The forest was burning.
Purple embers fell like dead stars through the canopy as I carved my way through the dark. The scent of demon blood hung thick in the air—acidic and sharp. My breathing was steady, my movements precise. Each step forward was a calculated dance between speed and silence.
A lesser demon leapt from the side.
Flash.
A single streak of lightning-laced motion cleaved it in two.
I grew accustomed to [Flash] due to my training.
[Slash] + 6.9
I didn't stop to look back. The demonic body fell behind me with a wet thud, twitching.
My goal wasn't to fight.
Not yet.
I needed a [Demon Mana Heart]—an alchemical-grade core used to forge high-tier mana quality potions, it only appeared in mid to high ranking demons. It was one of the only ways to stabilize my crippled mana flow without raising suspicion. And right now, in the middle of a real-world scenario turned apocalypse, there was no better time.
The deeper I went, the more resistance I faced. Twisted beasts. Horned hounds. Winged, corrupted wretches. My blade danced with cold fury gaining strength with each for slain.
[Sharpness] – Mastery: 0.9
[Warning: Mana Reserve below 43%]
[Manacrosis – Active.]
I grit my teeth.
"I can't slow down now."
Suddenly, the trees parted into a clearing—bloodstained and desecrated by runes. In the center, a tall humanoid figure stood with crimson skin, wearing blood red armour, and two long horns curved backward.
A named demon.
I stopped. My instincts screamed at me. This is dangerous.
The demon's red eyes locked onto me, their depths like boiling tar. Then—the demon spoke.
"Ah… You. So you are the one."
My fingers twitched on my blade.
His every word sent a shiver down my spine.
"There's a voice… whispering inside me. Telling me you shouldn't exist. It's screaming."
"It says you're dangerous." The demon smiled, wide and jagged.
"So I'll rip your soul apart, and see what makes you different."
Shit.
I stepped back—but the demon was fast. Insanely fast. I barely parried the first claw, and the second tore a line of blood across my ribs. My body screamed in pain. My mana twisted violently. It hurt, it burnt. I was losing blood fast.
Then—
[System Alert – Danger Detected.]
[Warning: Lethal threshold crossed.]
[Trait Awakening – [???]]
[Would you like to awaken trait? Y/N]
'What's this? So you finally show your face. The situation is dangerous, I need all the help I can get.'
- Y
[Trait [Knight of Ruin] awakened]
[- "a knight without a lady, is akin to a man without a fate, and a knight without fate, becomes a knight of ruin"]
The world slowed.
A void cracked inside me, swallowing everything—pain, fear, hesitation.
Then I felt my emotions die.
From my back, a cloak of shadow and mana surged forth—inky black and roiling with pressure. My eyes lost their light, replaced by a cold glint of ancient ruin.
And then—
Darkness.
*****
Aria's POV
It wasn't supposed to matter. That's what she kept telling herself.
Aria had no real reason to pay attention to someone like him—quiet, forgettable, background material in every sense. And yet… she noticed. The strange calm in the mana storm. The one student who didn't panic when the invasion started. The one she had met that day at the library.
That morning, she'd overheard a group of girls giggling about Caelum again.
"He's cute, but like, weird, y'know?"
"Doesn't talk to anyone."
"I saw him in the yard training alone. For hours."
Aria didn't know why it stuck. But it did.
And later, when she saw him slip out of the dormitory corridor past curfew, her curiosity finally got the better of her.
She cloaked her presence and tailed him.
It was supposed to be harmless. A fleeting suspicion. But what she found… wasn't harmless at all.
From a distance, hidden behind the trees, she watched him cut down demon after demon. Efficient. Cold. Inhumanly composed. His form was rough, unrefined—yet his instincts were deadly.
At first, she thought he was just reckless. But the deeper he went, the more it changed.
And then she saw it.
The moment he met that demon—the one whose pressure made her instinctively recoil.
His presence shifted.
Like a switch had been flipped.
His whole aura changed. A sharp murderous aura. The black cape fluttering behind him gave her chills.
She couldn't explain it, but every part of her knew: the Caelum before that fight… and the one after… weren't the same.
Something inside him woke up.
And whatever it was—it wasn't human.
********
Meanwhile: Across the Academy
Leon's sword gleamed under the moonlight, coated in divine light. Cheers erupted from the barricade lines as he struck down a demon general in front of the staff.
"He's incredible!"
"A natural leader!"
The chosen one. A symbol of hope. The game's protagonist in his full glory.
Elsewhere, Benson was executing mass-freeze spells, locking demons mid-attack and shielding wounded students, while Candice executed them with her bow. Their actions earned him the admiration of professors and nobles alike.
Amira danced between the demons with her sword, her fiery red hair flowed behind her. She saved a group of students from a demon. Earning herself the nickname Blade dancer. As she weaved destruction among demons freezed by Benson's spells.
The main characters were shining.
While in the background, unnoticed and far from the lights of the stage…
The true anomaly awakened.