The discovery came by accident.
Ethan was returning late from weapon practice when he heard voices from Professor Thorne's office. The door stood slightly open, spilling lamplight into the empty corridor.
He should have kept walking. He should have minded his own business.
Instead, he pressed against the stone wall and listened through the crack in the door.
"The boy's resistance is stronger than expected," Thorne was saying.
"All Valorian bloodlines resist at first." A woman's voice. Professor Aldurren from Magical Theory. "But the seed is planted. Give it time."
Ethan's blood went cold. They were definitely talking about Prince Alexander.
"Time we may not have," a third voice added. An unfamiliar male voice. "The anomaly complicates everything, he is affecting our progress or someone is trying to change the outcome."
The anomaly, which means me.
"Perhaps we should use the ritual chambers," Thorne suggested. "The barriers beneath the Academy…"
"Too risky. The old wards still hold. We need the boy to embrace it willingly."
Ethan's fragment pulsed against his ribs. This wasn't just Academy corruption. This was a whole level of planning and secret execution of the demonic will.
Footsteps approached the door.
Ethan slipped quietly to the next door, as someone emerged. In the lamplight, he caught Professor Aldurren's face. Her silver hair still showing behind her coat hood, but her forearm made him almost stagger out of his hiding place.
A tattoo. Black ink that seemed to gleamed from the office lamplight. The design burned in his memory from another life - a serpent eating its own tail, wrapped around a full moon.
The Mark of Vexus. The demon of wrath's personal sigil.
She disappeared down the corridor before Ethan could process it fully. But the truth hit him like a blow.
They're not just corrupted any longer, they have been marked. They were now servants of the demon generals.
**********
Two nights later, Ethan led Maya and Kaleb through the Academy's east wing. Their footsteps echoed softly on ancient stone.
"Are you sure about this?" Maya whispered.
"No," Ethan admitted. "But we need some proof."
They'd spent hours planning this mission. Kaleb would watch while Ethan and Maya searched Professor Thorne's office. Simple and zero risk of being caught.
What could go wrong?
The corridor outside Thorne's office was empty. Moonlight through the windows giving light. Kaleb took position at the stairwell while Ethan and Maya approached the heavy door.
"It's locked," Maya said, testing the handle.
Ethan pulled out a thin piece of metal. "Old Academy locks, simple to pick."
"Where did you learn that?" Maya asked looking at me with an unclear emotion.
"My father taught me one or two while growing. Said I might need it."
The mechanism clicked open.
Thorne's office was larger than it looked from outside. Shelves lined every wall, packed with books that made Ethan's skin tingle. Thorne had books that were forbidden for practice of magic like the Essence Binding and The Thirteen Rituals stared back at him, yet he was confident displaying them openly.
"Look at this," Maya breathed.
She stood before Thorne's desk, staring at papers scattered across its surface. Even in dim light, Ethan could see diagrams. Ritual circles. Names in a long sheet.
Prince Alexander Valorian appeared at the top of one list.
Below it, other names. Raymond Blackthorn. Cassia Flameheart. Students from noble families, each marked with different symbols.
"They're targeting the nobility," Maya said.
Ethan moved to another shelf. Here, books were older. Bound in thick leather materials. One volume caught his attention - The Marks of Service.
He opened it carefully.
The first page showed the tattoo from Professor Aldurren's arm. The serpent and crescent moon. Below it, text in multiple languages.
Vexus, one translation read. Demon of Wrath. First among the Seven.
Other pages showed different marks. A spider wrapped around a crown which was Lumira, Envy. Twin daggers crossed over a coin, that was Kravax, Greed.
"Ethan," Maya's voice was tight with fear. "Look at this."
She'd found another drawer, unlocked. Inside lay letters between the Academy tutors. The names were familiar—Professor Thorne, Professor Aldurren, Commander Flavian from Combat Training.
All signed with the same mark. The serpent and crescent moon.
How many are there? How deep does this go?
One letter made his hands shake:
The royal vessel shows promise. His resistance weakens daily. Full possession within a month. The Academy's purpose nears completion.
The anomaly must be identified and eliminated. It threatens everything.
- T
Maya was copying names from the student list. Her golden eyes reflected lamplight.
"There's more," she whispered. "Look at the dates."
Ethan peered over her shoulder. The letters went back years. Decades. Discussing gradual implementation and long-term positioning.
This wasn't recent corruption. The shadow cult had been embedded in the Academy since before they were born.
A soft whistle echoed from the corridor. Kaleb's warning signal.
"Someone's coming," Maya hissed.
Ethan grabbed the most damning letters and shoved them inside his jacket. Maya pocketed the student list. They moved toward the door quickly and quietly.
The corridor was still empty, but footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Multiple people. Getting closer.
"Window," Ethan whispered.
They slipped through Thorne's office to a window that opened onto the Academy's roof. The drop to the next building was only six feet, but in darkness it looked deep.
Maya went first. Her staff fragment glowed softly, providing just enough light. She landed like a cat on the adjacent roof.
Ethan followed. His enhanced reflexes made the jump easy, but his boots scraped loudly on slate tiles.
From Thorne's office below came voices. The door opening. Light spilling across the floor they'd just left.
They crawled across three rooftops before finding a safe way down. By the time they reached ground, Ethan's heart hammered against his ribs.
Kaleb met them in the courtyard, face pale with worry.
"What happened?" he asked. "I saw Professor Thorne and two others heading for his office."
"We got what we came for," Ethan said grimly.
But as they walked back toward the dormitories, one thought consumed him.
If Thorne's office was being watched, if they knew someone might break in...
Were we expected?
**********
Back in their abandoned tower room, Ethan spread the stolen letters across the table. Maya added her copied names. In candlelight, the evidence painted a sick picture.
"They're not just corrupt," Maya said quietly. "They serve something worse."
Kaleb studied the demon marks with wide eyes. "These symbols... I've seen them before. In old histories about the demon wars."
"Where?" Ethan asked.
"My grandfather's books. He collected stories about ancient conflicts." Kaleb's voice dropped. "These are marks that appeared on traitors. Humans who sold their souls to demon lords."
Ethan looked at the list of targeted students. All nobility. All from families that controlled the kingdom's major regions.
They're not just corrupting individuals. They're positioning to control the entire realm.
"It goes deeper than the Academy," he said finally. "This is generational planning. They've been targeting people in power for decades."
Maya's golden eyes reflected candlelight. "What do we do?"
That was the question. They had evidence, but who could they trust? How many others wore hidden marks?
"We gather more allies," Ethan said. "Carefully. And we prepare for war."
Because looking at those letters, those marks, those lists, one thing was clear.
War was coming whether they were ready or not.
The only question was whether they could stop the shadow cult before they completed whatever ritual they'd been planning for so long.
The cult had been working for decades. Positioning their people. Corrupting the nobility. Building toward some terrible goal and Ethan was running out of time to stop them.
The fragment pulsed against his ribs. Each day it aged him more. Each use of its power cost him months.
How much time do I have left? How much can I afford to spend?
Not enough. It was never enough.
But now he knew some of the enemy's face. Knew their marks and part of their plans.
The real fight was just beginning.