The cult meeting was set for midnight in the old Academy chapel ruins very close to the forest.
Lydia had discovered the location through careful observation. She'd watched Professor Thorne's movements for days. Tracked his whereabouts and found the pattern.
"They gather every three nights," she whispered as they crouched behind broken stone walls. "Always the same group."
Ethan counted shadows moving inside the ruined building. Five figures in dark robes. Candlelight flickered through gaps in the ancient walls.
"How do we get close enough to hear?" Kaleb asked.
His voice shook slightly. This was his first real mission and he had woken him up from his always peaceful sleep so he could understand what they were facing. His first time facing actual danger with them, usually just a third wheel for missions like this.
"There's a passage underneath," Maya said. Her golden eyes reflected starlight. "I scouted it yesterday. Leads right under the main chapel area."
They'd planned this for hours. Simple infiltration. Listen to the cult's plans and get out without being detected. Gather intelligence for whatever came next.
Kaleb carried his practice sword. Maya had her staff fragment hidden beneath a cloak. Ethan's blade fragment pressed against his ribs, warm and patient.
"Remember," Ethan said quietly. "We're not here to fight. Just to learn."
But even as he said it, something felt wrong. The night was too quiet. The shadows almost everywhere or it might just be the dim crescent moon.
They moved toward the entrance Maya had found. A crack in the foundation that led to the old drainage tunnels. The stone was slick with moisture. Moss grew in patches that made each step treacherous for their hands and legs.
"This way," Maya breathed.
She led them through passages that had been there since the beginning of the Academy. The walls here were different. Older. Built by people who understood things the current generation had forgotten.
Sound carried strangely in the tunnels. Voices from above filtered down through cracks in the ceiling. Ethan caught fragments of conversation.
"...acceleration is proceeding as planned..."
"...three more students identified..."
"...fragments will corrupt them faster than natural progression..."
They reached a chamber directly beneath the cult meeting. The old grates in the ceiling let sound pass clearly. Ethan pressed his ear to the metal.
Professor Thorne's voice came through clearly. "The Academy vaults contained seven Divine Weapon fragments. Two are already claimed."
"By the anomaly and that bastard Thornfield girl," another voice said. Professor Aldurren.
"Yes. But that serves our purpose. They'll demonstrate the fragments' power. Make other students desperate for the same strength."
Ethan's blood went cold. They weren't trying to stop fragment distribution. They were encouraging it.
"The corruption process?" Thorne asked.
"Refined since our last attempt. Each fragment we've prepared will bond normally. But within weeks, the wielder becomes susceptible to our influence. Perfect vessels for the generals."
Maya grabbed Ethan's arm. Her eyes were wide with horror.
"How many fragments remain?" Aldurren continued.
"Five. Hidden in secure locations throughout the Academy. We'll place them where ambitious students will find them. Let greed and desperation do the rest."
Kaleb shifted position. His boot scraped against stone.
The sound echoed through the chamber above.
Silence fell over the cult meeting. "What was that?" someone asked.
Footsteps moved across the floor overhead. Coming toward the grates.
"We need to go," Ethan whispered. But it was too late.
Light blazed down through the ceiling. Someone had cast an illumination spell. The grate glowed white-hot, revealing their hiding spot clearly.
"Intruders," Thorne said calmly. "How interesting."
Metal began to bend. The grate was melting under the magical heat. In moments, it would collapse entirely.
"Run," Ethan said.
They scrambled back through the tunnels. Behind them, the cultists poured into the passages. Robes billowed as they gave chase. Spells crackled in the darkness.
"This way!" Maya led them down a side passage.
But more light appeared ahead. They were being surrounded.
"Dead end," Kaleb gasped.
The tunnel ended in a wall of solid stone. Behind them, footsteps echoed closer. Light grew brighter.
Ethan drew his fragment. Silver radiance pushed back the darkness. "Stay behind me."
The first cultist rounded the corner. Hood thrown back, revealing a face Ethan recognized. Master Corwin, head of the Academy guards. His eyes burned with inhuman light.
"The anomaly reveals himself again," Corwin said. "Predictable."
He raised his hand. Fire gathered around his fingers. Not normal flames, but something darker. Something that billowed out of his hands in swirling smoky patterns.
Ethan moved without thinking.
His fragment blazed as he closed distance. Corwin's spell went wide, striking stone instead of flesh.
The counter-attack came faster than human reflexes should allow. Ethan's blade traced silver light through the air. It stopped inches from Corwin's throat.
"Yield," Ethan said quietly.
Corwin's eyes widened. "Impossible. You're just a student."
"Clearly not."
Behind them, more cultists appeared. Professor Aldurren led them, her Mark of Vexus visible beneath rolled sleeves in the light from their hands.
"Fascinating technique," she observed. "Where did you learn the Eternal Void style?"
Ice filled Ethan's stomach.
"I don't know what you mean," he said.
"Of course not." Aldurren smiled coldly. "But Master Donovan will be interested to know his private student has learned techniques that he hasn't taught them yet."
Magic crackled in the air. Five cultists against four students. The odds were terrible.
Then Maya stepped forward.
"Get away from my friends," she said.
Shadows erupted from her skin like smoke. But these weren't the controlled tendrils from her practice sessions. This was raw power unleashed by desperation and rage.
Darkness flooded the tunnel. It wrapped around the cultists with crushing force. Aldurren screamed as shadow-tentacles lifted her from the ground.
"Maya," Ethan called. "Control it."
But she was lost in the power surge. Her golden eyes had turned completely black. The staff fragment blazed in her hands like a dark star.
Shadow-creatures formed from the darkness. Things with too many teeth and eyes like burning coals. They reached for the cultists with hungry intent.
"Maya, stop!"
Kaleb grabbed her arm. The contact seemed to anchor her. Black faded from her eyes, returning them to gold.
The shadows dissipated like smoke.
Five cultists lay unconscious on the tunnel floor. Alive, but broken.
"We have to go," Lydia said urgently. "Before reinforcements arrive."
They ran through passages that seemed to stretch forever. Up through maintenance shafts. Out into Academy grounds that looked normal and peaceful under starlight.
"The dormitories," Ethan gasped. "We need to get back before anyone notices we're gone."
But as they approached the East Wing, he saw lights in windows that should have been dark. Figures moving between buildings.
"They know," Kaleb said unnecessarily.
Academy guards were searching the grounds. Looking for exactly what they'd found.
"This way," Maya led them toward the stables.
They hid among hay bales that smelled of horses. Outside, footsteps passed close enough to touch. Voices called orders in the darkness.
"Did you see them?" a guard asked his partner.
"Four students. Moving toward the old chapel."
"Professor Thorne wants them found tonight."
The voices faded into distance.
"We can't go back to our rooms," Ethan said quietly. "They'll be waiting."
"Where then?" Kaleb asked.
That was the question. They'd blown their cover completely. Revealed powers that couldn't be explained. Attacked Academy staff.
There was no going back to normal student life.
"Master Donovan," Lydia said. "He might help."
Ethan thought about the old instructor. About the warnings he'd given. The protection he'd offered.
"It's a risk."
"Everything's a risk now," Maya said. Her staff fragment glowed softly beneath her cloak. "We have intelligence. The cult plans to corrupt more students through prepared fragments."
"Seven total fragments. Five still hidden." Ethan tried to process what they'd learned. "They want to create more vessels for demon generals."
The implications were staggering. Not just possession of individuals, but systematic corruption of an entire generation.
"We have to warn people," Kaleb said.
"Who would believe us?" Lydia asked. "We're wanted students who attacked Academy staff."
She was right. Their credibility was gone. Whatever they did next would have to rely on action rather than words.
"Donovan first," Ethan decided. "Then we figure out our next move."
They slipped through Academy grounds like ghosts. Avoiding patrols. Staying in shadows. The East Wing felt exposed and dangerous now.
Donovan's office was dark, but light showed beneath the door.
Ethan knocked softly. Three times. A pause. Three times again.
The door opened immediately.
"Get inside," Donovan said quietly.
His office felt smaller with four people crowded around his desk. The old instructor looked tired. Older than his years.
"The entire Academy is searching for you," he said without preamble.
"We know."
"Do you? Because Professor Thorne is calling this an assassination attempt. Claims you attacked him and four other staff members without provocation."
Ethan's stomach dropped. "That's not what happened."
"I believe you. But belief won't matter if they find you here." Donovan moved to his window. Checked the courtyard below. "Tell me what you discovered."
They shared everything. The cult meeting. The plan to corrupt students through prepared fragments. Maya's power surge that saved them all.
Donovan listened without interruption. His expression grew darker with each detail.
"Seven fragments," he murmured when they finished. "Hidden throughout the Academy."
"Can you help us find them?" Ethan asked.
"Perhaps. But not from here. They'll search my office soon enough." Donovan gathered papers from his desk. "There's a safe house. Off Academy grounds. We can plan our next move from there."
He led them through passages Ethan hadn't known existed. Hidden doors behind bookcases. Maintenance tunnels that connected to the Academy's foundation.
They emerged in the forest beyond the walls. Trees provided cover from searching eyes.
"This way," Donovan said.
A small cabin waited in a clearing. Dark windows. Smoke rising from the chimney.
"Someone's here," Kaleb said nervously.
"Friends," Donovan assured him. "People who've been waiting for this moment."
The door opened before they reached it.
A woman stepped out. Middle-aged. Battle scars on her hands. Eyes that missed nothing.
"Master Donovan," she said formally. "Are these the students?"
"They are. And they've brought intelligence that changes everything."
The woman's gaze swept over them. Measuring. Judging.
"Come inside," she said finally. "We have much to discuss."
As they entered the cabin, Ethan felt a shift in the air. This wasn't just shelter. It was a base of operations.
Maps covered the walls. Weapons hung from hooks. Books filled shelves that reached the ceiling.
This was where the real resistance lived.
Their student might just be over, but this was more important.
But for the first time since returning to this timeline, Ethan felt something like hope.
They weren't alone anymore and the real fight was about to begin.