2026-04-12 23:58:39The heat from High Inquisitor Malphas’s hand felt like a branding iron against Adam’s skin. The golden light coming from the Inquisitor’s shield was so bright that even with his eyes closed, Adam saw nothing but a searing, painful red.
Inside his body, a war was raging.
The black smoke he had sucked out of Catherine’s chest was not sitting still. It felt like a thousand angry wasps were trapped in his stomach, trying to sting their way out. His veins felt like they were filled with crushed ice and battery acid. Every second he kept his eyes closed was a second he spent fighting the urge to scream.
"I will not ask you again, boy," Malphas growled. His voice was deep and heavy, like the sound of large stones being ground together. "Open your eyes. If your soul is pure, the light of the Sun will not harm you. If you are hiding the rot of the Void, you will be blinded. It is a simple choice."
[Warning! Warning!]
[Void Capacity: 99.9%][Internal Pressure: Critical.][System Note: You cannot hold this energy alone. If you do not find a way to ground this power, you will explode. The explosion will destroy this tower and everyone in it.]I can't Adam thought, his mind racing. If I open my eyes, they’ll see the purple fire. If I don’t, he’ll kill me.
[Proposed Solution: Temporary Soul-Binding.]
[Description: Use the target, Catherine Cook, as a lightning rod. Transfer 50% of the corrupted mana back to her, but filtered through your 'Null' body. This will stabilize both of you.][Condition: Physical contact is required. Heart-to-heart or Hand-to-hand.]Adam didn't have time to think about the "Physical contact" part. He just knew he was about to die.
With a sudden burst of strength, Adam jerked his chin out of Malphas’s grip. He didn't run for the door. Instead, he lunged toward the desk where Catherine was sitting.
"What are you doing?!" Malphas shouted, reaching for the hilt of a glowing silver sword at his waist. "Guards! Subdue him!"
The white-armored guards moved fast, their spears leveling toward Adam’s back.
But Catherine was faster. Whether it was instinct or the System’s influence, she stood up just as Adam reached her. She didn't move away. She saw the desperation in his eyes—eyes that were still squeezed shut—and she saw the way his skin was beginning to crack with violet light.
Adam didn't care about the guards or the Inquisition anymore. He reached out and grabbed Catherine’s hand.
His fingers locked with hers. Her hand was ice-cold, and his was burning hot.
[Binding Initialized.]
[The First Sovereign Link: Established.]A shockwave of energy rippled through the room. It wasn't a loud explosion, but a silent pulse of power that made the floating crystals in the room shatter at once. The guards were thrown back a few inches, their boots skidding on the frost.
"Stay back!" Catherine commanded. Her voice was no longer trembling. It was the voice of the Ice Witch again, but it had a new edge to it—a resonance she hadn't felt in years.
Malphas stopped. He looked at their joined hands. His eyes narrowed with deep suspicion. "Professor Cook what is the meaning of this? Why are you touching this Null?"
Before Catherine could answer, the door to the sanctum—which was already broken—was pushed open even further.
A young man stepped through the wreckage. He was wearing an expensive, tailored uniform with the lion crest of the Martinez family. His hair was perfectly combed, but his face was twisted into a look of smug excitement.
It was Julian Martinez.
"Ah, Inquisitor Malphas!" Julian said, his voice dripping with fake concern. "I see you found him. I told you, didn't I? I saw Adam Cook sneaking toward this tower with a very strange look in his eyes. For a Null to be here, he must be up to something illegal. Perhaps he’s trying to steal the Professor’s research?"
Julian’s eyes landed on Adam and Catherine. He saw their hands locked together. His smug smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of pure, unrefined shock.
"Adam?" Julian stammered. "Why why are you holding the Professor’s hand?"
He looked at Catherine, waiting for her to blast Adam into dust. He expected her to be disgusted. He expected her to scream. But she wasn't doing any of those things. She was standing perfectly still, her eyes fixed on Adam.
"Julian," Adam said. He finally opened his eyes.
Julian flinched, expecting to see something horrific. But he didn't see the Void. He didn't see the black smoke.
Because of the "Binding," the System was doing something incredible. It was taking the black, corrupted mana from Adam’s body and "filtering" it through the Void Path. Then, it was pumping it back into Catherine. But it wasn't coming back as poison. It was coming back as pure, refined frost-energy.
And the leftover energy? It was filling Adam.
Adam wasn't just standing there. He was glowing.
A soft, ethereal blue light began to radiate from his skin. It wasn't the harsh, burning light of the Inquisition. It was a calm, moonlight glow. His hair seemed to float slightly in an invisible breeze. His navy-blue rags didn't look like trash anymore; in this light, they looked like the robes of a young prince.
"What what is this?" Malphas whispered. He raised his crystal orb.
The orb, which had been pulsing red with "Danger," suddenly turned a clear, brilliant blue.
"The resonance" Malphas muttered, his voice filled with confusion. "It’s pure. It’s it’s the purest frost-mana I’ve ever seen. But he’s a Null! He shouldn't be able to hold even a drop of mana!"
Catherine took a deep breath. She felt the change immediately. The heavy, crushing weight in her chest—the black smoke that had been killing her for a decade—was being pulled away. In its place, she felt a cool, refreshing flow of energy. For the first time in years, she didn't feel like she was dying. She felt powerful.
She looked at Adam. She saw the sweat on his brow. She saw how hard he was working to stay standing. He was acting as a filter, taking her filth and giving her back life.
She turned her gaze toward Malphas and Julian. Her eyes were cold, but they were no longer desperate.
"Inquisitor," she said, her voice like a winter wind. "You asked what this was. This is my private business. Adam Cook is not a spy. He is my chosen catalyst."
"A Catalyst?" Julian shouted, his face turning red with jealousy. "That’s impossible! Only the highest-tier mages can act as catalysts for a Tier 7 Professor! This boy is a Null! He’s a scholarship brat! He washes the floors!"
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 145
Adam sat high in the dark, dusty rafters of the main Academy building. Outside, the cold rain hit the glass windows. He only had one week until the mid-term festival. He only had one week to stop Emily and Elias from blowing up the school. Adam realized his old tactics were too slow. Stalking targets one by one, following them through the halls, took too many days. He needed a faster way to hunt. He needed systematic efficiency. Adam closed his dead, dark brown eyes. He did not open the Gate of Hunger, but he tapped gently on the door of the "Grave of Kings." He let the sensory overload of his hollow soul flood his brain. Instantly, the dark school disappeared. Adam’s mind filled with a glowing, three-dimensional map of the entire Academy. He could see the bright, warm blue lights of normal students sleeping in their beds. And he could see the sick, pulsing red strings of the Blood Cult. Adam watched the red strings move like a giant spiderweb. He saw exactly where the cult memb
Chapter 144
Adam stood on the wooden beam high above the candlelit room. His cover was blown. Toby and the other corrupted students were staring directly at his invisible shape in the dark. "Hello, Adam," Emily’s voice echoed. Her dark-purple scar glowed brightly, reflecting in the sick, yellow eyes of her followers. Adam did not panic. His hollow mind worked like a cold, perfect machine. He stepped off the wooden beam. He fell twenty feet through the air and landed perfectly on the dusty stone floor. He made absolutely no sound. The thirty uncorrupted students gasped and stepped backward. But the ten students who had already taken the vow did not move. They stood in front of Emily, moving their feet at the exact same time. They were a perfect, creepy wall of human shields. Adam slowly stood up straight. His dead, dark brown eyes locked onto Emily. "You need to stop this, Emily," Adam said. His voice was completely flat and emotionless. "Put the silver cup down."Emily laughed. It was a loud
Chapter 143
Adam stood completely frozen in the dark hallway. The sharp, black diamond dagger was in his hand. He looked through the crack in the wooden door. He saw the Elias inside the room, standing next to Emily. Then, Adam looked at the second Elias standing right next to him in the hall. "If you attack," the Elias in the hallway whispered, smiling his polite, evil smile, "we will slaughter every sleeping student in the dormitories. The Master has many hands, Adam."Adam’s hollow mind worked like a lightning-fast computer. He calculated the math of the fight. He could kill both copies of Elias right now. He could kill Emily. But he could not be in two places at once. If he started a war tonight, hundreds of innocent children would die in their beds before morning. Adam made a cold, logical choice. He closed his hand. The black diamond dagger vanished into nothing. "Good boy," the Elias in the hallway laughed softly. The tall boy in the dark blue uniform suddenly melted. His body turned
Chapter 142
Emily sat on the cold, dusty floor of the old alchemy building. The dark room smelled like old dried herbs and damp stone. Elias, the tall boy in the dark blue uniform, stood over her. The thick, red blood magic he had given her was pumping through her veins. "Breathe, Emily," Elias whispered. His voice was smooth and polite. "Do not fight the void-scar. The Academy teaches you to control magic with rules. But true power has no rules. Push the red blood magic directly into the scar. Feed it."Emily closed her eyes. She focused her mind. The dark-purple scar on her right arm usually burned with terrible pain. It always tried to eat her life force. But this time, Emily pushed the heavy red blood magic into the jagged wound. The hungry scar drank the red liquid. The pulsing pain instantly stopped. Emily gasped. A cold, rushing thrill of pure energy exploded in her chest. The void-scar was no longer a parasite. It became an engine. It pumped massive, terrifying power back into her bod
Chapter 141
So, Adam did absolutely nothing. He just looked at her with his dead, cold, dark brown eyes. He showed no pity. He showed no surprise. He was just a blank, hollow shell. Emily saw his dead eyes. Her paranoid, angry mind completely misunderstood his silence. “He is not surprised,” Emily thought. “He is looking right at my arm. He knows what happened to me.” "You knew," Emily whispered. Her voice trembled with pure, toxic hatred. Adam blinked slowly. "Knew what, Emily?" he asked in a flat, monotone voice. "You told me to be safe!" Emily hissed, stepping closer. "You told me to stay ordinary. But you knew the relic was trapped! You knew I was going to look for a way to get stronger, and you let me walk right into the fire!"Adam’s face did not change. He just stared at her. To his cold, hollow mind, her anger was just noise. She was not a threat to his mission. "I have class, Emily," Adam said simply. He walked right past her, not looking back. Emily stood in the courtyard, her wh
Chapter 140
The red lightning in the dark, underground room suddenly changed color. It did not stay bright red. It turned into a violent, dark-purple flash of pure void-energy. Emily screamed. The Cursed Lexicon did not give her "Instant Ascension." It did not make her a god. The ancient artifact was a trap. It was hungry. The jagged, rusty iron shard on the cover of the book shot forward. It slashed violently across Emily’s right forearm. The pain was worse than anything she had ever felt. It felt like a hundred angry wasps were stinging her skin all at once. The dark-purple void-energy poured out of the book and burned directly into the deep cut on her arm. "Ahhhh!" Emily cried out, falling to the hard stone floor. The heavy black book dropped onto the ground next to her. The dark-purple light faded away. The book looked completely dead and normal again. But Emily was not normal. She held her right arm. The cut was not bleeding normal red blood. Instead, a jagged, dark-purple scar was p
You may also like
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR
Highpriest 19.4K viewsCivilian Dragon lord
Drew Archeron188.9K viewsHis Biggest Secret
ijay18.1K viewsAlex Brim, Hero for Hire
krushandkill27.9K viewsThe pridormial beast of ash
Smyle signature153 viewsThe Dao-Slayer’s Paradox
Shuaib Balikis 150 viewsReincarnated Grandmaster
Dan Axel249 viewsThe Runaway They Mocked Is The Protector Of Midgard
Tina Maxxy154 views