Temporal Dominion

Lucian followed Elara Voss through the dimly lit pathways of Eldrin Academy, his curiosity warring with his lingering frustration. The night air carried a crisp chill, the scent of damp earth and freshly cut grass filling his senses.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked, breaking the silence.

"You'll see," Elara replied, her tone mysterious yet assured.

She led him beyond the training fields, past the towering dormitories, and toward the academy's outskirts. Here, the academy's pristine structures gave way to wilder terrain—ancient trees standing tall like silent sentinels, their gnarled roots weaving through the ground like veins.

Lucian hesitated. "Are we even allowed here?"

Elara smirked. "Rules never stopped you before."

Lucian scoffed. "I don't usually have a choice. Being powerless kind of makes me an easy target."

Elara didn't respond immediately. Instead, she guided him deeper into the woods until they reached a clearing bathed in silver moonlight. At its center stood an abandoned ruin, a circular stone platform covered in intricate carvings. The symbols were faded with age, their meanings long forgotten, yet something about them sent a strange shiver down Lucian's spine.

"What is this place?" he asked, stepping closer.

Elara crouched beside the carvings, tracing her fingers over the etched lines. "It's one of the oldest sites in Valeria. Before the Academy was built, before the Evolvers even structured their society, this place existed. No one knows exactly what it was for, but legend says it was tied to something beyond our understanding."

Lucian frowned. "You're telling me you brought me out here for a history lesson?"

She looked up, her silver eyes gleaming. "No. I brought you here because I think you feel it, too."

Lucian hesitated. He didn't want to admit it, but standing here, surrounded by these ancient stones, he did feel something—a strange pull at the edge of his consciousness, like a whisper just beyond hearing.

Before he could respond, Elara stood and dusted off her hands. "I come here sometimes when I need to think. It's… different from the rest of the world."

Lucian studied her. "And what does this have to do with me?"

Elara met his gaze. "Because you're different, too."

Lucian's jaw tightened. "If this is some roundabout way of telling me I don't need powers to be strong, save it."

She sighed. "That's not what I meant. Just… try something for me."

Lucian crossed his arms. "What?"

"Close your eyes. Just for a moment."

He gave her a skeptical look, but something in her expression made him comply. With a quiet breath, he shut his eyes.

"Now," Elara's voice was softer, more distant. "What do you feel?"

Lucian stood in silence.

At first, there was nothing. Just the usual sounds of the wind rustling the trees, the distant hum of the academy's energy fields.

Then… something changed.

A faint pressure pressed against his mind, like the weight of unseen hands gently guiding him. The air around him felt thicker, charged with something indescribable.

And then—

A flash of something unfamiliar.

It was brief, like a single frame in a reel of film, but for an instant, he saw—

A vast expanse of swirling energy. Time unraveling like golden threads. A presence watching from beyond.

Lucian's eyes snapped open, his heart hammering. He stumbled back, breathless, as if he had been holding it for too long.

Elara watched him carefully. "You felt it, didn't you?"

Lucian swallowed, trying to steady himself. "What… was that?"

Elara tilted her head. "I don't know. But whatever it is… it's been waiting for you."

Lucian's pulse pounded in his ears. That vision—that feeling—was unlike anything he had ever experienced. And for the first time in his life, he wasn't just standing on the outside looking in.

For the first time… something was reaching back.