It was very dark, but night had not yet fallen. These lands were places that even time had forgotten. Zero, Lyria, and Kai approached the passageway in the forest with heavy steps. The trees leaned over them as if to block their path. The birds were silent. The wind carried only the whispers of the past.
Kai stopped. His hands were shaking. He swallowed but no sound came out.
"This is it," he said with difficulty.
"The Academy of the Lonely..."
The passageway before them was built of massive stone blocks. On it was an old inscription, faded by time but still legible:
"This is the place that makes you forget what you should remember."
Zero repeated these words to himself.
It was as if this sentence had been written for him.
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The Darkness Behind the Door
When they stepped through the passageway, the air changed suddenly. It was cold, penetrating to the bone. The damp stone floor was slightly slippery. The symbols glowing on the walls were written in ancient magical languages. Some seemed to be written in blood; others still flickered with a faint light.
The silence was overwhelming. So much so that one could barely hear their own heartbeat.
Lyria spoke in a whisper:
— "This place... it's like a living structure. It has veins."
Kai shook his head.
— "No. This place... isn't alive. It's a nightmare that's been left behind."
________________________________________
Madness Whispered
As they walked through the corridors, faint whispers rose from the walls.
At first, they were incomprehensible. But then... they began to form words:
"Zero... They're calling you..."
"Kai… Your brother is still here…"
"Lyria… You betrayed your father…"
All three stopped. Their breaths caught. They locked eyes.
Kai spoke first:
— "They're… touching our minds. Whatever is inside us… they're stealing it."
Zero was shaken by a hoarse whisper from within. Even the curse fell silent.
"You were already dead, Zero. Now you're just a delayed payment."
For a moment, his own corpse appeared before his eyes. It was rotten and covered in blood, its eyes gone.
Zero staggered. Lyria took his arm.
— "Hold on. This place isn't against you. It's against what's inside you."
________________________________________
Three Doors: Mental Breakdown
Three doors appeared before them. Each one was different:
• Black Door: With an eye symbol on it.
• Gray Door: With cracks on it, murmurs coming from inside.
• Red Void: No door. Just pure darkness.
Kai headed for the black door.
Lyria went to the gray door.
Zero, without hesitation, stepped into the dark passageway.
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Zero's Mind
The moment he stepped inside, the world disappeared.
There was no floor. There was no ceiling. There was no light.
There was only sound. But it wasn't coming from outside, it was coming from within.
His own voice.
"You shouldn't be here."
"You will bring about their end."
"Your power will be your shroud."
"You will steal their smiles."
Zero fell to his knees. He held his head. It felt as if nails were being hammered into his brain.
Even the curse was silent.
As if it too was small in the face of this voice.
At that moment, a scene from his childhood flashed before his eyes.
The first day of his loneliness.
The moment when everyone he turned to had abandoned him.
And the scream from within.
But then...
Lyria's smile.
Kai's "friend."
The king's trusting gaze.
Zero stood up.
"I'm still here. I walked with the darkness. But I am not darkness."
His eyes narrowed. He clenched his fist. He suppressed the Area Expansion.
He silenced his inner battle.
And he crossed the threshold.
________________________________________
Meeting: Wounded Souls
Lyria's eyes were slightly red as she left. The gray door had shown her the family she had lost in the past.
Kai, on the other hand, was kneeling, his hands clenched into fists.
The black door had whispered the truth about his brother's death to him.
Zero approached and touched Kai's shoulder.
Kai spoke without looking up:
— "I... I left him. As I was running away... he was shouting behind me."
Zero sat silently.
— "This place... it casts a spell of pain. But you are still here. That makes you strong."
Lyria crouched down. She added quietly:
— "This place isn't just cursed... it's where people punish themselves."
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The Academy's Response
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. The ceiling creaked.
The walls glowed, and the runes came back to life.
Kai whispered in fear:
— "The Academy has noticed us..."
Zero stood up, his eyes shining.
The curse within him awoke.
But this time, he didn't lose control.
— "Let it notice us. We see it now too."
The entire Academy responded with a massive echo:
"You... are those who have stepped outside of fate."
"Then let us bring you in..."
Kai was carrying his brother on his shoulders.
Zero had begun to rein in the curse for the first time in the depths of his mind.
Lyria, however... felt that the emptiness inside her had filled a little.
But the Academy was still awake.
On the next floor... the walls would not speak.
The walls would scream.
END OF CHAPTER
The Forgotten Academy had awakened.
It was a vast consciousness with living walls, thinking corridors, and every room a mind.
And the three who entered would now fight not only their pasts,
but also a living enemy.
Zero raised his head and whispered:
"The darkness is not within me. I will tame the darkness."