One Month Before The Polemos—A Day After Kuragari Was Released.

  Plip plip plip. The sound of the rain tapping on the window fills the room. Nearby, Lilli, Elnora, and Ryn sit by the firepce, its warmth a stark trast to the storm outside. Alex, however, is pag the floor, his usual calm demeanor repced by palpable worry. The fire crackles, the e glow casting shadows on the walls as the party sits in silence.

  "What was that dragon?" Lilli asks, breaking the quiet.

  Alex doesn't respond immediately, his gaze lost in thought, his steps slow and heavy as he moves bad forth across the room.

  "This Kuragari dragon... what is it, Alex?" I speak up, trying to make sense of everything.

  Elnora, sitting beside me on the couch, opens a history textbook, flipping through its pages as she joins in. "The historical records don't speak of any 'great dragons' or Kuragari. Do you know something we don't, Alex?"

  Finally, Alex stops pag, his gaze turning toward the window. The storm outside rages on—rain p heavily, lightning fshing across the sky, and thunder shaking the grouh them. He pces his hand on the window, a gesture that seems almned.

  "She has beguernal Rain," Alex says softly, his voice filled with both dread and awe. "Aor... has yet to return."

  "Why?" The question slips out, but the answer seems as elusive as the storm outside. "Why hasn't he returned?"

  Alex sighs heavily, turning to face us. "I'll tell you everything I know about the dragon," he says, the weight of the revetion in his tone. We all look at one another, a mix of curiosity and .

  He lowers himself into a chair he firepce, his expression growing more serious as he begins his tale.

  "My knowledge is limited, especially about what Evastor knows," Alex starts, his voice quiet. "But sihe day he adopted me, this is what I've e to uand..."

  "Adopted?!" Lilli excims, her surprise evident. "Your adoptive father is Evastor?"

  I echo her shock, "You old us your adoptive parent was Evastor!"

  Elnora listens ily, but remains quiet, her expression soft with empathy.

  "Yes," Alex says, his tone unging, almost detached. "Evastor adopted me when I was young. I was aba an orphanage he church. When the church discovered I was born with the sigil, they saw me as nothing more than an experiment. They turned me into an assassin. And one day... my target was Evastor."

  The silen the room deepens. Alex’s past is a dark one, but he speaks as though it's simply part of the story. He tinues, as though his pain is something he’s long since buried.

  "But my attempt failed," Alex tinues, a cold edge creeping into his voice. "Evastor adopted me, and in doing so, he destroyed those who were responsible for the experiments. My life... was ruly my own until he took me in."

  "I'm so sorry," Elnora says softly, her hand over her mouth in disbelief.

  Lilli wipes away a tear, her sympathy clear as she listens. But Alex, despite the heavy memories, speaks without hesitation.

  "Evastor is one of the great dragons of the former emperor," Alex goes on, his voice steady despite the weight of the words. "Before the War of Divide, this nation was united under one ruler—the Emperor. Though I don’t know the Emperor’s name, I know this: Evastor was one of his closest followers. The Emperor ruled over the eion, long before it was divided into kingdoms."

  "Each temple we dive into... it holds a Dungeon Master like Schutz and Kuragari," Alex tinues, his voice grave. "These Dungeon Masters are either protectors or subordinates of the former Emperor. And through what little Evastor has expined, and my own research, I've found barely any information about Kuragari."

  He pauses, as if weighing the severity of what he's about to say. The fire crackles, but the storm outside seems to amplify the tension within the room.

  "Kuragari was a force to be reed with during the War of Divide," Alex says, his voice low. "She destroyed entire legions single-handedly. When the Emperor was defeated, his final and never reached her. She never khat he had fallen. She still follows his st order: to annihite the traitorous armies that betrayed the Emperor."

  A heavy silence fills the room as the weight of those words sinks in.

  "In the end," Alex tinues, his eyes distant as if recalling something painful, "one of the subordinates had to put Kuragari into a deep slumber. They bouo one of the temples to keep her from causing further destru. She’s remained in that slumber for a thousand years... until yesterday."

  He exhales sharply, clearly frustrated by the ck of answers. "That’s all I know of her."

  Lilli's voice trembles as she asks, "Then what about this Eternal Rain you spoke of earlier?"

  Alex’s gaze darkens as he shifts unfortably. "Ah, yes," he murmurs. "The Eternal Rain... It’s a byproduct of Kuragari’s grief. The moment she was released, it began—her weeping over the Emperor’s fall, over the destru of everything she once swore to protect. Until her rampage is stopped, the world will not see ao the rain. It’s not just an invenience... it’s a curse."

  He pauses, letting the weight of his words settle. "This never-ending downpour will cripple both rural and urban areas. Crops will wither, and farming efforts will fail. It will devastate trade and cause eic colpse, especially in pces where survival depends on harvests. But that’s just the beginning."

  Alex looks up, his eyes fierce. "Kuragari is not just a force of nature. She’s a symbol of destru. If left unchecked, she may attack other kingdoms, dragging us into another war. And this time, the stakes are higher than ever."

  "And what about Ryn being the Emperor’s chosen?" Elnora asked, her voice hesitant but firm.

  Alex went silent, his expression unreadable as he slowly rose from his seat. For a moment, he seemed to wrestle with his words before exhaling sharply. "That… I have been instructed not to speak of. And even if I wao, I know little about it." He g me briefly before tinuing, "But I share this—" he hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "The magi possesses from the dungeon is the Emperift. A gift only grao those capable of handling his power."

  The weight of his words lingered in the air, thid suffog. Then, without another word, Alex turned on his heel ahe office, the door clig shut behind him.

  The room fell into silence, save for the rhythmic patter of rain against the window and the crag of the fire. I found myself staring into the flickering fmes, my thoughts swirling like the embers within them.

  I raised my hand, allowing my purple mana to fre iehe glow reflected in my eyes, casting eerie shadows ay face. I’m worthy of his magic?

  Everything was beginning to make sense.

  The mana, the magicules—they had been infused into a crystal, then ied directly into my magicule stream. The process had rewritten my entire mana capacity, reshaping it to align with that of the Emperor himself.

  A slow smile crept onto my lips as realizatioled in.

  The following day, Lilli, Elnora, and I ehe , sliding into our usual seats. The absence of both Alex aor weighed heavily on my mind. Alex hadn’t returo the dorms the night before, aor remained missing.

  Before any of us could specute further, the door swung open.

  But instead of Professor Norfock, it was Mr. Redwood who stepped inside.

  His presence was different today—more uling than usual. His ever-present pipe was gone, and his normally posed demeanor had given way to something more… broken. His gsses were missing, his hair u, and his expression void of any warmth. He walked to the ter of the room, casting a shadow over us all.

  With a flick of his e, dark tendrils slithered across the room, passing out assigs. Another shadow scrawled his name on the board.

  "Silence, css," he anded.

  His voice, though steady, carried an underlyi, something deeper than mere exhaustion.

  "I am your professor, Mr. Redwood. Some of you have had me in previous courses. Others are new." His gaze swept the room, hollow yet pierg. "I see that your substitute, Professor Norfock, left a review of your progress. However, he ed key lessons. Due to this failure, we will be starting where he should have begun."

  A hushed tensioled over the students as the shadow tendrils tiheir work.

  "Today’s lesson," he tinued, "will focus on history. A subject your previous instructrettably ignored."

  As the assigs nded on our desks, whispers began to spread through the room like wildfire.

  "I heard his son was found dead."

  "What a pity. A royal caught up in… what was it again?"

  "Sve trading, I think."

  The murmurs tinued, hushed but uing.

  From my seat, I noticed the priting three rows behind me, his expression twisted in barely cealed disgust as he watched the shadow magi motion. His hands were ched into fists, knuckles turning white.

  "I said silence, css!" Professor Redwood’s voice thundered across the room, sileng the murmurs in an instant.

  The atmosphere grew tense as he straightened his posture and began his lesson.

  "Today, I will cover the history of our kingdom’s founding and how spell bdes became the most dominant form of magic."

  With a flick of his e, his shadowy tendrils moved to the board, writing out his words as he spoke.

  "A thousand years ago, the War of Divide shook the world. At the time, Idelia’s Kingdom stood supreme, uniting all races under a single banner. We were one great nation. But then, the dungeons emerged—maions of magic itself, appearing across the nd."

  Professor Redwood paused, his gaze sweeping across the room before tinuing.

  "In those dark days, it rincess Luna who rose to meet the crisis. Alongside her knight, Burgess, she waged war against the dungeons, wielding sigils blessed upon them by the gods. These divine sigils bolstered their strength, allowing them to push back the monstrous forces within."

  The room remained silent, captivated by his words.

  "But as they fought, they uncovered a terrible truth—the dungeons were not simply appearing at random. There was a mastermind behind them. A being who cimed dominion over all magic."

  Murmurs almost began again, but Redwood’s pierg gaze kept them at bay.

  "The kingdom rallied to face this threat, preparing for war. Yet, before the battle could be waged, our onited nation fractured. The leaders of the various races each had their own ideas on how to deal with the mastermind. Some sought to fight, while others wished to iate—some even sidered allying with him. Division spread like wildfire, and reat empire colpsed into the separate kingdoms we know today."

  A shadow of bitterness flickered across Redwood’s face, but he tinued.

  "In the end, a party of heroes rose above the chaos. They frohe mastermind and his subordinates, putting ao his schemes ond for all."

  A heavy silence hung over the css as the weight of history settled upon us.

  "And so, we arrive at the present. Our once-mighty kingdom is now but a fragment of what it was, divided among rival nations. Though we maintain alliances, only the Kingdom of Lebanon, home of the dwarves, has kept its borders open to us. The others remain wary, their gates closed."

  Professor Redwood exhaled slowly, his dark tendrils retreating as he rested both hands on his e.

  "That," he said, his voice measured, "is the foundation upon which we stand today."

  Even in this world, history has been altered aten. But those of pure royal blood should be Highhumans...

  That meant Professor Redwood khe truth—that this version of history was nothing more than a ploy.

  As the lesson came to an end, Lilli, Elnora, and I stood up, making our way dowaircase from our seats. Just as we reached the bottom, a voice called out.

  "Mr. Ashford, may I speak with you alone?"

  I froze for a brief moment before turning.

  Great. I should have dealt with the Professor as well he's probably onto the sve trading as well.

  "Uh—yeah," I replied, f my voiain steady.

  What does he want to ask me?

  Did he figure out that I killed Marcus?

  "You two go on ahead," I told Lilli and Elnora. They hesitated before nodding and leaving the room.

  Though, nearby they waited swords and magi hand.

  The st student to leave rince Lucas. As he passed through the doorway, he cast a suspicious gnce back at Professor Redwood and me, his gaze lingering for a moment before disappearing into the hall.

  Now, it was just the two of us.

  The air in the empty felt heavier than before. Shadows flickered against the walls, stretg unnaturally in the dim light.

  Just what exactly does the professor want to know?

  Chapter: Arc 2 - 26. Royal Ploy