The light of dawn spilled across the Academy of Grand Arcanum like molten gold, but the warmth did not reach the boy standing alone in the shadow of the east tower.
Loyaid Floyen stared at the distant forest that surrounded the academy walls. It had been ten days since the Elemental Arena. Ten days since he'd revealed just enough of his strength to quiet the mockery. Ten days since the presence within him the buried fire of Max Van had stirred again.
Yet, even as the academy treated him with newfound curiosity and wariness, Loyaid found no comfort in recognition. Each trial he passed, each opponent he outmaneuvered, reminded him not of progress but of everything he'd left behind. Of those who had died believing the war was won.
Still pretending you're ordinary?
The voice broke his thoughts. Celia Dranheart stood behind him, a book under her arm, a knowing smirk tugging at the edge of her lips.
Not pretending,Loyaid said. Just... remembering.
Celia raised an eyebrow. Remembering? what?
He didn't answer. Instead, he turned back toward the horizon, where the sun had begun to pierce the fog. Somewhere beyond those hills lay the ruins of the old kingdoms. Somewhere, his past waited to confront him.
....
[A Sudden Summons]....
Later that morning, Headmaster Dravion summoned Loyaid to the central spire.
The elder mage's chambers were layered with ancient wards and glowing seals. It smelled of parchment and old magic two scents Loyaid found oddly comforting.
You've drawn attention,Dravion said without preamble.
Loyaid remained silent.
Top marks in both initial trials. Combat instincts well beyond your years. And a mana presence that shifts like a forgotten tide.
I'm not what they think I am,Loyaid said.
No, Dravion replied. You're far more dangerous.
He walked to the window, overlooking the training fields. We've received reports. Minor villages near the northern border have gone silent. Scouts found sigils demonic in origin.
Loyaid's breath caught. You think they're mobilizing again?
I know they are,Dravion said gravely. And I believe they're hunting something. Or someone.
Loyaid nodded slowly. You want me to investigate.
Dravion turned, his gaze sharp I want you to be ready , A team will be dispatched in two days. You'll be part of it.
.......
The scouting squad included five other students each chosen for skill and loyalty to the empire. Celia, naturally, was among them.
The others included:
*Reich Alvorn, a wind mage with an easy smile and a strategist's mind.
Myrren Vale, a silent necromancer with ties to the Shadow Citadel
.
Elira Caelwyn, healer and scholar of forgotten beasts.
Brant D'Varin, a brute-force earth mage whose arrogance was only matched by his power.
Each had reasons for joining. None fully trusted the others.
Don't slow us down, Floyen,Brant muttered as they set off.
Loyaid ignored him. His mind was elsewhere. The air tasted of ancient magic. Something was waiting.
....
The team arrived at Maelthas, a village once home to a hundred families. Now, only silence remained. Burnt-out homes. Scattered bones. A sky that refused to shine.
This wasn't a raid, Celia said, kneeling beside the village well. This was... extermination.
Loyaid felt it too. The pattern. The precision.
They were searching for something,
he said....
Reich gestured toward the central chapel, its doors blasted open. If they left anything behind, it'll be in there.
Inside, the chapel reeked of sulfur. Sigils had been carved into the altar demonic runes invoking the name of [Tzharok, Lord of Ash].
Twelve Commanders, Loyaid whispered. This was done by one of them.
How do you know that name? Elira asked, alarmed...
I read it, Loyaid said quickly, masking the truth.
Celia wasn't convinced. Her eyes lingered on him longer than they should have.
....
Ambush....
They camped near the ruins that night. Loyaid stayed awake, senses taut. At midnight, the shadows shifted.
A scream. Then fire.....
Demons burst from the treeline small at first, lesser scouts. Then larger ones armored, horned, bearing blades of molten stone.
Brant summoned stone shields. Elira chanted healing spells. Myrren unleashed spectral wolves. Celia fought with terrifying precision.
And Loyaid... he moved through the battlefield like a storm barely contained.
He didn't use visible magic. He didn't need to. Every movement, every strike, was guided by instinct forged in a hundred wars.
One demon recognized him. "You are Van..."
Loyaid's hand crushed its throat before it could finish the name.
After the battle, silence reigned. The team stared at him, shaken.
That wasn't first-year technique, Reich said slowly.
Loyaid said nothing. He couldn't. The memories were flooding in burning.
Celia touched his shoulder. You knew they'd come.
Yes, he whispered.
Then it's true,she said, You're not just Loyaid...
He met her gaze. No. I'm not.
....
Under the stars, Loyaid told them part of the truth. That he was reborn from a war long past. That the Demon King had promised to hunt him, no matter the lifetime. That the Twelve Commanders were not gone.
He left out the worst parts. The people he'd failed to save. The friend he'd killed.
Reich swore allegiance. Elira wept. Brant refused to believe it until Myrren showed them the prophecy.
A scroll buried in the ruins. A vision of the Eclipse. A soul reborn in the body of the unchosen.
It matched Loyaid in every way.
Far away, in a fortress carved from black obsidian and screaming souls, the Demon King stood before a portal of blood.
He watched the ambush. He saw Loyaid's face.
So you've awakened, Max Van. But not fully.
He turned to the Twelfth Commander. Begin the culling. Let the world burn just enough to remember fear.
He lifted his hand, and the stars over the fortress screamed.
Returning to the Academy.....
The team returned broken, but alive. Their report shook the council. Old wards were reinforced. Students were confined to the grounds.
But Loyaid knew it wasn't enough.
He returned to the archives. Dug into sealed tomes. Sought traces of the spell that had once shattered his life [Hellfire Incarnate].
Celia found him there one night.
You're preparing for war, she said.
I always was,Loyaid replied.
She stepped closer. Then let me fight with you. Not as a classmate. As an ally.
He looked at her, something soft flickering in his gaze.
"Thank you, he said. But when the time comes, I may not return.
Then I'll follow you into the fire.
.....