Chapter 7: The Headmistress’ Office

The academy alarm stopped after the seventh bell.

By then, every student in the eastern courtyard had already decided that Ethan Vale was either a hidden heir, a forbidden experiment, or a demon wearing a student’s face.

A few students believed all three.

Ethan walked through the silent corridors between Professor Gray and two academy guards.

Neither guard spoke.

They did not need to.

Their hands remained close to the enchanted weapons hanging from their belts, and both kept glancing at the black mark on Ethan’s wrist.

Ethan found their caution reasonable.

Their weapons, however, were not impressive.

The guard on his right carried a mana-forged spear. Its blade was sharp, its enchantments stable, and its core was probably capable of piercing the armor of a High Mage.

The guard on his left carried a defensive bracelet.

It had three layers of protection, two emergency spells, and a very obvious flaw in the third enchantment.

Ethan could have disabled it with a touch.

He did not.

For the moment, being underestimated was more valuable than being feared.

Professor Gray led them through a corridor reserved for faculty members. Unlike the student areas, the walls here were covered in old paintings and sealed doors.

Most of the paintings depicted famous graduates of Eldoria Arcane Academy.

Kings.

Generals.

Archmages.

Saints.

One painting showed seven figures standing around a burning battlefield.

The title beneath it read:

**The Seven Heroes of the Final War.**

Ethan stopped walking.

Professor Gray looked back.

"What is it?"

Ethan studied the painting.

The seven heroes stood beneath a golden banner. Their faces were young, noble, and heroic.

The man holding the white spear stood at the center.

Ethan remembered him.

Not his name.

He had forgotten that.

But he remembered the spear.

He remembered the pain when it pierced his chest.

"He looks familiar," Ethan said.

Professor Gray’s expression became guarded.

"Most students recognize the painting."

"I am not most students."

"That remains to be determined."

Ethan looked at the central figure.

The hero’s painted eyes were bright and full of confidence.

In Ethan’s memory, those same eyes had not been confident.

They had been terrified.

The seven heroes had not defeated him because they were stronger.

They had defeated him because they had known where he was vulnerable.

Someone had told them.

Someone close to him.

Professor Gray continued walking.

Ethan followed.

The academy’s upper floors were quieter. The sounds of students and instructors faded behind them until only the echo of their footsteps remained.

At the end of the corridor stood a tall black door.

No handle.

No lock.

Only a golden eye carved into its surface.

Professor Gray placed his hand against the door.

The eye opened.

A voice spoke from the wood.

"Identity confirmed. Lucian Gray."

The door unlocked.

Professor Gray stepped inside.

Ethan entered after him.

The office was larger than the entire registration hall.

Bookshelves covered every wall, rising toward a glass ceiling through which the cloudy sky was visible. Floating crystals filled the air, each one displaying maps, magical formulas, or moving images of distant locations.

At the far end of the room stood a wide desk made of dark silver wood.

Behind it sat the woman Ethan had seen in the central tower.

She appeared to be in her early thirties, though the density of her mana suggested that she was much older.

Her hair was golden, falling over one shoulder in smooth waves. Her eyes were the same color, bright and unnatural.

She wore a black robe embroidered with silver stars.

On her right hand rested a ring shaped like a coiled serpent.

Ethan immediately recognized the ring.

Not the design.

The mana inside it.

It had been made using the same principles as his old authority.

The woman smiled.

"Ethan Vale."

Ethan looked at her.

"Headmistress."

"You know who I am?"

"Everyone in the academy knows who you are."

"Do they?"

Her smile widened slightly.

"My name is Seraphina Crow."

Noah had mentioned the name once.

A mysterious family.

A noble house that had appeared after the Final War.

A family with no clear origin and an unusual affinity for ancient magic.

Ethan had not paid attention at the time.

He regretted that now.

"Headmistress Crow," he said.

"Please, sit."

Ethan remained standing.

Professor Gray moved to one side of the room.

The guards waited outside.

Seraphina rested her chin on one hand.

"You may sit."

"I prefer standing."

"Why?"

"It gives me a better view of the exits."

Seraphina glanced toward the door.

"There are no exits you could use."

"That is what people usually say before discovering one."

For the first time, her smile became genuine.

"You really are him."

Professor Gray’s expression changed.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"Who?"

Seraphina looked at the black mark on his wrist.

"The man whose name has been buried under a thousand years of lies."

The room became very quiet.

Ethan did not sit.

He did not move.

"How much do you know?"

"Enough."

"That is not an answer."

"It is the only one I am willing to give."

Ethan examined her.

Seraphina’s mana was difficult to measure. It did not flow like ordinary mana. It moved in circles around her body, folding in on itself, as though obeying a different set of laws.

She was not a Saint.

Not yet.

But she had stepped beyond the limits of a normal Archmage.

More importantly, she had access to an ancient source of power.

The ring on her hand was not an artifact.

It was a key.

One of the nine keys he had seen in his memory.

Seraphina stood.

"You have returned earlier than expected."

"Expected by whom?"

"By those who have been waiting."

"Why were they waiting?"

"Because the world has begun to break again."

Ethan glanced toward the floating maps.

Several regions of the continent were covered in red marks.

Some represented magical disasters.

Others represented monster outbreaks.

One map showed the northern provinces under a spreading black cloud.

A second displayed a crack running through the eastern sea.

A third showed a city surrounded by enormous circles of light.

"These are recent," Ethan said.

"The oldest is six months old."

"Why have I heard nothing about them?"

"Because the kingdoms are hiding the truth."

"Governments often hide things."

"These are not ordinary disasters."

Seraphina moved toward one of the floating crystals.

She touched it.

The image changed.

A ruined village appeared.

The buildings were still standing, but every shadow pointed in a different direction. The inhabitants had been turned into statues of dark glass.

Ethan recognized the signature.

"Conceptual corruption."

Professor Gray looked at him.

"You know what caused that?"

"I know what it resembles."

Seraphina watched him closely.

"Tell me."

"The laws of the area were altered. Not destroyed. Rewritten."

Professor Gray’s eyes narrowed.

"How?"

Ethan ignored the question.

"Who did this?"

Seraphina’s expression lost its amusement.

"We do not know."

"That is disappointing."

"We believe the incidents are connected to the fragments."

Ethan felt the Crown Fragment pulse beneath his chest.

The room seemed to grow colder.

"You knew about the fragments."

"We have known for centuries."

"And you built the academy above one."

"Above several."

Ethan looked toward the floor.

The academy’s foundations extended deep into the earth.

He could feel them now.

The faint presence of ancient power beneath every stone.

Eight sleeping fragments.

One had chosen him.

The others were waiting.

"Why build a school above them?" Ethan asked.

"Because the academy is the strongest seal in the world."

"That is not what I asked."

Seraphina looked toward the black window.

"Because your enemies built it."

Ethan turned toward her.

"My enemies?"

"The Seven Heroes were not the only people responsible for your defeat."

A faint pressure entered the room.

Professor Gray said nothing, but his hand moved closer to the weapon beneath his robe.

Seraphina continued.

"The heroes killed your body. Others divided your soul. Some scattered your authority. Some erased your name from history. And some remained behind to make sure you never returned."

"Which one are you?"

Seraphina looked back at him.

"I am the person who opened the door."

Ethan’s gaze hardened.

"Why?"

"Because the world needs you."

"I have heard that before."

"From whom?"

"People who wanted something."

Seraphina laughed softly.

"Then let us be honest. I do want something."

"What?"

"I want the truth."

Ethan waited.

Seraphina walked to a shelf and removed a thin black book.

Its cover was made from a material that resembled dried skin.

She placed it on the desk and opened it.

Most of the pages were blank.

The final page contained a single sentence.

**When the Black Sovereign returns, the first key will awaken, and the Gate of Origin will open.**

Ethan read the words.

"Where did you find this?"

"Beneath the academy."

"Who wrote it?"

"You did."

Ethan stared at the page.

The handwriting was unmistakable.

It was his.

But he had no memory of writing it.

Seraphina closed the book.

"Your memories are incomplete."

"I know."

"Your soul was divided into nine fragments."

"I know."

"The first fragment has merged with your Mana Core."

"I know."

Seraphina leaned forward.

"But you do not know why you divided your soul."

Ethan said nothing.

"You did not divide it because the heroes defeated you," she continued. "You divided it before the final battle."

A sharp pain moved through his head.

The office blurred.

He saw himself standing in a black chamber.

Nine crystals rested on an altar.

Veyron stood beside him.

Several people were present.

One of them was a woman with golden eyes.

Seraphina.

She was younger then, but unmistakable.

Ethan heard his own voice.

"If I fail, destroy the fragments."

Seraphina answered:

"And if you survive?"

"Then I will return for them."

The vision ended.

Ethan grabbed the edge of the desk.

The black wood cracked beneath his fingers.

Seraphina did not move.

"You remember."

"Not enough."

"More will return."

"Why did I divide my soul?"

Seraphina’s eyes became distant.

"Because something was coming."

"What?" ℴℴ𝘮

"The First Door."

The words carried weight.

Even Professor Gray looked uncomfortable.

Seraphina continued:

"Before the kingdoms, before the academy, before the first Mana Core was formed, something existed beyond the world. Your research discovered it."

Ethan looked at the floating map.

The cracks.

The corruption.

The distortions.

"The disasters are connected to the First Door."

"Yes."

"And the fragments are keys."

"Yes."

"Then why bring me here?"

Seraphina smiled again.

"Because you are the only person who can close it."

Ethan studied her.

"Or open it."

The smile faded.

"That is also possible."

A bell rang outside the office.

Once.

The sound traveled through the academy.

Students were being called to the main assembly hall.

Seraphina returned to her desk.

"The entrance examination will begin in one hour."

"I am not taking it."

"You are."

"The academy just revealed my identity to the entire capital."

"It revealed a name. Not the truth."

"Every student knows that something happened."

"Students know many things. Most of them are wrong."

Ethan turned toward the door.

"I am leaving."

Seraphina did not stop him.

"You may."

Ethan glanced back.

"That was easy."

"I did not say you would leave safely."

The golden ring on her finger began to glow.

At the same time, every door in the office sealed itself.

Professor Gray moved away from the wall.

Ethan’s hand lowered slightly.

Seraphina looked almost apologetic.

"You cannot leave until you pass the examination."

"That sounds like a threat."

"It is an academic requirement."

"I will break the door."

"You may try."

Ethan reached toward his mana.

The Crown Fragment responded.

A thin violet glow appeared around his fingers.

Then the room changed.

The air became heavy.

The bookshelves bent inward.

Every magical crystal in the office turned toward Ethan.

Seraphina’s eyes brightened with interest.

Ethan released a small amount of authority.

The sealed doors trembled.

One of the golden runes cracked.

Professor Gray’s expression became serious.

"Stop."

Ethan did not.

He pushed harder.

The rune broke.

For half a second, the office fell silent.

Then Seraphina raised one hand.

The ring on her finger released a wave of golden light.

Ethan’s authority was forced back into his body.

His Mana Core cracked open.

Pain exploded through his chest.

He fell to one knee.

The violet glow vanished.

Seraphina’s voice was calm.

"Your fragment has awakened, but you are still too weak to control it."

Ethan pressed one hand against the floor.

His breathing became slow.

He had been defeated.

Not completely.

Not permanently.

But clearly.

The difference mattered.

Seraphina approached him.

"Attend the examination. Enter the academy properly. Learn how this world works before you attempt to tear it apart."

Ethan looked up at her.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then your friend Noah Blake will be removed from the academy before he has a chance to begin."

Ethan’s expression became cold.

Seraphina smiled faintly.

"There it is."

"What?"

"The reason you will stay."

Ethan hated that she was right.

He stood slowly.

"Touch Noah, and I will destroy your academy."

Seraphina returned to her desk.

"I was worried you might be reasonable."

Professor Gray opened the office door.

The seals released.

Ethan walked out.

At the end of the corridor, Noah was waiting with Elena.

Noah rushed toward him.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

Noah stared at him.

"You were gone for twenty minutes."

"Then something happened."

"Did they hurt you?"

"No."

Elena looked at the blood on his hand.

"You are bleeding."

"It is not serious."

She looked toward the office.

"What did the Headmistress want?"

Ethan glanced at the black door.

Behind it, Seraphina Crow was watching him through the golden eye carved into the wood.

Her voice entered his mind one final time.

**The first examination begins soon. Do not disappoint me.**

Ethan turned away.

"The academy wants me to take the entrance examination."

Noah’s expression brightened.

"That is good, right?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Ethan began walking toward the assembly hall.

"Because they have prepared it specifically for me."

Elena followed beside him.

"What kind of examination?"

Ethan looked ahead.

At the end of the corridor, the doors to the assembly hall began to open.

Behind them waited hundreds of students, dozens of instructors, and the first test of his second life.

He smiled faintly.

"The kind where failing may be safer than succeeding."

---

Author’s Note: Add the novel to library, and send support if you like it!