Chapter 31: After the Rift
For once, the Academy didn’t erupt in applause after a battle.
There were no cheers. No celebratory lightning bolts. No "Atta boy, Architect" from Yuria. Just stunned silence as we stared up at the sky, where the rift had closed like a scar across the heavens.
The air still crackled with residual magic. The wards were fried. And I could feel it—the faintest echo of something watching.
Lilith paced the tower roof, her expression unreadable. Valmira leaned on the railing, eyes distant. Seraphina had frost crusting the tips of her gloves. No one said it out loud, but I knew what we were all thinking.
That wasn’t just some monster from the outer realms.
That was a test.
And we’d barely passed.
Later, when the courtyard was quiet again, Lilith sat beside me on the cold stone steps.
"You understand now," she said. "This isn’t just about the Demon King anymore."
I nodded. "Something bigger’s behind all this."
"The one who forged the first shard," she whispered. "The one we forgot existed."
I looked at the glowing mark on my palm.
"Then it’s time to remember."
