The hallways were silent.Only the sound of footsteps echoed one steady and calm, the other heavy with exhaustion.
Sam walked beside Headmaster Roderic through the dim corridor leading beneath the academy a place few students even knew existed. Torches flickered faintly on the stone walls, their light casting long shadows that swayed like ghosts.
He could still feel it that faint pulse of darkness thrumming beneath his skin, as if the power he'd used hadn't fully settled yet.
The headmaster stopped before a large door carved with ancient runes. He raised his hand, and the symbols glowed faintly before the locks clicked open.
"Enter," Roderic said quietly.
Inside was a small chamber circular, lined with bookshelves and scrolls. A faint scent of old parchment and candle wax filled the air. On the table sat two cups of steaming tea, already waiting.
"Sit, Sam."
Sam obeyed, though unease settled in his chest. The old man's calm voice carried something else tonight weight, maybe even fear.
For a while, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the crackling of the fire burning in the nearby hearth.
Finally, the headmaster broke the silence."Tell me, Sam… what happened in there?"
Sam met his gaze carefully. "I don't know where to start, sir. After the second phase, a rift appeared and pulled us in. It was… some kind of corrupted dimension. There were monsters everywhere. And then that thing the demon attacked us."
Roderic's eyes narrowed slightly. "Describe it."
"It had a humanoid form, black horns, eyes like molten ash. Its aura was… suffocating. Even my light magic didn't work properly there."
The headmaster's expression didn't change. "And how did you kill it?"
That question made Sam hesitate.He could still feel the moment the explosion of darkness inside him, the hunger, the voice whispering to embrace it. He could still see the look of terror on the demon's face before it died.
But he couldn't tell that. Not yet.
"I was… lucky," Sam said finally, his tone calm but guarded. "The demon was arrogant. It underestimated me and fell for a provocation. I made it angry enough to lose control, and when it exposed its weak point, I struck."
Roderic didn't reply. He only stared at Sam, his eyes sharp and knowing the kind of gaze that made it impossible to lie comfortably.
After a long pause, the headmaster sighed. "So that's the story you'll give me?"
Sam didn't flinch. "It's the truth that matters right now."
Roderic leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping the wooden armrest. "You're a poor liar, boy."
Sam's jaw tightened. "Then why ask?"
The old man chuckled faintly though there was no humor in it. "Because I wanted to see how far you'd go to hide it. That demon wasn't supposed to exist in your trial. What you encountered wasn't part of the academy's test."
Sam's eyes widened slightly. "You knew?"
"I didn't expect it to awaken." The headmaster's voice grew grave, eyes staring into the fire. "That creature was sealed centuries ago… long before even this academy was built. And I never imagined that seal would break."
"Sealed?" Sam echoed.
Roderic nodded slowly. "Yes. During the Great War the one between gods and demons, when the heavens themselves burned. When the gods fell and the demons scattered, a few of them escaped destruction. They were too weak to fight but too stubborn to die. So they hid in the crevices of our world, in forgotten ruins, or between dimensions."
He turned toward Sam, his expression dark. "They fed on human life to rebuild their strength. Towns vanished overnight. Villages left with nothing but bones. Humanity fought back those blessed by the divine, the heroes of old. But even they couldn't exterminate them all."
Sam listened quietly, each word sinking deep.
"So… they failed?"
"Yes. They killed many, but some demons survived. It wasn't until she appeared that things changed."
"She?"
Roderic's gaze softened, almost reverent. "A woman the strongest among mortals. No name remains of her, only fragments in ancient records. She didn't destroy the surviving demons… she sealed them, banished them into the void between worlds. And she closed every portal that led to this realm, ensuring they'd never return."
The headmaster looked toward the sealed door behind them. "That fortress you were pulled into it was one of those dimensional prisons."
Sam frowned, realization dawning. "Then that rift… opened one of her seals?"
"Exactly. And whatever triggered it came from inside the trial system." Roderic's tone hardened. "Someone tampered with it. The question is who and why now."
Sam's hands tightened around his cup. "If you knew there were sealed demons like that… why didn't you tell anyone?"
Roderic met his gaze, his eyes calm but heavy. "Because panic spreads faster than truth. The seals were never meant to be disturbed. As long as no one knew, there was peace. But if people learned that remnants of that ancient war still lurk beneath our world, how long do you think that peace would last?"
Sam fell silent. He understood but a part of him still burned. People died for secrets like these.
"So that demon… it wasn't the only one, was it?" he asked quietly.
The headmaster didn't answer but the silence said enough.
Sam looked away, staring into the flames. "Then this world still isn't free of them."
"No," Roderic murmured. "And it won't be, not as long as those seals remain unguarded. That's why the academy exists not just to train mages or heroes… but to prepare those capable of defending this realm when those seals weaken again."
The words lingered in the air like smoke.
After a while, Sam exhaled slowly. "I see."
He didn't ask more even though his mind was full of questions. About the voice that called to him. About the power that nearly consumed him. About the way the demon recognized him as if it knew who he really was.
But not now. Not when even the headmaster was keeping things hidden.
"Is that all, Headmaster?" Sam asked finally.
Roderic studied him one last time as if weighing something. "That's all… for tonight."
He stood and turned toward the door. "But remember this, Sam. If that power you wield whatever it is comes from the same place as those demons, then you must learn to control it before it consumes you."
Sam didn't move. "You think I can't control it?"
The old man's reply was quiet but sharp. "No one truly controls darkness, boy. They just learn how long they can survive its pull."
With that, he left. The heavy door closed behind him, leaving Sam alone in the flickering light of the dying fire.
For a long moment, Sam just sat there.
The silence pressed on him, heavy and cold. His mind replayed the demon's final words:
"You're still far from them."
He clenched his fists, staring at the shadows dancing across the wall.
Them… whoever they are… they're still out there.
A faint tremor ran through his right hand dark energy flickering just beneath his skin before fading again.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself calm. "Not now," he muttered. "I can't lose control. Not here."
The air in the room felt colder than before.
Far above, the bells of the academy tower began to toll midnight.
Outside, the world returned to peace or the illusion of it. Students celebrated Alana's victory, professors tried to calm the rumors about what happened during the trial, and the headmaster stood at his office window, looking toward the mountains in the east, where the stars seemed dimmer than usual.
He whispered softly to himself, "The seals are weakening again… and the shadows are beginning to stir."
Meanwhile, in his dorm room, Sam lay awake, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts drifted to Alana her voice, her eyes, the way she looked at him when he gave her the relic. There was something strange there… something human, something warm.
But beneath that warmth, he could feel another pull a faint call from the same darkness he'd unleashed.
And somewhere deep in the night, far beyond the academy's reach, a pair of glowing eyes opened within another forgotten dimension.
"So… the heir of shadow lives after all."
The voice was cold and ancient.And it was waiting.
To be continued…