The silver beam had vanished.
But the silence it left behind remained.
No one in the academy moved.
Arthur Graves stared toward the northeast.
His expression had become colder than ever.
Bill broke the silence.
"You said... the King knows Daniel has awakened."
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
"And that means..."
He paused.
"...he won't wait anymore."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Who is this King?"
Arthur looked into Daniel's eyes.
"No one alive knows his real name."
"The people of the Forgotten Kingdom only called him..."
'The King Beyond the Seal.'
"He ruled before the kingdom was sealed away."
"And for hundreds of years..."
"...he has waited."
David suddenly held his head.
The whispers had returned.
Louder than ever.
He dropped to one knee.
"David!"
Lucy rushed to his side.
"What are they saying?"
David's voice trembled.
"They're... afraid..."
Mary frowned.
"The whispers are afraid?"
David slowly nodded.
"I've never heard them like this."
He closed his eyes again.
Then whispered...
"Run..."
"The First General..."
"...has already arrived."
Everyone froze.
Bill immediately drew his sword.
"What do you mean?"
Before David could answer—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the western wall of the academy.
The ground trembled violently.
Students screamed.
Smoke rose into the night sky.
Noah looked toward the explosion.
"Someone attacked the barrier!"
Arthur's face turned pale.
"No..."
"He didn't attack it."
"He walked through it."
Another explosion echoed.
BOOM!
The academy's warning bells rang once again.
Daniel, Mary, Felix, Noah, Lucy, David, Lily, Zoya, Bill, and Arthur raced toward the western gate.
When they arrived...
Every Ghost Killer standing guard had already fallen.
Some were unconscious.
Some struggled to breathe.
None had been killed.
At the center of the destroyed entrance...
A single man stood quietly.
He wore a long white coat marked with ancient black symbols.
His silver hair reached his shoulders.
His hands rested behind his back.
He looked no older than thirty.
Yet his eyes...
Were centuries old.
He slowly looked at Daniel.
"So..."
"You're the Vessel."
Daniel instinctively reached for his sword.
"And you are?"
The man smiled politely.
"I am called..."
Orion.
"The First General."
Arthur's grip tightened around his weapon.
"So the King really sent you."
Orion glanced at Arthur.
"You survived."
Arthur answered,
"Unfortunately for you."
Orion chuckled softly.
"It seems fate enjoys unfinished stories."
Bill stepped forward.
"This academy has had enough bloodshed."
Orion nodded.
"I agree."
"I didn't come to start a war."
Daniel frowned.
"Then why are you here?"
Orion's calm eyes never left Daniel.
"I came..."
"...to invite you."
Everyone stared at him in disbelief.
"Invite me?"
"Yes."
"The King wishes to meet you."
Felix couldn't hold back anymore.
"Oh, that's funny."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Tell your King he's not getting an appointment."
Orion looked at Felix.
For the first time...
His smile disappeared.
In one step—
He vanished.
Before anyone could react—
He was standing directly in front of Felix.
Felix's eyes widened.
"What—"
THUD!
Orion simply tapped Felix's chest with one finger.
Felix was launched across the courtyard.
He smashed through two stone pillars before crashing into a wall.
"FELIX!"
Lucy immediately ran toward him.
Felix coughed violently.
Blood stained the ground.
He looked up in shock.
"He..."
"...only touched me..."
The entire courtyard fell silent.
No one had even seen Orion move.
Daniel's heart pounded.
This man's strength...
Was on an entirely different level.
Orion calmly returned to where he had been standing.
"I apologize."
"I dislike violence."
Bill raised his sword.
"You have a strange way of showing it."
Orion sighed.
"I warned him."
Then he looked back at Daniel.
"I will ask only once."
"Come with me willingly."
Daniel answered without hesitation.
"No."
Orion closed his eyes.
"I expected that."
He slowly turned away.
"I won't force you."
"Not today."
"But remember this..."
He looked over his shoulder.
"In five months and twenty-three days..."
"The Seal will weaken again."
"If you do not come..."
"...Ava will die."
Daniel's body froze.
"What did you say?!"
But Orion had already begun walking into the darkness.
Arthur took a step forward.
"Don't chase him."
"Why?"
Arthur watched Orion disappear beyond the trees.
"Because none of us..."
"...can defeat him."
The night became silent once more.
Daniel looked down at the silver compass in his hand.
It had begun glowing again.
This time...
The needle wasn't pointing northeast.
It was pointing...
Toward Orion.
And Daniel realized something terrifying.
The journey to save Ava...
Had already begun.
To Be Continued...