Adam looked up at the dark stone ceiling. He could not hear the screams yet. But he trusted Kael. "Let's go," Adam commanded. The Gryphon Squad began their retreat. They walked out of the central room. They entered the narrow, fleshy tunnels that led back up to the surface. But the tunnels were completely different now. When they first came down, the walls were made of soft, pulsing red meat. The walls had felt like the inside of a living stomach. Now, the magic was gone. The red pipes were dead. The meat on the walls was turning hard and gray. It was cracking and turning into normal, dead rock. The ancient machine was broken. They walked for a long time. The journey was slow because Kael was so weak. Adam walked at the front, holding Kael up. Adam’s mind was racing. He was covered in sweat, dirt, red blood, and violet-black ichor. He felt completely exhausted. He thought about the cold voice. The Master is coming. Who was the Master? Was it the giant red eye? Was it Emily? Or w

Adam felt sick. He thought about the bright white light he saw draining out of Lyra and Kael. He thought about the hundreds of missing children. "That is why they harvest the commoners," Adam growled. "Because we are just fuel to them."Catherine turned one more page. She suddenly stopped speaking. She stared at the new page. Her face turned completely white. Her hands began to shake violently. "Catherine?" Adam asked softly. "What is wrong?"Catherine slowly looked up from the book. She looked directly at Adam’s chest. "Adam," Catherine whispered. Her voice was full of terror. "Read this page."Adam looked down at the old, yellow paper. There was a very detailed drawing on the page. It was a picture of a crystal. The crystal was shaped exactly like the bright, glowing piece of stone that lived inside Adam’s soul. "The Moon-Shard," Adam said. He felt his blood turn to ice. "Or the Angel Fragment," Catherine said quietly. "That is what you called it. But it is not an angel, Adam. V

Valerius had built the Key to eat magic. If Adam used his Void magic right now, he would be doing exactly what the Headmaster wanted. Using magic would fully wake up the machine. It would erase his human soul forever. I am not a machine, Adam thought. He gritted his teeth. I am a man. And a man can feel pain. The pain means I am still human!Adam forced his eyes open. His eyes were not the pitch-black color of the monster. They were dark, warm, human brown. "I am Adam Cook!" Adam roared. Adam grabbed the rusty iron knife from the floor. He used his physical pain to make him angry. He did not use a single drop of magic. He used his evolved, dense muscles. Adam jumped up from the floor. He pushed Catherine out of the way. But he did not attack the Headmaster. Adam ran past the Headmaster and swung his heavy fists at the giant stone pillar that held up the library ceiling. CRASH! Adam’s raw physical strength hit the old stone like a cannonball. The thick stone pillar shattered int

A bright, beautiful purple glow began to shine through Adam’s pale skin. The heavy red magic was stripped of its evil. It was turned into pure, clean energy inside Adam’s chest. Adam took another deep breath. Then another. Every breath made him stronger. His body was rapidly adapting to the ancient castle. The crushing weight of the Blood Pressure slowly faded away. It did not feel like a falling mountain anymore. It just felt like a light breeze. [System Update: Host has adapted to environmental pressure. New Mana Synthesized.][Soul Integrity stabilizing at 100%.]Adam opened his eyes. His eyes were not pitch-black. They were a deep, warm, glowing brown. He was fully human, and he was fully in control. Adam carefully laid Catherine down on the floor in a safe corner of the balcony. He stood up. He stood tall and perfectly straight. The Marquis stopped smiling. His yellow eyes widened in pure shock. "Impossible," the Marquis whispered. "No human can stand under the Blood Pressu

SMASH! Millions of pieces of colorful glass rained down like a beautiful, deadly waterfall. Like a heavy meteor falling from the sky, Adam Cook crashed right through the roof. He had jumped off the high balcony, aiming straight for the center of the chaos. Adam landed on the broken wooden floor with an earth-shaking BOOM. The impact cracked the stone foundation underneath. The heavy shockwave knocked several Blood Thralls off their feet. Adam stood up slowly from the crater. Dust and colorful glass fell from his broad shoulders. His black coat was torn. His pale, marble-white skin glowed in the sick red light. In his right hand, he held his simple, rusty iron knife. The Blood Thralls stopped dragging the students. They turned their blank white eyes toward Adam. The silver wires on their lips shined. They recognized the Sovereign. They hummed loudly in anger. Adam looked around the room. He saw the crying students. He saw the dead teachers. He saw the pure evil of the Marquis's