Adam leaped up through the broken hole in the ceiling. He landed softly on the wooden floor of his dormitory room. Dust swirled heavily around his torn, expensive black suit. He stood up and wiped the dirt from his pale face. Suddenly, he heard a sharp, terrified gasp. Adam turned his head slowly. Standing in the doorway of the bedroom was a young boy. It was little Thomas, the commoner student Adam had saved in the Great Hall. Thomas was holding a small, flickering candle. He was shaking violently. "Adam?" Thomas whispered, his voice trembling. "I heard a loud explosion..." Thomas walked one step forward. He looked past Adam. He looked down into the dark, broken hole in the floorboards. The candlelight shone down into the Private Archives below. Thomas saw the dead body of Senior Inquisitor Kross lying on the dusty stones. He saw the thick, dark blood leaking from the Inquisitor's eyes and ears. Thomas dropped his candle. It hit the floor and went out, plunging the room into sh

Adam opened his eyes. The world was completely black. His head pounded with terrible, blinding pain. The heavy iron club had hit him very hard. He tried to move his arms, but they felt like heavy lead. He was lying on his back. He felt cold, wet stone under his body. He was moving. Someone was dragging him by his boots. Adam’s mind slowly cleared. He remembered the giant fireball. He remembered jumping through the iron gates. He remembered putting the heavy silver collar around his neck. Adam reached up and touched his throat. The cold silver collar was still there. The bright blue runes on the metal were glowing softly in the dark. Because of the collar, his magical core was completely locked. The "Grave of Kings" protocol was shut off. He had absolutely zero magic. But something else happened when the protocol turned off. For the first time in weeks, the cold, silent machine inside his brain was gone. The empty cathedral was filled with noise. His human emotions came flooding

Adam stared at the small, rusty iron key in Inquisitor Alden’s trembling hand. The dark, wet stone room was perfectly quiet. Adam’s heart beat fast. His human tears felt warm on his pale cheeks. He was so incredibly scared. But he knew fear would not save his friends. "The King is hosting a massive party in the Capital right now," Alden coughed, holding his broken leg. "It is called the Final Gala. All the rich nobles in the Kingdom are there. Valerius calls it the 'Eternal Union.' But it is not a party, Adam. It is a giant sacrifice. Valerius is going to eat the souls of the entire aristocracy to fully awaken the Master."Adam looked at the heavy silver collar around his neck. "If I take this off, the machine wakes up. The 'Grave of Kings' will make me hollow again.""I know," Alden whispered sadly. "You will lose your tears. You will lose your fear. You will become a monster again. But sometimes, the world needs a monster to fight the devil."Adam did not hesitate. He reached out

Prince Aurelius, and Elias, stood over the pile of gray ash. The dark blue ice dagger in his hand dripped with thick, black blood. The Prince’s eyes glowed with a blinding, toxic purple light. He had stolen the Master's raw power. "The throne is mine," Elias whispered. He smiled a beautiful, wicked smile at Adam. But Elias had made a terrible mistake. He forgot who he was dealing with. The gray ash covering the golden throne suddenly began to swirl. It moved like a dry, dusty tornado. The air in the grand ballroom grew instantly, freezing cold. A deep, grinding laugh echoed through the room, shaking the crystal glasses on the tables. "Foolish, greedy boy," the voice of Marquis Valerius whispered from the empty air. Elias stepped backward in shock. His confident smile completely vanished. The blue ice dagger in his hand melted into dirty water. The gray ash on the throne mixed with the spilled red wine on the floor. The liquid blood twisted and grew upward. It formed into a massi

The dark red beam of light shot down from the broken sky. It shined directly onto the ruined ballroom of the Royal Palace. High above the broken roof, the giant, terrifying yellow eye of the Master stared down at the world. Adam Cook was on his knees. Blinding white and pitch-black light poured from the cracks in his pale skin. He was at one hundred percent capacity. He was ready to explode. Catherine held onto his burning shoulders, crying. "Adam, please hold on!" she begged. "Stay back, Catherine," Adam whispered. His voice sounded like grinding stones. He gently but firmly pushed her away. He did not want her to burn. On the floor all around them, the thousands of rich nobles were slowly waking up. The dark extraction circle was broken. The mind-control mist was gone. The lords and ladies rubbed their tired eyes. When they opened their eyes, they screamed in absolute terror. They saw the ruined ballroom. They saw the dead body of Prince Aurelius. They saw the giant eye lookin