The lamps behind him faded, one by one, until the corridor was dark.
Ash didn't turn back. He kept walking until the last glimmer of abyssal light disappeared from sight. The air was cool and still, the echo of his boots on stone sounding too normal after everything that had happened.
The staircase ahead looked the same as it had three days ago—narrow, steep, dust clinging to the edges—but it felt different now. Lighter somehow, as though the world above no longer weighed him down.
He climbed.
Each step creaked softly beneath his boots, carrying him toward the surface. His mind drifted—not to the battle, or the King, or the pain—but to the strange quiet that followed victory. It was almost uncomfortable.
When he reached the top, the passage widened into the same forbidden chamber he had first entered before his descent. The cracked walls were still there, the faded runes, the smell of cold metal and dust. Only the stairway behind him had changed, sealed shut by a smooth slab of black crystal. The faint pulse of mana underneath its surface was the only reminder that an entire dungeon had once existed below.
He reached out and brushed his fingers against it. The surface was warm.
"Guess that's permanent," he murmured.
A voice answered from the other end of the hall. "Let's hope so."
Ash froze, then turned.
Headmaster Varyn Elion stood a few paces away, framed by the flickering blue torches. His coat was the same dark color as the walls, trimmed with silver runes that pulsed faintly with mana. His silver hair caught the light, and his left eye glowed with the golden circuitry of an administrator's sigil.
"Headmaster," Ash said, blinking. "You're still awake?"
"I've been awake for three days," Varyn replied. His voice was calm, but there was a tightness to it—an edge that didn't belong to authority but to relief. "We thought you were dead."
Ash looked past him at the archway leading to the academy proper. "That would've been inconvenient."
Varyn let out a short breath that might have been a laugh. "Inconvenient? You vanished, Renfield. The entire lower section was buried. The System reported no energy readings, no anomalies, no signs of life." He paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "And now you walk out wearing something it doesn't recognize."
Ash looked down at the faintly glowing armor wrapped around him—the black and blue plating of the Abyssal Set still humming softly against his skin. He lifted a shoulder. "Found it. Thought it looked nice."
Varyn's expression shifted somewhere between disbelief and amusement. "Three days missing, and you come back making jokes."
"I figured it'd sound better than screaming."
The Headmaster stepped closer, studying him quietly. "What did you find down there?"
Ash hesitated. The memory of the King flickered at the edge of his thoughts—the weight of the sword, the voice that had asked him if he still wanted to live.
He shook his head. "Something that used to be human."
"And?"
"And it decided to stop trying."
Varyn regarded him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "And you didn't."
"I didn't," Ash said.
The silence stretched. The torches hissed faintly in the background. Finally, Varyn exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders.
"I'm glad you made it back," he said simply.
Ash almost smiled. "You sound surprised."
"I am," Varyn admitted. "And impressed."
He raised his right hand. Light formed in his palm, coalescing into a glowing display. The System's interface projected his information in neat golden lines.
[Varyn Elion — Level 700 | Class: Chrono-Arcanist]
[Title: Keeper of Temporal Seals]
Ash blinked. "Level seven hundred?"
"Time has its benefits," Varyn said with a faint smirk. "The Chrono-Arcanist Class isn't well known anymore, but it has its uses." He dismissed the display, the light fading from his hand. "And it gives me perspective."
"Perspective?" Ash repeated.
"On things that shouldn't exist," Varyn said. "Like dungeons hidden beneath my school."
Ash chuckled softly. "Guess we both learned something new."
The Headmaster's tone softened. "Renfield… you've been through something no student should ever face. Whatever happened down there, it left a mark."
Ash looked down at his armor again, at the faint glow tracing its veins. "You think?"
"I know," Varyn said. "And I know power like that doesn't come without a price. You've survived what should've killed you. That means you're either lucky, or dangerous."
"Can't I be both?"
Varyn smiled faintly. "You can. But luck fades. Skill doesn't."
He turned slightly, gesturing toward the archway leading out. "Come back to the academy as my student. Not just in name—truly. I can help you control whatever that power is before it burns through you."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "You're offering to teach me?"
"I'm offering to keep you alive."
Ash studied him for a moment, then looked toward the distant stairs leading up to the main halls. His muscles ached. His mind buzzed with exhaustion that even adrenaline couldn't fight.
"I'll think about it," he said finally. "But right now, I just want to go home, eat something that isn't dried ration paste, and sleep for a week."
Varyn chuckled softly. "Reasonable. You've earned it."
Ash nodded. "Didn't think I'd hear you say that."
"Don't get used to it," the Headmaster said dryly. "And Renfield…"
Ash stopped at the foot of the stairs and glanced back. "Yeah?"
Varyn's gaze softened. "I'm proud you made it back."
Ash hesitated. For a moment, the world seemed to go still—the sound of dripping water, the faint hum of mana, the warmth in the words. He gave a small, lopsided smile.
"Thanks, Headmaster."
He turned and started up the steps.
Varyn watched him go. The echo of his footsteps faded into the distance. When the sound finally disappeared, the Headmaster exhaled, rubbing his temples. His eyes flicked toward the sealed black wall, the faint pulse still emanating from it.
"Chrono keep us," he murmured. "What did you bring back with you?"
The torches flickered once, then steadied. The chamber was silent again.
Above, somewhere past the stone and silence, Ash stepped into the cool night air of Solstice Academy. The stars looked sharper than he remembered, and for the first time in days, he allowed himself to breathe freely.
The world felt quiet again. Too quiet.
He smiled anyway. "I'll take it."
Then, exhausted but alive, he turned toward the streets. He didn't notice the faint pulse from the Abyssal Heart in his inventory, glowing once before dimming again.