he tower was dying.
Cracks spread across the Black Archive from ceiling to foundation while ancient chains snapped one after another beneath the floor.
Outside, rain and black lightning swallowed the academy sky.
Inside—
everything shook.
Kyle barely kept his balance as another section of the floor collapsed into the abyss below.
"…I miss when school meant exams."
Nobody answered him.
Because Zeal had stopped moving.
He stood at the edge of the broken floor staring into the darkness beneath the archive while those black-gold creatures remained bowed below him.
Waiting.
The pressure leaking from his body kept growing heavier.
Darker.
More ancient.
Lucius could feel it pressing against his lightning authority now.
Not overpowering it.
Rejecting it.
Like Zeal's existence stood outside the normal rules of authority itself.
That realization made Lucius' expression harden.
Chloe slowly stepped beside Zeal.
Carefully.
Like approaching someone standing at the edge of a cliff.
"Zeal."
No response.
Only silence.
Then the deep voice below the abyss echoed upward again.
"You remember us."
The words shook the chamber.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The black pulse inside Zeal answered instantly.
THUMP.
Zeal grabbed his chest hard.
Fragments of memory flashed again.
A throne room.
Dragons kneeling beneath massive pillars.
A silver-haired woman standing beside him.
And blood.
So much blood.
The vision vanished before he could understand it.
Zeal staggered slightly.
"…Stop doing that."
The ancient voice rumbled softly.
"Your soul remembers even if your mind does not."
Kyle looked between them nervously.
"…Is anyone else concerned the giant underground dragon talks like it knows him personally?"
Lucius didn't answer.
Because he already knew the truth.
This wasn't coincidence anymore.
Everything beneath the academy had been waiting for Zeal.
The hooded figure slowly turned toward the abyss.
Then lowered itself fully to one knee again.
"The seal weakens, my king."
Zeal's eyes narrowed instantly.
"…Don't call me that."
For the first time—
the voice below laughed.
The sound was low and ancient and wrong.
Like mountains grinding against each other.
"Even after rebirth… you still deny the throne."
BOOOOOOM.
The archive shook violently.
Outside the tower, students screamed as part of the western wall collapsed entirely.
Instructor Vael stood below the tower with several academy enforcers while massive mana barriers surrounded the district.
But the barriers were failing.
Every pulse from Zeal cracked them further.
One instructor looked terrified.
"…Sir… if this continues…"
Vael kept staring at the tower.
"…Then we pray the capital arrives in time."
Back inside—
Lucius finally moved.
Lightning exploded around him as he stepped between Zeal and the abyss.
CRACK.
The chamber lit blue-white.
"If talking wakes him further," Lucius said coldly, "then the conversation ends now."
The creatures below growled instantly.
Every golden eye in the darkness locked onto Lucius.
The pressure changed immediately.
Hostile.
Kyle looked horrified.
"…Bro. Maybe don't threaten the underground dragon army."
Lucius ignored him.
Lightning surged harder around his body.
"I don't care what he was before."
His eyes stayed fixed on Zeal.
"He's still Zeal now."
That sentence cut through the pressure for a moment.
Zeal blinked slowly.
And for the first time since entering the archive—
his golden eyes flickered back to normal.
Just briefly.
Chloe noticed immediately.
"So keep talking."
Lucius frowned slightly.
"…What?"
"You pulled him back."
Lucius looked annoyed by the realization.
But before he could respond—
the abyss below moved again.
A massive black shape shifted beneath the broken floor.
Then chains tightened violently across its body.
Ancient runes ignited bright gold.
The creature growled deeply.
Not angry.
Pain.
The hooded figure lowered its head further.
"The prison rejects awakening."
Zeal stared downward silently.
And finally—
he saw it clearly.
The creature beneath the archive wasn't sealed to keep it inside.
It was chained to something deeper.
Something below it.
Something far worse.
The realization made his chest tighten.
"…There's another seal."
The hooded figure answered immediately.
"The final seal."
Silence filled the chamber.
Then the black-eyed creature below finally rose higher from the darkness.
Its head emerged partially into view.
Massive black horns.
Golden scars running across ancient scales.
And chains.
Hundreds of chains dug directly into its flesh.
Kyle went pale.
"…That thing's huge."
It was bigger than the arena creature.
Bigger than the tower itself.
And despite its terrifying appearance—
its eyes looked tired.
Ancient.
Like it had endured endless suffering for centuries.
The creature slowly looked up at Zeal.
Not with rage.
With recognition.
Then quietly—
it spoke.
"You sealed us yourself."
Everything stopped.
Zeal froze.
Lucius' lightning flickered.
Chloe's smoke halted midair.
Kyle blinked.
"…WHAT?"
The visions hit Zeal harder than ever before.
A battlefield covered in corpses.
Dragons roaring while chains fell from the sky.
A younger version of himself standing before massive gates beneath a black storm.
And then—
him raising his hand.
The chains.
The seals.
The prison.
He created it.
Zeal stumbled backward violently.
"No…"
The creature's voice softened.
"You chose imprisonment over extinction."
Another memory flashed.
The silver-haired woman again.
Crying.
Holding Zeal's hand while black chains wrapped around the world itself.
Then one final sentence echoed through the vision.
"If the Monarch awakens again… the world will burn."
The vision shattered.
Zeal nearly collapsed.
Chloe caught him instantly.
His breathing became uneven.
Fast.
Confused.
Kyle stared at him.
"…Zeal?"
But Zeal barely heard him.
Because one thought kept repeating in his mind.
I sealed them.
The black-eyed dragon slowly lowered its head.
"You were never our king because you ruled us."
A pause.
Then:
"You became our king because you chose to suffer beside us."
Silence.
Even Lucius couldn't speak immediately.
The entire chamber shook again.
But this time—
the pressure felt different.
Sadder.
Heavier.
Like the truth itself weighed more than the monsters.
Then suddenly—
CRAAAAACK.
One of the massive chains binding the black dragon shattered completely.
The creature's eyes widened instantly.
The hooded figure turned sharply toward the abyss.
"Impossible…"
A second chain snapped.
Then a third.
The dragon growled deeply.
Not in triumph.
Fear.
Real fear.
Zeal noticed immediately.
"…What's wrong?"
The dragon slowly lifted its head.
And for the first time—
true terror appeared in its ancient eyes.
"He's waking up."
The entire archive froze.
Then—
something moved beneath the abyss.
Not the dragons.
Not the creatures.
Something deeper.
Something massive.
A single gigantic black eye slowly opened far below the prison.
And the moment it did—
every creature beneath the academy bowed in fear.
Even the black dragon.
Even the hooded figure.
Zeal's body locked up instantly.
Because unlike the others—
this presence felt familiar.
Not like an old ally.
Not like a servant.
Like an enemy.
Then the thing below finally spoke.
Its voice was calm.
Cold.
Endless.
"So… the traitor returns at last."
The tower exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
Black energy erupted from beneath the archive as the entire western district of the academy collapsed into darkness.
END OF CHAPTER 16Next Time on Path of the Calamity Monarch…The true enemy beneath the academy finally reveals itself.
Zeal learns why the Monarch sealed the world long ago.
Lucius and Chloe uncover the hidden truth about the academy.
And someone from Zeal's forgotten past finally appears.