2026-04-12 23:58:49"He was a scholarship student," Catherine corrected him. Her grip on Adam’s hand tightened, sending a surge of warmth through him. "But I have discovered that his 'Null' status was a mistake. He possesses a rare 'Void Heart'—a body that can stabilize and refine mana better than any of your Spirit Veins, Julian Martinez."
Julian looked like he had been slapped. "A Void Heart? There's no such thing in the textbooks!"
"The textbooks are written for ordinary people," Catherine snapped. "And as you can see, the Inquisitor’s own orb confirms it. There is no corruption here. Only the refinement of my magic. Now, unless you want to explain to the Headmaster why you are interrupting a high-level breakthrough session, I suggest you leave my tower."
Malphas looked at the orb one last time. It was perfectly clear. He looked at Adam, who was still glowing with that strange, beautiful light. The Inquisitor didn't look completely convinced, but he couldn't argue with the magical readings.
"My apologies, Professor Cook," Malphas said, though his voice was still stiff. "We must follow every lead when it comes to the Void. It seems we were misinformed."
He turned a very cold look toward Julian.
"Young Master Martinez," Malphas said. "It seems your 'report' was a waste of the Inquisition’s time. Do not let it happen again."
Julian looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He looked at Adam—the boy he had forced to his knees just last night. He saw Adam standing tall, holding the hand of the most beautiful woman in the Academy, looking like a legend.
"This isn't over," Julian hissed, though he made sure the Inquisitor didn't hear him. "I don't know what trick you're playing, Cook, but I'll find out."
Julian turned and marched out of the room, his face bright red. Malphas and the guards followed him, their heavy boots echoing down the stairs until the tower was silent once again.
The moment the door to the stairs closed, the blue light around Adam vanished.
His legs gave out immediately. He would have hit the floor, but Catherine caught him. She didn't let go of his hand. She pulled him toward her, letting him lean against the desk.
Adam was gasping for air. His skin was pale again, and the "Crown of Thorns" tattoo on his chest was pulsing with a dull violet light.
[Binding Terminated.]
[Soul Stability: 40%.][Mana Capacity: 10/10 (Temporarily Expanded).]"You" Catherine whispered. She was looking at him with an expression he couldn't quite read. It wasn't fear, and it wasn't anger. It was something closer to awe. "You actually did it. You took the rot. You you saved me."
Adam looked up at her. He was exhausted, but he managed a small, tired grin. "I told you I can eat the pain."
Catherine looked at her own hands. For the first time in years, her skin wasn't covered in a thin layer of frost. She felt warm. She felt human.
She looked at the purple screen that appeared in the air next to Adam. She couldn't see the words, but she saw the way his eyes tracked the light.
[Mission Progress: The Heart of the Frost.]
[Favorable Impression: -40 -> +10 (Neutral/Friendly)][System Note: You have survived the first day. The Ice Witch no longer wants to kill you. She now sees you as her lifeline.][Time Remaining: 48 Hours.]
[First 24-Hour Cycle Complete.]"Stay here," Catherine said. Her voice was much softer now. "You’ve exhausted your soul. If you walk out there now, you’ll collapse."
She walked over to a cabinet made of dark wood and pulled out a small glass vial filled with a shimmering silver liquid. "Drink this. It’s a Spirit-Mending Draught. It will help your body adjust to the energy you just absorbed."
Adam took the vial. His hands were still shaking. As he drank the cool, sweet liquid, he felt a wave of peace wash over him.
"Adam," Catherine said, standing by the window as the storm outside began to clear. "Julian Martinez will not stop. And the Inquisition Malphas is a smart man. He didn't find anything today, but he will keep watching. If you stay by my side, you will be in constant danger."
Adam looked at the empty vial. He thought about the ballroom. He thought about the wine soaking into his suit. He thought about the way the guards had tossed him into the mud like he was nothing.
"I’ve been in danger my whole life," Adam said. He stood up, feeling his strength returning. "At least now, I have a chance to fight back."
Catherine turned to look at him. The sun was finally breaking through the clouds, casting a golden light across the room. For a moment, she didn't look like the Ice Witch. She looked like a woman who had just been given a second chance at life.
"Very well," she said. "If you are to be my 'Catalyst' in front of the school, you cannot look like a beggar. We have much to do before the classes begin tomorrow."
Adam nodded. He looked at his HUD.
[New Skill Unlocked: Frost-Void Resonance (Level 1)]
[Description: You can now cast basic Ice Magic, but it is fueled by the Void. Effect: Your ice will not melt. It must be broken.]Adam raised his hand. He focused on the air in front of him. A tiny, jagged crystal of ice formed in his palm. It wasn't blue. It was a deep, dark purple, and it hummed with a strange, ancient power.
He had spent nineteen years as a Null.
Today, the first gate had opened.
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Chapter 342
The Great Cathedral was not a place of worship. It was a cold, metal factory disguised in stone and stained glass. Deep beneath the marble floor, where the air tasted of burning oil, Adam Cook moved with the silence of a falling shadow.Catherine followed close behind. Her blue eyes were wide, scanning the dim, flickering hallways. They were deep within the forbidden archives of the Inquisition. This was the place the High Inquisitor had kept hidden from the world for centuries.Adam stopped in front of a heavy door made of reinforced black iron. He didn't need a key. He reached out with a pale, trembling finger and felt the faint, buzzing hum of the locks. They weren't just mechanical. They were woven with light."Step back," Adam whispered. His voice was a strange, hollow sound that seemed to vibrate inside Catherine’s own skull.He didn't use a spell. He didn't summon the Void. He simply leaned his forehead against the iron. He reached into the metal, feeling the way the atoms held
Chapter 341
The sky over the Capital turned a sickly, bruised green. Adam Cook stood on the high rooftop, his hand stinging where the communication crystal had shattered. Catherine stood behind him, her blue eyes wide as she watched the clouds boil with dark, alien energy."The Prime Creator is playing with time," Adam whispered. His voice was a flat, metallic rumble. "He is using the refugees I saved as a beacon. He wants to trigger the end of the world right on top of them."Adam walked toward a tall, ornate glass window set into the rooftop structure. He needed to check his own stability. The Grave of Kings protocol was pulsing deep in his marrow, threatening to consume his physical form. He felt like he was held together by nothing more than willpower and the heavy, black gravity of his own chest.He stopped in front of the glass. In the reflection, Adam did not see a teenage boy in a torn black suit. He didn't see the pale skin of the boy from the Lower City, nor did he see the obsidian s
Chapter 340
The golden seal in the sky hummed with a low, vibrating drone. It was an ancient, terrible piece of magic. It was a net made of pure, killing light that began to sink toward the desert floor. Adam Cook stood in the center of the canyon, his feet rooted to the melting stone. Beside him, Catherine trembled. The heat from the seal was already boiling the groundwater.Adam knew he could not stop the seal with his bare hands. He looked at the vast, uncaring desert. He looked at the mountain of ice that Valerius had built. He realized that the Inquisition was not trying to fight a war anymore. They were trying to erase the board."Hold onto me," Adam said. His voice was a calm, steady anchor. He didn't fight the golden seal. Instead, he reached out with his mind and found the heartbeat of the mountain. He folded the space between the canyon floor and the dark tunnel system beneath the palace ruins. They didn't travel through the air. They skipped the space in between. They were suddenl
Chapter 339
The steel floor of the Inquisition flagship groaned under the weight of the golden chains. Adam Cook knelt on the metal deck, his pale skin burning where the holy runes bit into his flesh. High Inquisitor Kross stood over him, his face twisted in a mask of triumph. The chains hummed with a low, agonizing frequency that vibrated in Adam’s very marrow. "The shackles of the Order are forged from the bones of the first mages," Kross sneered, leaning down to stare into Adam’s eyes. "They do not just hold your limbs. They bind your potential. You are a Duke-Level threat reduced to a common prisoner in the blink of an eye."Adam remained motionless. He didn't fight the pull of the chains. His mind was a calm, dark lake. He could feel the golden strings of the Inquisition’s anchor digging into his soul, but underneath that, he felt the heavy, rhythmic pulse of the Void. He was not just a boy anymore. He was the anchor. He was the end of the line."You speak of orders," Adam said. His voice
Chapter 338
The massive, golden flagship of the Inquisition groaned under the weight of Adam Cook’s sudden intrusion. The floor beneath Adam’s boots was not made of simple iron. It was made of shifting, complex metal plates that hummed with a deep, rhythmic vibration. The ship was alive.Adam stood in the center of the command deck. Catherine was pressed closely against his back, her blue eyes scanning the dark, flickering corridors. The interior of the ship looked like a nightmare of luxury and death. White marble statues of forgotten gods stood against walls of cold, black steel. The air tasted like recycled mana and burnt ozone.Adam closed his eyes. He didn't need to look with his physical sight. Ever since his body had fused with the Void, his perception had expanded past the walls of the room. He felt the world as a heartbeat. He felt the planet as a giant, living drum. He stretched his mind outward. The Void-Link in his chest surged. He didn't just feel the ship anymore. He felt the en
Chapter 337
The tunnel of light roared like a hurricane. Adam and Catherine tumbled through the impossible space between worlds. The white walls of the tunnel were made of screaming numbers and shifting geometric shapes. This was the place where reality was written. Adam did not fight the fall. He used his dark wings to hold Catherine against his chest, shielding her from the jagged edges of broken time. He knew that if he hit the walls of this tunnel, they would be erased from history. Suddenly, the tunnel ended. They slammed into a floating island made of solid, violet shadow. It was a pocket dimension created by the Void itself. It was a silent, gray place where no wind blew and no sun shone. Adam rolled to his feet. He felt his physical body tearing apart. The transition had cost him everything. His chest felt empty. His lungs were burning for air. He was flickering, turning into transparent smoke, then back into a pale boy, over and over again. "Adam!" Catherine cried, scrambling up. "Y
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