The floor split apart beneath the Black Archive.
Stone cracked.
Ancient runes shattered.
And from the darkness below—
something breathed.
The sound alone froze the entire chamber.
Not loud.
Not violent.
Just heavy.
Ancient.
Like a creature that had slept for centuries had finally opened its eyes.
Zeal's chest tightened instantly.
THUMP.
The black pulse inside him answered whatever existed below the archive.
Kyle staggered backward.
"…Why does every terrible thing here know you personally?"
No one answered him.
Because the pressure flooding the archive had become overwhelming.
Books flew from shelves.
The walls trembled violently.
Several of the remaining chains snapped apart with deafening cracks.
The hooded figure remained kneeling before Zeal, completely motionless now.
Like its purpose had already been fulfilled.
Lucius stepped forward carefully, lightning burning around his body.
But even he looked tense now.
"…Something's coming up."
Chloe tightened her grip on the black-scaled book.
Smoke spiraled violently around her.
"The seals are breaking too fast."
Another chain snapped.
BOOOOM.
The crack beneath the archive widened.
Golden light leaked upward from the darkness below.
And then—
an eye appeared.
Massive.
Ancient.
Vertical golden pupils surrounded by black scales.
The same eyes from beneath the arena.
But closer now.
Watching directly from beneath the archive floor.
Kyle immediately pointed at it.
"Nope. Absolutely not. Close the floor."
The eye ignored him.
Its gaze remained fixed on Zeal.
Then the voice returned.
"Monarch…"
The entire archive shook.
Zeal grabbed his chest hard.
The visions hit again immediately.
Chains breaking.
Dragons roaring.
A black throne surrounded by burning skies.
And himself—
standing above kneeling armies while countless golden eyes stared upward.
The pressure exploded from his body instinctively.
BOOOOOOOOM.
Dark energy surged across the archive chamber.
Books disintegrated instantly.
The remaining chains rattled violently.
Lucius dug his feet into the ground as lightning erupted around him to resist the pressure.
"…He's losing control again."
Chloe looked toward Zeal.
"No."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"He's resonating with it."
That was worse.
Far worse.
Because the creature below the archive wasn't attacking Zeal.
It was responding to him.
The eye beneath the floor blinked once slowly.
Then—
the hooded figure finally spoke again.
"The prison weakens because the heir has returned."
Kyle blinked.
"…Can somebody explain literally ANYTHING happening right now?!"
Lucius ignored him.
His eyes remained fixed on the creature below.
"…Prison?"
The hooded figure slowly raised its hand.
Black smoke drifted from beneath its sleeve.
"Long ago, the Monarch was sealed beneath the false system."
The chains around the chamber shook harder.
"History was rewritten."
"Names were erased."
"Truth became forbidden."
Zeal stared at the figure.
"…What are you?"
The hooded entity lowered its head slightly.
"A fragment left behind to await your return."
The black pulse inside Zeal surged violently again.
The creature below the floor growled softly.
The sound alone cracked sections of the archive walls.
Outside the tower—
students across the academy stopped moving.
Because they felt it too.
That pressure.
That presence.
Fear spread across Eryndor Academy like wildfire.
OUTSIDE THE BLACK ARCHIVEInstructor Vael stood at the base of the tower surrounded by elite academy enforcers.
The entire western district had been evacuated already.
But even outside the tower—
the pressure was becoming unbearable.
One instructor looked pale.
"…Sir… if the seal fully collapses…"
Vael stared at the shaking tower silently.
Then answered:
"…Then the academy dies."
Lightning flashed across the storm-covered sky.
Far above the academy barriers—
something dark moved briefly within the clouds.
Watching.
Waiting.
Vael noticed immediately.
His expression darkened.
"…Even the Rift is reacting now."
Another violent tremor shook the tower.
Then—
BOOOOOOOM.
Black energy erupted from the archive windows.
The academy barriers flickered dangerously.
Vael's eyes widened slightly.
"…No."
Inside the tower—
Zeal had begun transforming further.
Dark scales spread across his neck and jawline now.
Golden light flickered through his right eye constantly.
And behind him—
a massive dragon silhouette appeared briefly within the darkness.
Not fully real.
But visible enough.
Kyle looked horrified.
"…Please tell me we're not fighting THAT later."
Lucius stared at Zeal carefully.
Not afraid.
Focused.
Like he was finally beginning to understand the truth.
"…So this is why the system rejected you."
Zeal breathed heavily.
The pulse inside him was becoming harder to resist.
He could hear whispers now.
Thousands of them.
Calling him.
Remembering him.
The eye beneath the floor slowly rose higher.
More black-gold scales became visible.
The creature was enormous.
Far larger than the arena could ever contain.
And it was smiling.
"The world forgot."
Its voice shook the archive.
"But we never did."
Then—
the creature pushed upward.
BOOOOOOOM.
The entire archive floor exploded apart.
Students across the academy screamed as the tower itself began collapsing.
A gigantic claw burst upward through the chamber.
Black-gold scales covered its surface while ancient runes burned across its skin like chains.
Not decorations.
Seals.
The creature had been imprisoned.
And now—
it was trying to escape.
Chloe immediately reacted.
"Smoke Domain!"
Dark smoke exploded through the chamber, wrapping around the broken floor to slow the creature's ascent.
Lucius moved at the same time.
CRACK—BOOM.
Lightning spears slammed downward into the claw repeatedly.
Kyle unleashed compressed wind blades beside them.
For the first time—
the four of them fought together completely.
And even then—
the creature barely slowed.
The claw continued rising.
The chains around it began snapping one after another.
Zeal stared at it silently.
Because deep inside—
he recognized it.
Not its appearance.
Its presence.
Like remembering something from a forgotten dream.
The creature's massive eye locked onto him again.
Then softly—
almost gently—
it spoke.
"My king."
Everything stopped.
Kyle froze.
Chloe's smoke wavered.
Even Lucius' lightning flickered slightly.
Because the creature hadn't mistaken Zeal for someone else.
It knew exactly who he was.
The black pulse inside Zeal exploded harder than ever before.
BOOOOOOOOM.
A shockwave tore through the collapsing archive.
The tower cracked from top to bottom.
Outside—
Instructor Vael looked upward in horror.
"…The seal's fully breaking."
Inside the chamber—
the dragon silhouette behind Zeal became clearer.
Larger.
More real.
Golden eyes opened within the darkness behind him.
And for the first time—
Zeal heard another voice.
Not the creature's.
Not the hooded figure's.
His own.
Cold.
Ancient.
Powerful.
"Kneel."
The claw beneath the archive stopped moving instantly.
The creature bowed its head.
Absolute silence filled the chamber.
And every person there realized the same terrifying truth at once.
Zeal hadn't commanded it consciously.
The order came from instinct.
From something buried deep inside him.
Something ancient.
Something royal.
Something monstrous.
Then the entire tower began collapsing.
END OF CHAPTER 14Next Time on Path of the Calamity Monarch…The Black Archive finally falls.
Zeal loses control of the Monarch power for the first time.
The capital sends a dangerous figure to the academy.
And hidden beneath the ruins… the true prison begins opening.