The moment Caelum stepped forward, the arena shattered again.
Cracks laced the ground like webs spun by giants. Students fled the stands in panic, nobles screaming for guards, teachers throwing up barriers in desperation. His mana now took form—torrents of it pouring from his back like wings made of jagged shadow and mist.
Then—he saw it.
At the far end of the stadium, fluttering above the private balcony of one of the noble sectors—
—a banner.
White with crimson threads, bordered in gold. A red heart wearing a crown pierced by three black swords in the center.
Arteries Household.
The ones who ordered Amanda Veris's assassination. The ones who shattered Caelum's original life. The ones whose sins were scrubbed clean with gold and power.
Thump.
A tremor pulsed through his chest. His eyes dilated. His trait surged. The crown of unstable mana above his head twisted violently, like it was breathing, alive.
His aura—already suffocating—spiked.
Dozens dropped to their knees. Noble children collapsed, frothing at the mouth. Teachers flared their own mana, trying to keep others from falling unconscious. The sky grew darker, clouds forming unnaturally, lightning beginning to arc in distorted patterns.
"Contain him! His mana is dangerous!" someone yelled.
Three professors dashed in at once, barriers forming with sacred glyphs—none held.
One touched his aura, and collapsed, screaming as his mana circuits burned.
"G-get back!!"
Caelum's eyes didn't leave the banner.
Inside, he was somewhere else.
********
A dreamlike void. He stood knee-deep in that same dark shallow water. And across from him… stood Caelum.
The younger one.
Hair shorter, eyes dim. His body small. But his gaze—sharp.
"You finally saw it," Young Caelum said.
Caelum didn't respond.
"You're wondering why I brought you here. Have you wondered why you've felt hollow all semester? Why you've wandered with no real goal. You think it's because you're avoiding death flags... but that was never it."
He stepped forward, ripples echoing outward.
"This was always the story's plan."
Caelum's brows furrowed.
Story?
"You're not the only one who knows about the main story, you know," Young Caelum said with a smirk. "That's why I came here. To keep the balance. So that you fulfill your true purpose. They have spoken"
The words echoed like knives in Caelum's head.
He knows about the story. But how? And who's they?
He felt a sudden, sickening realization. Was I really the only one?
A cold voice snapped him from his thoughts.
"You'll find out soon," Young Caelum said, fading into the water like mist.
Leaving him behind in the dark. A monster took form infront of him. A beast made of what seemed like dark mana. It shifted - then again - finally it took the form of a young man. It took the form of Caelum.
"Hahaha... So they want me dead huh?"
**********
—Back in reality.
Caelum's body Burnes. Cracks formed along his skin like porcelain under strain. The trait's power was assimilating him. His soul and the trait—colliding.
His breath was ragged. Blood dripped from his mouth. His body wasn't meant to contain this. No one's was.
But his eyes… remained calm.
Outside, though—
He was a calamity.
Mana gathered around his head again. But this time, it took form. A jagged crown of elemental distortion—wind, lightning, metal, and something else. Something ancient. Unknown.
Reinhardt lay unconscious, twitching from earlier backlash. The arena had long since cleared of spectators. Only faculty remained.
And in the shadows, one man finally stepped forward.
The Headmaster.
Eyes sharp. Beard grey. Cloaked in robes layered with defensive spells older than the Academy itself.
He stared at Caelum, whose body trembled from the internal war.
"This boy...."
He muttered under his breath, memories rushing back. A description buried in forbidden archives. A trait born once every five centuries. A trait that fused with its user, until identity no longer existed. A trait that could be either a blessing or a curse.
"A Knight of Ruin…"
That's what it was called.
"Caelum Veris…" the Headmaster whispered.
He raised a hand, his magic pulsing like the toll of a divine bell.
"He has so much potential, it'd be a waste if he died."
The world braced itself.
A battle was about to begin.
One between a monster who had forgotten who he was...
And the man who refused to let him die.