Kaen sat on the cold stone steps outside the academy, his eyes fixed on the forest edge.
The image of the cloaked figure from the mist wouldn't leave his mind.
It wasn't just fear.
It felt like a memory.
But… one he had never lived.
He clenched his fist.
Around him, the village moved as if everything was normal — students chatting, merchants shouting, the blacksmith hammering steel. But for Kaen, the world felt like it was tilting slightly. Unstable.
Something was coming.
---
Later that day, the academy held a lecture inside the oldest building — the Hall of Silence.
Mistress Vaela stood at the center, her black robe fluttering even though no wind touched her.
She raised her hand.
"The Crimson Seal is not just a technique... It is a cage," she said softly, her voice echoing unnaturally across the hall.
"A cage forged from fear… used to lock away that which even the gods feared to name."
Kaen's eyes widened.
His heart raced as a sudden chill ran down his spine.
For a second, he swore she looked directly at him — like she knew.
But when he blinked, she had already turned away.
---
After class, Kaen didn't go home.
Instead, he found himself again under the Crimson Tree.
The wind was silent.
No birds.
No rustling.
He stared into the mist.
Waiting.
Then — a whisper. Faint. Right behind his ear.
"The cage is weakening…"
Kaen spun around.
No one.
But this time… the tree's crimson leaves had started to fall, one by one, even though no wind blew.
And in the bark behind him…
A strange mark had appeared.
A symbol.
Not there before.
Not natural.
---