Rise Of The Elemental Hero

Mysterious Death

The news of the possessed boy's death spread like wildfire across the Serevaal Training Academy.

The morning air felt heavy as Shiro and Korin had walked through the academy, still unaware of what happened. Though, there was no training scheduled today, so the ground wasn't full of much people, Shiro wondered why.

Whispers of hushed conversations drifted from corners with one person’s name lingering in the air– the possessed boy in the dungeon.

Mei soon caught up with Shiro and Korin as they made their way to the training ground.

“Did you hear?? They say the possessed boy that attacked the school a few weeks ago is dead.” Mei said with a sad tone.

Shiro halted immediately and then blinked. ”Dead? How?!” He said, startled as he looked at Korin.

“Well, the council is yet to release an official statement about what happened but rumors have it that he killed himself….” Mei replied, her tone hushed. “....last night, right in his cell”

Korin frowned, his antennas twitching. “That poor boy,”

“But..but it doesn't make sense,” Shiro muttered, still processing everything. “Why would he kill himself? What was going on in his mind??”

Mei shrugged, “ Some say the possession made him do it, some say he might have gone mad and killed himself”.

A chill ran through Shiro. He had not gotten a chance to speak to the boy…What kind of darkness possessed him that made him kill himself.

“Do you think he'd really kill himself?” Mei asked as her gaze shifted between them.

“ I don't know, Mei,” Shiro admitted, uneasy. “ It just…feels wrong somehow”

***************************

The council chamber was quiet, the protectors waiting for Cora to arrive. She walked in with a fierce, but calm expression, her red hair flowing over her shoulders as she held herself tall. Taking her seat, she finally broke the silence.

"I assume you all know why we’re here," Cora began, looking at everyone. "The young boy was found dead in the cell."

"We know he didn’t kill himself, Cora," Alaric spoke up, his voice calm but respectful, matching her authority.

"He was possessed," Rexar said quickly without hesistation. "Maybe he did something to himself."

Zerix narrowed his eyes. "Rexar, I hope you didn’t have a part in this boy’s death," he said bluntly.

Rexar’s face stayed calm, almost like he didn’t care. "How could you accuse me of that, Zerix?"

Zerix’s tone turned sarcastic. "Oh, let’s see… ‘We should kill the boy, Cora,’” he said, quoting Rexar’s own words from the dungeon.

Before Rexar could answer, Cora raised her voice. "Enough!" Her command stopped everyone. "We will all go back to our quarters now."

The council members exchanged surprised looks—except for Rexar, who appeared unfazed.

"Cora, what are we tell our people of Serevaal? the boy's parents… they deserve to know!" Liora said, her voice pleading.

"And so do we, Liora," Cora replied seriously. "But we don’t have those answers."

Alaric asked, "So what do we do now?"

Rexar leaned forward. "We tell them he took his own life… which I believe he did."

"Since when did we start lying to our people?" Liora cut Rexar off.

"We're not lying, it's just something to keep them from worrying till we find out what happened." He shot back at Liora. then turning to Cora, he asked, "What do you think, Cora??"

Cora paused, then nodded slightly. "So be it." She gave a small signal to Alaric, ending the meeting. One by one, they stood up and left, going back to their quarters.

After the meeting ended, Zerix was the only one who waited in the council chamber as the others left. Once he was alone, he quietly made his way to the dungeons. The hallways were cold and dim, the torches on the walls casting long shadows that flickered as he passed. The air had always felt heavy down here, thick with a dampness that clung to everything.

When he reached the cell where the young boy had been kept, he paused outside, taking a deep breath. He stepped inside, his eyes adjusting to the dark, stale room. The place was cold, almost colder than the last time he was here, and an eerie silence filled the space, making it feel like a place that was caught in time.

Zerix’s gaze drifted to the stone walls, where faint marks were scratched into the surface. It was definitely not here before, he thought.

Kneeling, he inspected the lines more closely. They weren’t random, that he knew—each mark looked sharp and almost….controlled, as if the boy had been trying to leave a message, or perhaps a warning. Zerix’s fingers traced over the scratches, his mind confused, and racing with questions. What could the boy have been trying to say?

The longer he stayed, the stronger a feeling crept over him, like a shadow just at the edge of his eyes. The air felt strange, colder and heavier, almost as if a dark presence was lingering in the cell. His instincts screamed at him that this wasn’t just a normal death. Something happened, someone happened, and had left its mark here.

Just then, Zerix heard a faint sound—a whisper, like a soft breath of wind brushing past him. He froze, his eyes darting around the cell. But there was no one else there. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt an uneasy tension building in his chest. It was as if whatever had taken the boy’s life was still lingering here, watching, waiting.

He slowly stood, his gaze lingering on the scratched marks one last time and then rushed out of the dungeon.

But he knew this was no accident, no simple tragedy. Something had happened to the boy, and it was lurking in Serevaal, perhaps the Dark One? He thought. But he knew one thing for sure; he was going to find the truth of this