Night settled over Ember Academy with a calm that felt almost unreal after everything they had experienced.
The dormitory halls were silent lit by faint Aether lamps that cast soft shadows along the walls. Outside the distant hum of the academy never fully disappeared,. It faded into something background, something controlled and predictable.
Safe.
Inside their shared room that peace didn't long.
"This is robbery " Riven said, his voice cutting through the silence as he dropped onto his bed and stared at the pouch of Aether Stones in his hand like it had personally insulted him.
"One pill costs this much?" he continued, holding up a vial they had purchased earlier. "I fought a monster for this. I deserve least ten."
Mira sat cross legged on her bed still visibly shaken by the market experience. "I am still trying to wrap my head around how people can afford that."
Tarin leaned against the wall his arms crossed. "They don't. That's the point. Resources separate the strong from the weak."
Lyra sat near the window her gaze distant. ". The prepared from the unprepared."
Riven groaned. "You are all making it worse."
Mira turned toward Kael. "You haven't said anything. What do you think?"
Kael sat quietly the small vial of pill resting in his hand as he observed it carefully. He studied its structure, its composition and its flaws.
" It's inefficient " he said.
Riven froze.
Mira blinked.
Tarin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Lyra didn't react outwardly. Her attention sharpened.
"You said that earlier " Riven said slowly. "And I'm starting to think you're serious."
Kael looked up. "I think it can be made better."
The room fell silent.
Then Riven pointed at Kael. "I'm telling you now if you casually reveal you can make pills I'm going to be offended."
Mira nodded quickly. "Same."
Tarin added calmly "It would also be suspicious."
Lyra said nothing. Her gaze lingered on Kael longer than before.
Kael set the pill down. "I'm going to rest."
Riven waved him off. "Yeah go dream about making things."
Mira lay back on her bed. "I'm still upset about the prices."
Tarin closed his eyes. "Get used to it."
Lyra remained by the window watching.
Kael lay down closed his eyes and waited until the room fell silent and their breathing steadied.
Then he opened his eyes quietly stood and left.
The academy at night was different. Less crowded. More open. More useful.
Kael moved through the pathways with ease his steps silent as he made his way toward the training areas. The further he went the fewer students he encountered until eventually he reached a section that had been mostly abandoned.
Old. Unused. Forgotten. Perfect.
Inside one of the rooms faint remnants of Aether tools remained. Basic equipment used for training in alchemy and crafting. Nothing advanced but enough.
Kael stepped inside closed the door and exhaled. The fragments within him stirred, not violently but expectantly.
"Lets try " he said quietly.
He placed the pill he had bought earlier on the table studied it one time and then began.
The process came naturally. He didn't follow a learned method or recall instructions. He just understood the structure of the pill the flow of Aether within it the imbalance in its composition and how to fix it.
Kael gathered the ingredients available in the room. Low quality herbs meant for beginner practice. Not ideal not refined, but enough.
He infused them with Aether precisely and not forcefully. The fragments guided him aligning the Aether.
Slowly the mixture formed, compressed, refined until a pill took shape.
Kael stared at it. "That was fast."
He picked it up. Examined it. The structure was clean, balanced and stable. Better than the one he had bought.
He paused. "This is normal?"
Silence answered him.
Then he tried again.. Again. Each time better, cleaner more refined.
Until eventually he stopped. Not from exhaustion. Realization.
"This is a problem " he said. "Because if I can do this then others can't. Not easily. Not normally."
Kael looked at the pills on the table. "I can't sell these directly. It is too obvious and too dangerous."
He didn't need to. A thought formed, simple and effective. "Anonymous."
The day the market buzzed with its usual activity. Students moved between stalls voices rising in trade and negotiation.
Nothing seemed out of place until a small vial appeared on one of the exchange counters. No name. No origin. Only a note: "For evaluation."
The shop owner, a middle- man known for his sharp eye and even sharper judgment picked it up casually. At first then he paused.
His expression changed. "What is this?"
He examined the pill closely. Its structure, its purity, its balance.
His hands trembled slightly. "This... Isn't beginner level."
A nearby assistant leaned in. "What do you mean?"
The owner didn't look away. "This level of refinement... Even intermediate alchemists struggle to achieve this."
Silence.
The owner glanced at the note again. "No name."
He exhaled slowly. "Prepare it."
The assistant blinked. "Prepare it?"
The owners gaze sharpened. "We're putting this up for auction."
away Kael walked through the academy like nothing had happened. Riven stretched beside him. "I'm still thinking about those prices. Its bothering me."
Mira nodded. "Same."
Tarin sighed. "Focus on training."
Lyra walked quietly then glanced at Kael. "You were out night."
Not a question. A statement.
Kael didn't look at her. "Yes."
A pause. "Doing what?"
Kael walked forward calm. "Nothing important."
Lyra didn't respond,. A faint smile touched her lips. "We'll see."
Above the academy whispers began to spread, quiet and unnoticed but growing.
"A new pill..."
"Unknown origin..."
"High quality..."
And soon a single question echoed through the market. "Who made it?"
The answer walked among them unseen and unnoticed. For now.. Not, for long.
Because the moment that pill reached the auction everything would change.. The name of an unknown artisan would begin to shake the academy.