Chapter 36: Echoes of Judgment – The Turning Point
Smoke curled into the dusky sky as shattered sigils burned across the northern battlegrounds of the Academy. Craters marred the once-pristine dueling grounds. Faction banners—Ardent, Veylor, Nullborn—fluttered tattered, drenched in spellfire and blood.
Ren stood atop broken stone, breathing hard. His coat was slashed. His hand gripped the Codex Nullum—its pages flickering like they were… breathing.
Across the field, Kael Veylor advanced with his faction behind him. Eyes glowing. Calm and cruel.
"You're outnumbered, Ren," Kael called. "Surrender. I'll make sure your Nullborn friends survive."
Behind Ren, a dozen scattered students from the Nullborn faction stirred, wounded but not broken. Lira moved to his side, clutching a cracked artifact staff. Her eyes narrowed. "He's bluffing. But we're too exposed."
Ren didn't respond. The Codex's pages were whispering again—ancient scripts bleeding into his vision.
{…Embrace the fracture… Command the broken…}
The same voice from the Sealing Grounds. But louder now.
Suddenly, lightning cracked the sky—and a surge of Divine-Class pressure washed over the battlefield.
A new arrival stepped out from the far side: Selvara of House Solmere. Her uniform was pristine. Her blade hummed with radiant containment runes. She wasn't supposed to be here.
"By order of the Headmaster," Selvara announced, her voice carrying like thunder, "the Faction War is to be... suspended."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Kael's face twisted. "You're interfering?"
"No," she said calmly. "I'm obeying a higher order."
Ren's eyes locked with hers—and for the first time, he saw it. The sigil of the Watchers glowing faintly beneath her sleeve.
Meanwhile—beneath the academy…
Chains rattled in the dark. A voice—not entirely human—sighed in satisfaction.
"So… he's awakening faster than expected. And the girl has moved."
Another voice, cold and sharp:"We'll have to accelerate the plan. Let the gods think they're still in control."