above the Tower of Insight.
"This Samuel Grey has grown too bold," muttered Archmagus Varnes.
"And yet," said Mistress Lurella, "he has not broken any law."
"He will," Varnes snapped. "They always do."
Across the room, a student representative stood quietly. Eyes veiled in a glamour. Lips sealed with a blood-bind pact.
She was the traitor within the Unseen Oath.
And she had just been given new orders.
Back inside the faction's stronghold, tensions were rising. As Samuel continued strengthening the core, more students came to join, and with them came new problems.
Some arrived with desperation.
Others with agendas.
A few with poisoned intentions.
One morning, a recruit was found unconscious in the outer hallway sigils of suppression carved into his skin, a silent message to those considering loyalty to the Oath.
"Who did this?" Kael growled.
Samuel looked over the sigils. They were divine-class, rare even among advanced practitioners.
"I don't know yet," he said. "But I will."
He turned to Aralyn, who had watched silently from the shadows.
"Keep an eye on the newest recruits. Especially the ones with clean records. Nobody climbs through Zenith's ranks without dirtying their hands."
She smiled. "And here I thought you trusted me."
"I do," he said. "But I trust your suspicion more."
Late that night, alone again in the sanctuary, Samuel sat before the system.
[Trial Unlocked: Path of Dominion - Stage I]
Requirement: Assert influence over Zenith's student body. Survive the coming purge.
Outside, the rain returned.
But Samuel didn't hear it.
He was already preparing for war.