2026-04-12 23:58:18Catherine looked at his hand. Trust was a word she hadn't used in a long time. In the world of high-level sorcery, trust was a weakness. Trust got you killed. Her own family had been the ones who cursed her core, jealous of her potential.
But as she looked at Adam, she didn't see a spy. She didn't see a mage. She saw a boy who had been treated like trash by the world, yet he was the only one brave enough to stand in the cold with her.
[Favorable Impression: -85 -> -40]
[Progress: The target is hesitating. Keep going!]"What do you want in return?" she asked, her voice regaining some of its sharpness. "Money? Power? Revenge on that Martinez boy?"
"All of it," Adam said honestly. "I want everything they said I couldn't have. But I want to earn it. And I want you to be the one to teach me."
Catherine let out a short, dry laugh. "Teach a Null? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever—"
She stopped. Her face went pale—whiter than usual. She turned her head toward the heavy oak doors of her sanctum.
Adam heard it too.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
It wasn't a normal knock. It was the sound of something heavy slamming against the wood.
"Professor Cook!" a booming voice shouted. It was a voice filled with authority, sounding like a judge delivering a death sentence. "By order of the Holy Council, open these doors! We have received reports of 'Unstable Essence' radiating from this tower!"
Catherine’s eyes widened with terror. "The Inquisition," she whispered. "Not now. Not today."
"Who are they?" Adam asked, sensing the shift in the air. The room was suddenly filled with a different kind of light—a bright, golden glow that began to seep through the cracks in the door.
"They are the Purity Seekers," Catherine said, her voice frantic. She began to wave her hands, trying to hide the scrolls on her desk, but her magic was failing. The black smoke was leaking out of her chest in thick clouds now, triggered by her panic. "They hunt 'Corrupted' mages. If they see my core if they see the Soul-Frost they won't try to cure me. They will execute me on the spot to 'purify' the Academy."
"Can't you stop them?" Adam asked. "You're a Professor!"
"They have the King’s Seal," she said, her breath coming in short gasps. The room was becoming darker as the black smoke filled the air. "My magic is ice. It is 'Cold' mana. Theirs is 'Holy' mana. It is my direct opposite. If they enter this room, the reaction between my corruption and their light will cause an explosion."
BAM!
The door groaned. A crack appeared in the wood, and a beam of blinding golden light shot into the room. It hit the floor and hissed like hot oil.
[Urgent Mission Update!]
[The Inquisition has arrived for a Purity Check.][If Catherine Cook is discovered, the Host will be killed as an accomplice.][New Skill Unlocked: Void Suppression (Temporary).]"Catherine, look at me!" Adam grabbed her shoulders.
She was shaking. The "Ice Witch" was terrified. She was a Tier 7 Mage, but she was a little girl in the face of the Inquisition.
"I can hide it," Adam said. "I can pull the smoke into myself for a few minutes. But you have to let me in. You have to lower your shields."
"I can't," she sobbed. "It will kill you!"
"Let it try!" Adam yelled over the sound of the crashing door.
The door began to splinter. The golden light was filling the room, burning away the frost.
"Open the door, Professor!" the voice outside shouted. "Or we will break it down in the name of the Sun!"
Catherine looked at Adam. She saw the purple glow in his eyes. She saw the absolute certainty on his face. She had no choice. She closed her eyes and let out a long, shaky breath.
The invisible wall of cold around her vanished.
Adam didn't hesitate. He slammed his hand against her chest, right over the black wound in her core.
[Void Suppression: ACTIVE.]
A massive surge of darkness erupted from Adam’s arm. It wasn't the "bad" kind of darkness; it was the darkness of a vacuum, a hunger that could not be filled. The black smoke leaking from Catherine didn't just stop; it was sucked into Adam’s palm like water down a drain.
Adam’s eyes turned pitch black. His veins began to glow with a dark violet light. He felt like his heart was being torn in half, but he didn't let go. He stood there, acting as a bridge, pulling the corruption out of her and hiding it inside his own "Null" body.
"Hide your eyes," Adam groaned through clenched teeth.
Catherine quickly pulled a veil over her face and sat down at her desk, trying to look composed.
The doors to the sanctum exploded.
A group of five men in white and gold armor marched into the room. They carried shields that glowed with a blinding sun-like radiance. In the center was a tall man with a shaved head and a golden cross tattooed over his eye. He held a crystal orb that was pulsing with a violent red light.
"Professor Cook," the man said, his eyes scanning the room. He looked at the frost, the scrolls, and finally, he looked at Adam, who was standing stiffly by the window, his back to them.
"High Inquisitor Malphas," Catherine said. Her voice was cold again, but Adam could feel her heart racing through their bond. "This is an unexpected intrusion. I was in the middle of a private lesson."
Malphas didn't look at her. He looked at the crystal orb in his hand. The orb was turning darker and darker.
"A private lesson? With a Null?" Malphas asked, his voice filled with suspicion. He began to walk toward Adam. "The sensors at the gate detected a massive surge of Forbidden Energy coming from this tower. It smelled of rot. It smelled of the Void."
He stopped three feet behind Adam.
"Boy," Malphas commanded. "Turn around and show me your face."
Adam didn't move. He was fighting with everything he had to keep the black smoke inside him. It was clawing at his throat, trying to get out. If he opened his mouth, he would vomit darkness.
"I said," Malphas growled, his golden shield beginning to glow with a heat that made the ice walls scream, "Turn. Around."
Adam slowly began to turn. His face was pale. His eyes were closed.
"Is there a problem, Inquisitor?" Catherine asked, her hand moving toward a hidden wand beneath her desk.
Malphas ignored her. He reached out a gloved hand and grabbed Adam’s chin, forcing him to look up.
"Open your eyes, Null," Malphas hissed. "Let’s see what you’re hiding in the dark."
Adam’s eyelids fluttered.
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Chapter 58
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
Chapter 57
The purple screen flickered. A new message appeared in bright red letters.[Query Acknowledged.][To expand the Soul Architecture, the current walls must be completely destroyed.][Action Required: Open the Second Gate of the Void.]Adam read the words. He understood perfectly.To build a bigger castle, you have to tear down the old one. He had to destroy his own soul's shape to let the Void expand naturally. But there was a catch. The System immediately showed another red warning.[WARNING!][Opening the Second Gate will instantly shatter the current Soul Walls.][If the Host cannot control the raw energy without walls, the Host’s physical body will instantly vaporize in the real world.][Survival Rate: 0.01%.]Adam smiled. It was a cold, dark, fearless smile. "I survived the mud," Adam said softly. "I survived the Ice Witch. I survived the Bone Dragon. I survived the Holy Seraph. Do you really think I care about a decimal point?"Adam raised both of his hands. He looked at the thick
Chapter 56
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
Chapter 55
The terrible, pitch-black cloud over the arena did not last long. For one single, terrifying moment, Adam Cook had held Julian Martinez by the throat. Adam’s eyes had glowed with the power of a dark god. He had stopped the holy fire. He had controlled the eclipse. But a human body is still made of flesh and bone.The Eternal Sovereign System had removed the safety limits to save Adam’s life. It had forced the Second Gate to open just enough to swallow the massive magical explosion of the Moon-Shard and the Holy Smite. But opening that gate had a terrible price.Suddenly, the blinding violet light in Adam’s eyes flickered. BZZZT. It sounded like a dying lantern.Adam’s hand lost its iron grip. His fingers went completely limp. He dropped Julian. The heavy, bald boy fell to the sand, coughing and gasping for air. The golden runes on Julian’s face were dull and gray.Adam did not say another word. He did not look at the Princess. He did not look at the Inquisitor.Adam’s eyes rolled bac
Chapter 54
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
Chapter 53
The darkness formed a heavy barrier between him and Julian. It was the same shield that had easily stopped the Bone Dragon and the fire mages.Julian’s finger glowed brighter.BZZZZZT! A thick beam of solid, roaring white light shot from Julian’s finger. It moved faster than lightning. It crossed the ten feet of sand in a microsecond and slammed directly into Adam’s Void Shield.Adam expected the Void to eat the magic. He expected the black smoke to swallow the light. But it did not.The moment the holy light touched the Void, a terrible, shrieking sound filled the arena. It sounded like water being thrown into a fryer.The Holy Smite did not fade. It burned through the darkness like boiling acid melting through thin paper.[System Alert: 300% Critical Damage Received!][Holy Energy is the absolute counter to Void Energy.]The white beam pierced right through the center of the black shield. It hit Adam directly in the left shoulder."GAAAAAH!" Adam screamed. It was a raw, agonizing s
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