The abandoned tower study room smelled of dust and old parchment. Ethan had chosen it carefully - far from the main library, forgotten by most students, with thick walls that muffled voices and exactly where he saw Maya practicing.
Maya arrived first, shadows coiling around her feet like loyal pets. The Saint's Staff fragment had changed her in subtle ways. Her movements were more graceful, her golden eyes held depths that hadn't been there before.
"You said this was important," she said, settling into one of the rickety chairs.
"It is." Ethan paced by the narrow window. Three stories below, students moved between buildings attending to their daily academy activities. Normal Academy life continuing while corruption spread through its heart.
Kaleb appeared in the doorway, breathing hard. "Sorry. Got turned around twice trying to find this place."
His face was flushed with excitement. Ever since the incident with Prince Alexander, Kaleb had been asking questions. Wanting to understand what was happening at the Academy. His hero complex made him eager to help, even when he didn't fully grasp the danger.
"Close the door," Ethan said.
Kaleb did as asked, then joined Maya at the small table. Both looked at Ethan expectantly.
How much can I tell them? How much truth can they handle?
"What I'm about to say might sound impossible," Ethan began. "But I need you to trust me."
Maya's golden eyes never left his face. "We're listening."
Ethan took a deep breath. "The Academy is corrupt. Not just academically - fundamentally. The people we trust, the instructors who teach us, some of them are working for something terrible."
"What kind of terrible?" Kaleb asked.
"The kind that wants to destroy everything we care about." Ethan moved away from the window. "I can't explain how I know this. Not yet. But I've seen what happens if we don't act."
Maya leaned forward. "Seen how?"
Another lifetime where I watched everyone die.
"Call it intuition," Ethan said. "But I'm right. The question is whether you'll help me do something about it."
Kaleb didn't hesitate. "Of course. If there's corruption here, we have to fight it."
So eager and so willing to believe in tales. Easy for demonic influence also.
Maya was more cautious. "What exactly are you asking us to do?"
"Watch and listen. Learn who can be trusted and who can't." Ethan sat across from them. "There are students here who aren't what they seem. Instructors with a lot of hidden agendas and we need to identify them before they strike."
"Strike at what?" Maya asked.
"At everything." The truth pressed against his teeth. At the kingdom and at the future I'm trying to save.
But he couldn't say that. Not yet.
"I know it sounds vague," Ethan continued. "But I need time to gather more information. To build a network of people we can trust."
Kaleb's eyes lit up. "Like a resistance movement."
"Something like that."
Maya studied Ethan's face with uncomfortable intensity. Her staff fragment had sharpened her perceptions. Made her better at reading people.
"There's more you're not telling us," she said finally.
"Yes."
"Will you tell us eventually?"
Ethan met her gaze. "When I can and when it's safe."
For a long moment, Maya said nothing. The silence stretched between them like a test.
"Alright," she said finally. "But I have conditions."
"Such as?"
"No unnecessary risks. No heroic gestures that get people killed and if this becomes too dangerous, we stop."
If only it were that simple.
"Agreed," Ethan said.
They spent the next hour planning. Cover stories for their meetings. Ways to communicate without drawing attention including methods for identifying potential allies among the student body.
Kaleb suggested they meet regularly under the guise of study sessions. Maya proposed using the abandoned classrooms in the east wing. Ethan shared what he could about suspicious faculty members without revealing too much about his sources.
By the time they prepared to leave, something had shifted between them. They were no longer just friends. They were conspirators.
**********
The next evening, they gathered in another forgotten corner of the Academy. This time in an abandoned classroom where broken desks and chairs created perfect hiding spot from any poke nose.
"I've been watching Professor Thorne," Ethan reported. "His Advanced Theory classes focus too much on forbidden magic. Yesterday he spent an hour explaining void manipulation techniques."
"That doesn't sound right," Kaleb agreed. "My general theory instructor says void magic is too dangerous to study."
Ethan made notes on a piece of parchment. "What about the other students? Anyone acting strangely?"
"Raymond Blackthorn," Maya said immediately. "He's been meeting with older students after hours. Hushed conversations that stop when people get too close."
Raymond, a future demon host was already being groomed.
"Keep watching him," Ethan said. "But don't get too close."
They continued sharing observations. Small details that painted a larger picture of corruption spreading through the Academy's foundation.
Twenty minutes into their discussion, footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.
All three froze.
The steps paused outside their door. A shadow moved past the gap beneath the frame.
Ethan held his breath. We're exposed. Someone knows what we're doing.
The footsteps continued down the hallway, fading into distance.
"That was close," Kaleb whispered.
Too close. They needed better security for these meetings.
**********
The third gathering almost didn't happen.
Ethan arrived at their designated spot - a storage room behind the kitchens - to find Lydia Hayes waiting outside the door.
"Ethan," she said pleasantly. "How curious to find you here."
His blood went cold. "Just exploring. The Academy has so many interesting corners."
"Doesn't it?" Lydia's amber eyes glittered. "I've been doing some exploring myself. Amazing what you can discover if you know where to look."
Maya and Kaleb approached from different directions. Both stopped when they saw Lydia.
"Maya, Kaleb," Lydia nodded to each in turn. "What a coincidence finding you all here."
No one spoke. The silence stretched awkwardly.
"You know," Lydia continued, "I've been hoping to find a good study group. My theoretical knowledge could be quite useful for collaborative research."
Who exactly is this girl. She had been watching us.
"We're not really a study group," Maya said carefully.
"Aren't you? Because from what I've observed, you three have twice in various abandoned rooms throughout the Academy. Always careful to avoid detection, discussing matters that require... discretion."
Ethan's hand moved instinctively toward where the blade fragment rested against his ribs. Lydia's eyes tracked the movement.
"That sounds like study group behavior to me," she continued. "The kind of serious academic work that benefits from additional perspectives."
She's fishing. Trying to confirm what she suspects.
"I appreciate the offer," Ethan said, "but we're just friends who like quiet places to talk."
"Of course you are." Lydia smiled. "Well, if you ever decide you need someone with advanced theoretical knowledge, you know where to find me."
She walked away, leaving them standing outside the storage room like guilty children.
"Should we follow the original plan?" Kaleb asked quietly.
Ethan looked down the corridor where Lydia had disappeared. "No. Too risky. We'll meet tomorrow night instead at a different location."
But as they separated, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that their secret was already compromised.
**********
That night, Ethan lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Kaleb's steady breathing filled the small room. Outside, Academy life continued its normal rhythm.
But nothing felt normal anymore.
The alliance was forming. Maya and Kaleb were committed to the cause, even if they didn't fully understand it. Master Donovan waited in the background, ready to provide guidance when needed.
It was more help than Ethan had ever expected to have yet, he felt like he was walking deeper into a trap?
The fragment pulsed against his ribs. Each day brought new changes to his body. The price of power mounting with every breath.
How much time do I have left? Weeks? Months?
Not enough. Never enough.
But maybe, with allies, it would be sufficient.
The thought carried him into uneasy sleep, where dreams of golden light and silver steel danced through his mind and in the distance, soft laughter echoed through empty corridors.
Someone was watching and someone was waiting.
The game was just beginning.