The Bourbon Academy Arena was deafening. It was exactly noon. The sun hung high in the clear blue sky, beating down on the massive stone bowl. Every single seat in the arena was full. Thousands of students, teachers, and Academy guards filled the marble benches. They were screaming, cheering, and talking loudly. Everyone wanted to see the fight.High up in the royal box, Princess Elara sat on a soft velvet chair. She wore a beautiful dress made of gold and white silk. She held a crystal glass of sweet wine. A small, excited smile played on her red lips. She looked down at the empty sand of the arena. She was waiting to see her new "dog" fight for her. She did not know that the magical bomb she had put inside his chest was slowly being eaten.On the other side of the arena, High Inquisitor Malphas stood on a stone balcony. He did not sit. He stood perfectly straight in his heavy white and gold armor. Four Inquisition guards stood behind him. Malphas watched the arena with cold, calcul

Julian did not listen. He did not care about his own life. The Seraph only cared about destroying the darkness."I will purify you," Julian commanded. He raised his hand toward the sky. A massive ball of holy fire began to gather in his palm. He was preparing to execute Adam right there in the sand.Adam’s hands fell away from Julian’s boot. He had no strength left.The digestion fever had sapped his muscles. The broken ribs made it impossible to breathe. The Holy Smite had burned his nerves.Adam lay pinned to the dirt. He looked up at the bright blue sky.“I wanted to be a King,” Adam thought slowly. His brain was shutting down. “I promised myself I would never be on the ground again. But here I am. In the mud. Under his boot. Again.”He thought about Catherine. If he died here, Julian would tell the Inquisition about her. Malphas would burn her at the stake.He thought about Princess Elara. She was sitting up in her velvet chair, watching him die like a dog on a leash.He felt a de

Catherine closed her eyes. She reached deep into her own magical core. She did not pull out normal ice magic. Normal ice magic would just melt against the extreme heat of the Moon-Shard explosion and the Holy Smite.She pulled out something much deeper. She pulled out her bloodline's secret. "Primordial Frost," Catherine whispered.A blinding, pure blue light erupted from her hands. It was not just cold. It was the complete absence of heat. It was the magic of the frozen end of the world. Primordial Frost did not just freeze water. It froze energy. It froze time itself."I am going to build a dam," Catherine told the unconscious boy. "The energy inside you is leaking. It is a flood. I am going to freeze the flood. I will hold the chaotic energy back. You just have to rebuild the walls. Do you hear me? Rebuild your walls!"Catherine pushed with all her might.The Primordial Frost sank directly through Adam’s skin. It did not try to fight the dark Void. It did not try to fight the hol

The broken pieces of the heavy wooden door lay on the cold stone floor. The medical ward was completely silent.High Inquisitor Malphas stood in the ruined doorway. He was a man who had fought in a hundred magical wars. He had killed rogue mages, dark witches, and giant beasts. He wore the thickest, strongest holy armor in the entire kingdom. But right now, his hands were shaking.Malphas looked at the boy sitting on the edge of the broken bed. Adam Cook did not have a weapon. He was not wearing armor. He was bare-chested, wearing only simple dark pants.Yet, Malphas felt a terrible, crushing weight pressing down on his chest. It was not a spell. Adam was not doing anything. The heavy pressure was just coming from Adam’s simple presence."I think," Adam whispered again, his voice echoing inside Malphas’s brain, "you are going to have to fix the door."Malphas opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was perfectly dry. He wanted to raise his heavy silver broadsword. He wanted to sho