Chapter 56 – Things That Shouldn't Return
Part 2: What the Old World Still Remembers
High above the Academy, in the Tower of Echoed Stone, a single page turned inside a room where books never aged.
The Head Archivist of Bloodmoon—Syreth Var Oln, a four-horned demon with skin like carved obsidian—stood before an ancient table made from the bones of a fallen god-beast.
He read the report again.
"Bound Echo Familiar. Umbrakin resonance confirmed. Summoner: Ariz al Sulieman. Division: Shadow."
He didn't speak.
He didn't breathe.
He simply placed a single, black-clawed finger on the parchment and whispered a single word:
"Finally."
In the next hour, encrypted messages left the tower.
Not to human kingdoms.
Not to the Church.
To three places only:
The capital city of the Demon Continent
The surviving elder conclave of the Dark Elves of Nysh'kar
And a vault beneath the academy that hadn't been unsealed in 312 years
Elsewhere, within the Academy's Spire, Velgraith met with the Inner Ring Instructors.
He stood more awake than usual—posture sharp, voice low.
"We're not suppressing this," he said. "We're protecting it."
An old vampire scoffed. "You trust him already?"
"I don't need to. His blood decided this place was safe. That's enough."
And back in the Shadow Division dorms...
Ariz stood on his balcony, watching the blood-red clouds swirl around the moon like bruises in the sky.
He didn't feel fear.Didn't feel hunted.
He felt seen.
Not by enemies.
By old allies who had once tried to help his kind—and failed.
He could feel it in the air now.
Not just the Academy.
But the whole continent.
It wasn't trying to judge him.
It was waiting.
[System Notice: Alignment Detected – Bloodmoon Sanctuary Response Initialized]
Ancient Pact Status: Umbrakin Bloodline Matched
Demon Archives: ACTIVEDark Elf Embassies: WATCHING
"This is not a trap.This is where the shadows remember what they lost."
A knock at his door.
Luceris.
He didn't wait to be invited in.
"Just came to say," he said, leaning on the doorframe, "you've become a very interesting person to stand next to."
Ariz didn't reply.
Luceris looked out at the night with him.
"The Bloodmoon likes you," he added. "It's not obvious. But I've been here long enough to feel it. The last time it stirred like this… was centuries ago."
A pause.
"Whatever you are. Whatever that thing you summoned is—this place isn't going to turn on you."
Another pause.
Then softer.
"We've been waiting a long time for someone like you."
Ariz stood still.
The familiar shifted in the shadows beside him—silent and unseen, but present.
And for the first time in years…
He allowed himself to breathe without preparing to run.