Crimson University's expansive marble courtyard was illuminated by long, golden streaks of light cast by the lazy morning sun. Children of CEOs, legislators, oligarchs, and ancient-money families poured in via the front gates. Every step echoed arrogance.Adrian Kane walked among them like a ghost.A simple black hoodie. Worn sneakers. With hands in pockets. As he floated through the flood of opulent clothing and pricey scents, his demeanor was serene, even blank.They didn’t know him. They didn’t care to.But they knew of him.“There he is,” someone whispered loudly. “The infamous son-in-law.”“Oh God, that’s him? He looks like he couldn’t even pass an entrance exam.”“Why did the Hartwell family pick someone like that? The man looks like he hasn’t slept in a week.”Adrian heard everything. He ignored everything.His gaze strayed up to the red poplar trees that bordered the sidewalk. Something else than the wind caused their leaves to tremble. A faint pulse. A ripple in the unseen

Everything changed as soon as the arena barrier broke.The shimmering containment barrier broke apart like bursting glass, causing a deafening boom to vibrate the room. Space itself was distorted as energy rippled across the atmosphere. With a guttural howl that shook dust from the ceiling, the towering, horned, molten-armored Abyssal War Demon surged forward.Adrian didn’t move.Not because he couldn’t.But because he shouldn’t.If he reacted with even a fraction of his true power, half the academy would sense it.Control was everything.And yet, something was wrong. The demon’s presence… wasn’t normal. Projection beasts were constructs, limited replicas of real monsters. But this one—this thing—radiated killing intent. Its aura pressed against Adrian like a mountain trying to crush him.“Someone modified the assessment system.” Adrian’s eyes hardened. “And they used forbidden energy to do it.”With claws that glowed with abyssal flame, the demon rushed.Adrian turned in a blur, me

For a long moment, the ruined arena held nothing but silence.Dust swirled around Adrian and Sera as if the air itself were hesitant to move.Sera’s blade—still glowing with that impossible sky-blue light—dripped residual energy that crackled against the broken tiles.Her eyes, cold and unwavering, locked onto Adrian without blinking.“Alive or dead,” she repeated.The words felt like chains tightening around him.Adrian’s jaw clenched. “You’re with them.”“Of course.” She stepped forward, the divine blade humming. “The Celestial Council never stopped searching. They traced the reincarnation cycle. They followed the astral signatures. They knew you were reborn somewhere on this plane.”“And you?” Adrian asked quietly. “What are you, Sera?”Her expression didn’t shift. “Their agent. Their weapon. And their safeguard against you.”Adrian studied her stance, posture, energy.Not possessed. Not controlled. Willing.That made her far more dangerous.“You were watching me from the start,” h

The bathroom door creaked open.A wave of cold, oppressive air spilled into the room—thick enough to sting Adrian’s skin. The shadow smoke pooled around his shoes, curling like hungry snakes as a silhouette stepped into view.Tall.Lean.Wrapped in shifting darkness from head to toe.Not a Herald.Not a Null-Born.Something in between—stronger than the assassins he’d faced before, but weaker than the creature that invaded the divine hall.A Veiled Envoy.One rank below the Herald.Enough to kill an entire building of students without effort.The Envoy tilted its head. Its voice echoed like three people speaking at once.“Relax, War God. If I wanted to kill you… you wouldn’t have heard the door open.”Adrian’s fingers twitched once.He remained still.Calm.Unmoved.“Talk,” he said. “You have ten seconds.”The Envoy chuckled, the shadows rippling like it was amused.“Always so abrupt. Very well.”It lifted a hand.A black envelope slipped from the Envoy’s palm, floating across the air

Silence fell across the Sixth Abyss.Not the silence of calm.The silence of a battlefield realizing it had provoked something it should never have touched.Adrian stood in the center of the sealing circle, divine fire rising behind him like a second sun. His coat snapped violently in the blistering wind, shadows writhing away from him as if the very concept of darkness refused to touch him.The leading shadow robed figure recoiled.“This—this was not in the foresight—”Adrian tilted his head slightly.“No,” he murmured. “It wasn’t.”Then he moved.He didn’t ignite his aura.He didn’t release his power fully.He simply stepped forward.The entire realm convulsed.Cracks spiderwebbed across the bone-covered ground. The sealing formation lines flickered, destabilizing as the War God's presence warped everything around him. The shadows screamed in unison as the gravitational force of his divine resonance dragged them toward the center.“Stop him!” a voice shrieked.“Activate the Soul Ren