The First Sign
The calm did not last long.
Three days after the expedition, the academy's alarm system activated for the first time since the attack. A deep, echoing bell rang across the entire campus, sending students rushing out of their dorms in confusion.
Kael stepped outside immediately.
The sky above the academy had changed.
Dark clouds gathered unnaturally fast, swirling in a spiral formation. At the center of it, a faint tear in space flickered—just like the dungeon gate he had seen before.
Seraphine appeared beside him, her expression tense.
"That's not a normal gate," she said.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"What is it?"
"A forced opening," she replied. "Someone is trying to create a stable portal."
Before Kael could respond, the tear expanded.
A massive crack formed in the sky.
Then—
Something stepped through.
A creature unlike anything they had seen before. Its body was twisted, covered in dark armor that seemed alive, with glowing veins of purple energy running across its surface.
Students froze.
"What… is that?"
Kael clenched his fist.
The Abyss inside him reacted instantly.
"That," Seraphine whispered,
"…is not from this world."