Chapter 306: Delectable Twist

Deep within his mind, beneath the layers of his telepathic awareness, there was a faint, dormant mark, an old, jagged scar left behind during his brutal confrontation with Morgan Thane.

He still remembered the details of their ruinous clash in vivid detail. And more importantly how he’d lost.

In truth, it would be hard to forget the raw terror and mental suffering that he had experienced that day.

And Morgan’s expressionless face as that ’thing ’took his mental defenses apart piece by bloody piece.

The elusive scion had used the unfathomable, terrifying power of the entity Kazarax to break through Anthony’s mental defenses, leaving a lingering, residual imprint etched into his mind.

​For weeks, that mark had been completely cold and devoid of life.

But right now, in the middle of this quiet, warm dining hall, the scar had suddenly twitched.

A sudden, cold pulsation—a faint, distant vibration that echoed through the imprint.

"Aaargh!!!"

"Anthony!" Amanda reached out, her hand catching his wrist.

Her grip was firm, grounded, her fingers tightening around his sleeve.

"Look at me. What’s wrong?"

​When Anthony opened his eyes, the sharp arrogance was gone, replaced by a profound, unreadable shock that left him staring blankly at the dark wood of the table.

​"He’s alive," Anthony said.

Outside the window, the soft hum of an administrative security drone passed by, its red light blinking against the dark glass before fading into the night.

​Inside the booth, total silence descended.

​"What did you just say?" Cassius asked, his voice dropping an octave, his demeanour instantly becoming dead serious.

​Anthony swallowed hard, slowly pulling his wrist back from Amanda’s grip, though his fingers were still trembling slightly.

He pressed his palm against his forehead, struggling to process the sudden, overwhelming certainty that had just hit him.

​"Morgan," Anthony said softly. He looked up, his grey eyes meeting Xander’s locked stare. "He’s alive."

"Elaborate," Xander said, his gaze becoming sharper.

"I know how a mind works,"Anthony said, his voice gaining a sudden, sharp intensity as he looked around the table.

" When someone dies, the mental echo vanishes completely. The tether to their mind snaps. It goes completely silent."

​"And Morgan’s didn’t?" Amanda asked, her voice quiet.

​"It just vibrated," Anthony said, looking directly at her. "It was faint... impossibly faint, but it’s there."

"How?" Kelia asked, her hand resting on Cassius’s arm.

"Where is he?"

"I don’t know," Anthony replied, shaking his head. "I can’t give you a location. I can’t tell you if he’s conscious, or if he’s safe. It felt... distant."

"But he isn’t dead."

​Lucian hadn’t spoken a word.

​He sat perfectly still at the edge of the booth, his hands resting flat on his knees under the table.

His dark eyes were locked onto Anthony’s face with a frightening, singular focus—the cold fog that had shrouded his expression all day suddenly burning away and revealing the raw, lethal intent beneath.

​"Are you sure?" Lucian asked.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a weight that made everyone at the table turn to look at him.

Anthony met Lucian’s stare without flinching. "I’m sure, Lucian. I didn’t imagine it."

Kelia leaned forward slightly, her calm eyes scanning Anthony’s face.

"Anthony... you were affected deeply when Morgan used that entity’s power against you. Is it possible this is just a residual illusion? A ghost of what happened..."

"I thought about that," Anthony said, his voice lowering, lacking its usual theatrical flare.

"That’s why I never said anything before tonight. For weeks, there was nothing."

Only total absolute emptiness.

" If it were just a ghost of the past, it wouldn’t have suddenly surged out of nowhere while I was sitting here holding a fork."

​Amanda’s eyes drifted down to Anthony’s right hand, resting near his glass. His fingers were still trembling.

Anthony was a boy who prized composure above all else, seeing him visibly shaken was far more convincing than any dramatic declaration he could have made.

​"You really believe he’s alive?" Amanda asked softly, looking back up into his grey eyes.

Anthony paused for a fraction of a second, resting his hands flat against the dark oak table.

The subtle tremor stopped in his hand stopped.

​"I don’t believe it," Anthony said, his tone carrying a sudden, unwavering firmness that cut through the surrounding hum of the dining hall. "I know it."

​Cassius let out a long, heavy breath, leaning back against the leather cushion before letting out a sudden, dry laugh that sounded more like relief than humor.

"I knew it," he muttered, running a heavy hand over his face. "That bastard... I told you guys he wouldn’t die in some underground cave."

Lucian slowly stood up from the table, his hands sliding back into his coat pockets.

The quiet atmosphere of the group settled around him, but the sharp, deadly resolve in his eyes was clearer.

​"We train tomorrow," Lucian said quietly.

​Xander looked up at him, nodding slowly.

"Six in the morning. Training Ground Four."

​"I’ll be there," Cassius said.

​"Me too," Amanda added.

​Lucian offered a single, quiet nod toward the table.

Without another word, he turned and walked out of the dining hall, his footsteps light and silent as he disappeared through the glass double doors into the night.

An hour later, the dining hall had emptied out, and the private quadrangle was quiet under the vast, starlit sky.

​Anthony walked alone along the stone terrace bordering the east wing of the administrative building.

The autumn night wind carried a sharp, pine-scented chill down from the surrounding mountains, rustling the tall trees that framed the academy’s perimeter.

​He stopped near an old stone balustrade, resting his hands on the cool granite surface as he looked out over the sprawling, illuminated grounds of Pyreptar Academy.

High above, the dark peak of the mountain loomed against the stars, silent and ancient.

​Anthony closed his eyes.

Anthony opened his eyes, looking up at the endless black sky above the mountains.

His lips slowly curved into a sharp smile.

​"Stay alive down there, Morgan," Anthony whispered softly into the wind, turning back toward the dormitories.

"Stay alive until we meet again."