Chapter 5: RUMORS IN THE AIR
Tension hung thick in the corridors of House Smith. Whispers slithered along the cold stone walls like snakes, soft and venomous. Servants lowered their gazes. Footsteps slowed when he passed.
Logan.
"He shattered Darius’s ribs with a palm strike."
"At nine years old? Without mana?"
"No elemental affinity... no access to magic... then how?"
"Is he even human?"
And as always, fear gave birth to stories.
"Maybe it’s a cursed bloodline. Some forbidden technique. Or worse—he could be practicing black magic."
[Black mages are sinners. They worship demons and wield wicked spells. Some are Seers, able to glimpse fragments of the future. They don’t draw from mana. They use curses, wrath, souls, and blood.]
Logan walked these halls in silence. His eyes calm, shoulders relaxed. He had known whispers before—ones laced with mockery or indifference. But these... these were different.
These were laced with fear.