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The Trench Descent is a death sentence. Closed for six years after a catastrophic failure, the shifting abyss beneath Aurelis Academy has suddenly reopened, and the elite are stepping forward to claim the elemental Seats.
Enter Lucian Virell. To the academy, he's an easygoing, talented Fire prodigy. In reality, he is a deeply compassionate observer carrying the quiet weight of his sister's tragic past with the Trench. When the selection cycle reopens for academy students, Lucian steps into the vacant Fire Seat-not out of ambition, but because he refuses to let anyone else walk into a slaughter.
But he isn't going alone. Elias, his fiercely loyal childhood friend and Wind genius, is right at his side. Where Lucian goes, Elias follows, an enabler born of absolute trust.
Flanked by the unpredictable lightning candidate Zarek, the sharp water wielder Lily, and the grounded earth mage Cora, they plunge into the terrifying lower layers. But as ancient secrets stir in the dark, the true test won't just be surviving the abyss. It will be surviving the cost of keeping each other alive.