The sun rose over Blackmoor like it had fought a war of its own.
Red sky. Cracked clouds. As if the world itself was warning them.
By morning, students had been divided into training teams. Combat spells, defense tactics, emergency healing—every class turned into a survival bootcamp. The attack had shaken them. And now, the school felt more like a battlefield than a sanctuary.
In the courtyard, Hope blocked a spell from a senior witch, sweat dripping down her temple. Her power was growing stronger, wilder—like every new challenge unlocked something deeper inside her.
Across the yard, London trained with blades. Sword in one hand, knife in the other. Fast. Clean. Deadly. No one had taught him—he moved like someone who had remembered how.Raphael, in full wolf form, leapt through obstacle rings enchanted with fire and lightning. He didn't flinch. And when he landed near Jessa, she smiled in spite of herself.
"I think you're showing off," she said.
Raphael grinned. "What if I am?"
---
But while the others trained, Celeste stood alone near the tower ruins, gazing at the scorched floor where the creature had vanished.
Then she noticed something strange.
The stone was carved. Barely visible, but there—beneath the layer of ash and heat:
"The school is a lie."
Her eyes widened.In Richard's office, the inner circle had gathered: professors, hunters, spellcrafters. Maps floated in midair, ward sigils rotated like clockwork, and danger zones across the surrounding forest pulsed red.
"I've strengthened the magical net," the rune professor said. "Nothing should breach the wall again—unless it comes from the inside."
Richard said nothing. He just stared at the parchment in his hand.
It had been found in the East Hall—the path the creature had taken. A single torn notebook page, scrawled in rough ink:
"You've hidden them long enough. Their blood is owed. Their truth is buried. Let the fire speak."
One of the professors frowned. "Do you think it was left by the creature?"
"No," Richard murmured. "I think it was left for us."That night, London found Hope sitting alone in the observatory tower.
"You're quieter than usual," he said, sitting beside her.
"I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
Hope looked up at the stars. "What if they're right? What if this school isn't what we thought?"
London studied her. "You think someone here sent that thing?"
"I don't know." She hugged her knees. "But I can feel it. The darkness didn't just come to us. It was invited."
London hesitated. Then pulled the old pendant from his pocket again. The one that sparked with fire when she touched it."When I woke up… I saw visions," he said slowly. "Flashes. Screams. This place in flames. And a voice saying, 'You'll find the truth where it first burned.'"
Hope turned to him. "What does that mean?"
He shook his head. "I think it means we've only seen the beginning."
---
Deep beneath the school, in a chamber long sealed by magic, a figure stood before a hidden mirror.
They wore a student's uniform.
They touched the mirror's surface and whispered, "They'll hate me for this."
The reflection flickered—not their own face, but another. Older. Powerful.
"You did what you had to do," the reflection said. "Let them fear you. That's how change begins.""But Jessa… she trusts me."
The mirror didn't respond.
The student stepped back into shadow.
The enemy wasn't just attacking the school.
They were trying to expose it.