Thesis Slayer: Rewritten Flame

The air in the Academy shifted.

It wasn't just the smell of repaired stone or the faint trace of scorched magic that lingered after Seyon's duel—it was something older. Deeper. Like the walls themselves had begun to listen again.

Classes resumed. Whispers spread faster than fire.

"The Flareborn survived."

"She melted the dueling circle."

"Xian Yoru watched the whole thing."

"The Council's stirring again…"

Seyon walked the halls with her hood drawn low. Every step was shadowed by eyes that hadn't noticed her before. Now, they stared like they expected her to explode again.

She didn't give them the satisfaction.

But in the corners of her vision, things flickered—glyphs that weren't there before, whispers that didn't match any tongue she knew.

---

Meanwhile…

Beneath the library, in the sealed chamber where the Council of Echoes convened, the mirror pulsed again.

A new ripple.

"She's dreaming again," murmured Vael, her voice cloaked and mechanical. She stood apart, as always. Hood low. Hands gloved in velvet laced with runes.

A second figure turned, hunched over a series of floating soul-threads. "Then we must move. If the Flareborn reclaims her full memory—"

"She won't," Vael interrupted. "Not yet."

"She faced lightning and won. That magic shouldn't be active yet."

"Because it isn't hers," Vael said softly, touching the cracked obsidian. "It's ours. She's borrowing it."

"And if she learns the cost?"

Vael didn't answer.

---

Later That Night

Seyon lay awake, her dorm quiet.

Auron sat nearby, flicking through a holographic projection only he could conjure. Blue code scrolled, glitching faintly with fragments of the past.

"You're watching it again," she muttered.

He looked up. "Yes."

"You don't sleep, do you?"

He paused. "I don't dream. Not the same way you do."

Seyon turned on her side. "Do you miss it? Being… what you were before?"

Auron blinked. "No. I was made to assist you. This body just lets me do that better."

She frowned. "Better? You nearly punched a fire wraith in its eyeball yesterday."

He smirked. "It worked."

Silence stretched again.

Then Seyon said, quietly, "They're watching me. The Council."

"I know."

"What are they waiting for?"

Auron's expression turned cold. "A mistake."

The Second Trial.

It wasn't announced.

It was summoned.

At midnight, a flare erupted above the dorms—crimson light slashing through the sky like a wound. Students stumbled from sleep, robes half-worn, wands and weapons gripped tight.

Seyon was already standing at her window, eyes narrowed. The sigil burned in the sky: a spiral of flame and chain.

"Not scheduled," Auron said behind her, already lacing his boots. "This is forced."

"They want to see what happens when I break again."

"They're going to regret it."

---

The Arena—Midnight Hour

The dueling pit had been repaired, but faint scorch marks still laced the stone.

Headmistress Vael stood at the far end, silent. Her cloak billowed unnaturally, like smoke in water.

No announcement. No rules.

Just one opponent stepping forward:

Raze Elowen.

Spear-wielder. Air affinity. A top student from the House of Tempest. Tall, cruel, and grinning like he already tasted blood.

"Let's make it fun," he called. "Winner gets the loser's wand."

Seyon stepped into the circle, fire already crackling beneath her skin. "And if I don't use one?"

He blinked. "You—what?"

She raised her hand. Flames sparked at her fingertips.

"I am the wand."

---

From the Stands

Auron's eyes flickered red for a moment. He muttered, "Council interference—watch for mana spikes."

And then—

The duel exploded.

Raze moved first. Air sliced like blades. The ground cracked under his strikes. Wind roared with violence.

But Seyon was ready.

She didn't block. She danced.

Flames curled behind her steps like a second spine. She wove between gusts, turning them to steam. When Raze thrust forward, she slid under and countered with a whip of fire that singed his shoulder clean through.

The crowd gasped.

But Raze wasn't done. He roared, leaping into the air, spear spinning with wind sigils glowing. "I'll crush you!"

Seyon looked up, calm.

"Burn."

The fire erupted—not from her hands, but from beneath the arena.

A phoenix-shaped flare surged upward, engulfing Raze in light.

When it faded, he lay unconscious. Unharmed… but deeply shaken.

The crowd didn't cheer.

They stared.

She had cast without a wand. Without an incantation.

With a power that didn't belong to this world.

---

After the Duel

Back in her room, Seyon sat on the floor, her hands shaking slightly.

"I didn't summon that phoenix," she whispered.

Auron looked at her.

"I know."

"It felt like… something else took over."

He nodded. "Something is waking up in you. And it's not just your memories."

He turned away—but not before she caught the faintest flicker of fear in his expression.