Chapter 3: Marked

Smoke curled through the ruined hallway.

The emergency alarms screamed overhead, red lights flashing across shattered glass and terrified faces.

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

The boy stood in the center of the destruction like he belonged there.

Black shadows twisted slowly around his feet before dissolving into nothing.

Then—

He looked directly at Lira.

Not at the crowd.

Not at the teachers rushing toward the scene.

Only her.

Those cold silver eyes held something dangerous.

Something ancient.

Lira’s pulse hammered painfully against her ribs.

The glowing marks beneath her sleeve burned hotter.

The boy noticed.

Of course he noticed.

For one brief second, his unreadable expression cracked—

Concern.

Then it vanished.

A teacher finally found her voice.

“What… what was that thing?!”

No answer came.

Students began shouting over each other.

“Did you see its face?!”

“That monster came from the shadows!”

“Who is he?!”

“The lights exploded!”

Fear spread fast.

And fear always needed someone to blame.

Every eye slowly turned toward the boy.

He didn’t react.

Didn’t defend himself.

Didn’t even blink.

The air around him felt unnaturally cold.

Then Principal Veridan appeared.

The hallway instantly fell silent.

Tall and severe, dressed in a charcoal coat lined with silver thread, the academy principal moved through the crowd with unsettling calm.

His sharp gaze landed on the destruction.

Then on the boy.

For the first time—

The principal looked disturbed.

“…Raven Hale,” he said quietly.

Whispers erupted immediately.

“That’s Raven?”

“The transfer student?”

“I heard he got expelled from Blackthorn Academy—”

“They say people disappear around him—”

Raven ignored them all.

Principal Veridan stepped closer. “My office.

Now.”

Raven finally spoke.

“No.”

The single word silenced the hallway again.

Lira felt her stomach tighten.

Nobody spoke to Veridan that way.

But the principal only narrowed his eyes.

“The Hollow crossed the barrier,” Veridan said coldly. “That should be impossible.”

Raven’s expression darkened slightly.

“Nothing is impossible anymore.”

A strange silence followed those words.

Like everyone sensed something terrible hiding beneath them.

Then Raven turned—

And started walking away.

Students immediately moved aside for him.

Not willingly.

Instinctively.

Like prey making room for a predator.

As he passed Lira, the shadows near her feet trembled.

He stopped beside her.

Close enough for her to feel the freezing air surrounding him.

Close enough to hear his breathing.

The hallway seemed to disappear around them.

“You should leave this academy,” Raven said softly.

Lira swallowed hard. “Why?”

His silver eyes met hers again.

And for the first time—

She saw exhaustion in them.

Not cruelty.

Not arrogance.

Just someone carrying too much darkness alone.

“Because,” he whispered, “they’ll kill you when they learn what you are.”

Lira’s blood turned cold.

Before she could speak again—

Raven walked away.

The crowd parted silently as shadows curled behind him like living smoke.

And the moment he disappeared down the stairwell—

The burning marks on Lira’s wrist flared violently.

Images crashed into her mind.

A broken throne.

A city drowning in darkness.

Silver chains wrapped around the moon.

And Raven—

Standing beside her beneath a black sky covered in ash.

Blood stained his hands.

His expression shattered.

As if he had already lost her once before.

Lira gasped and stumbled backward.

Someone caught her arm.

“Lira!”

Ash steadied her before she could fall.

His dark brown hair was slightly messy, leather jacket half-zipped like he’d rushed there the second alarms started ringing. Unlike everyone else staring at Raven in fear, Ash’s attention stayed completely on her.

“You look terrible,” he said. “What happened?”

Lira tried to answer.

But the vision still echoed inside her head.

Especially one sentence.

One horrible sentence.

A voice had whispered it directly into her soul.

The Hollow Prince will either save the world…

…or destroy it.

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