For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Then Calcam spoke. "Wait"
He brought up his hand and a glowing mist wisped from it and vanished.
The pressure in the room disappeared.
Henry stumbled forward, catching himself against the wall.
Arielle gasped and immediately looked around.
"What the hell just happened?"
Calcam lowered his hand.
"I'm sorry."
Henry stared at him.
"Sorry?"
Calcam looked at both of them.
"I didn't mean to hurt either of you."
His eyes moved toward me.
"I wasn't trying to hurt you either. I only needed to take you into custody"
I stared at him and frowned.
"Why?"
Calcam sighed.
"I'm creating human-demon hybrids, you might have heard whispers about it"
The silence echoed
Arielle's mouth dropped open.
Henry just stared at him.
I wasn't even sure I'd heard him correctly.
"You're what?"
He repeated "Human-demon hybrids."
My heart started beating faster.
"So the rumors were true."
Calcam nodded.
"Yes."
Henry stepped forward.
"You've been experimenting on students?"
"Some."
Henry's expression hardened.
"And you're admitting this?"
"I'm not ashamed of it."
"People have died."
"I know."
He said it calmly, no hesitation.
That answer somehow made it worse.
Arielle looked disgusted.
"How can you just say that?"
Calcam looked at her.
"Because I know what happens if we do nothing."
He paused.
"I understand how this looks. But I'm not doing this because i'm evil"
"Then why?"
Calcam looked away for a moment.
"I was born in the demon realm."
Arielle confused asks "Wait, you're a demon?"
"No." he retorted.
He looked back at me.
"My parents were human."
Henry frowned, he asked "Humans live in the demon realm?"
"They did and probably still do"
Calcam's expression changed slightly.
"I was born into human settlements there. We obviously lived in the absolute lower class. We weren't supposed to be there, but there were plenty of humans who lived among demons."
He paused.
"Growing up, I saw things most people in the human realm will never see."
His voice became quieter.
"The hatred. The way some demons treated humans, the oppression. The glimmer in their eyes when human suffered, that won't change"
Arielle remained silent.
Calcam continued.
"I was a child, but I understood one thing very quickly."
He looked at me.
"I didn't want my people to live like that forever."
I asked confused "So you came here."
"Yes. I migrated to the human realm when I was young."
He looked around the room.
"I grew up here. Studied. Eventually, I started working under the academy."
Henry crossed his arms.
"So that's when you started experimenting."
"That's when I was given the opportunity."
Our eyes stretch wide open like we've just the end.
"By who?" i ask.
Calcam hesitated then replied
"The council."
My stomach tightened.
"The council gave you orders to experiment on humans?"
"Well of course not, there was no explicit command to do that but the directive was clear."
He looked at all three of us.
"We needed more powerful cultivators."
Henry scoffed.
"So you started turning humans into demons."
"Not exactly."
Calcam shook his head.
"No we're not turning humans into demons. We're combining certain demonic traits with human bodies."
"That's still insane."
"It is."
Calcam didn't argue, he then added.
"except it's working."
Henry's expression changed.
"What?"
"The results have been far better than expected."
Calcam walked a few steps away from us.
"Demons from small villages have been growing bolder."
He looked back at us.
"For years, most of their attacks were isolated. Quiet. They would attack a village, disappear, and deny everything. That's changing now, they're becoming more aggressive."
Arielle frowned.
"Why?"
"Well we don't know."
Calcam's expression darkened then he added.
"But it's happening and it's not only demons. High-grade monsters have been finding their way into the human realm."
Henry's eyes widened.
"High-grade?"
Calcam nodded.
"Yes, the kind that shouldn't be anywhere near human settlements."
"How?" Arielle asks.
"We also don't know."
Then i ask, "What does the Infernal Seat say?"
Calcam gave a bitter smile.
"They claim to know nothing about it the demon attacks and affirm they obviously don't control monsters"
I looked at him.
"So you think it's intentional that there's going to be another war?"
"I still don't know"
Henry then shouts.
"What the fuck do you know then?"
Calcam pauses.
"I know the council is terrified."
"Of what?" Arielle asks.
"Of the prophecy."
The words immediately caught my attention.
"I'm sure you all know of the prophecy The prophecy that predicted a dark power would rise."
I remembered my first time hearing about this.
A dark power that would enslave the world. A being with the powers of the old gods and only someone chosen by the Creator could stop him.
Crazy to think about.
Calcam continued.
"The council believes that if the prophecy is real, humanity won't survive without someone powerful enough to fight back."
"And that's why you created the hybrids." Henry asks.
"Yes."
I stared at him.
Then something else came to mind.
There was still one thing I couldn't understand.
"Then why did you look at me like that? At the training grounds"
Calcam went quiet. Henry and Arielle turned back to look at us.
I stepped closer.
He still didn't respond.
"You looked at me then you spoke to Matthew and then you have me a healing tonic."
Calcam sighed.
"The tonic."
He paused.
"It wasn't a healing tonic."
I frowned.
"What do you mean? it's obviously worked."
"No it didn't"
I look at my friends confused with a nervous smile i fire back "I'm telling you it did, it took the pain away and fixed all my broken bones. It basically healed me perfectly"
Calcam sighed. "You're not listening. That wasn't a healing tonic. You healed yourself.
Henry shifts backs to reality "Wait what?"
I ignore him and ask calcam "What was in the tonic then?"
"It was a Mana booster."
Henry's expression changed immediately.
"Wait no. That's not possible"
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Before Henry could answer.
Calcam did.
"It means you shouldn't have been able to take it."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because you're a base Qi user."
Henry suddenly stepped forward.
"Wait."
Calcam looked at him.
"You're seriously saying James took a Mana booster?"
"He didn't just take any mana booster. He took a Grade-B."
Henry's face changed, riddled with shock and heavy tones of fear and anger.
He grabs his shirt "Holy hell, that could have killed him."
Calcam nodded.
"It should have."
Arielle looked at me with worry and fear mixed into one.
"Killed?"
Calcam looked at her.
"A person below a mid level mana user should never consume a Grade B Mana booster."
He looked at me again.
"It's prohibited."
"And you gave it to me. Why would you do that?"
He paused.
"For most people, it would be suicide that is true. But i had to."
My stomach dropped.
" why the fuck did you have to?"
Calcam didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he said:
"Orders."
Henry stared at him.
"What orders?"
"An anonymous directive came from someone on the council."
His expression remained calm.
"I was instructed to put you against one of the strongest members of the program."
Dennis i thought.
"Why?"
"I wasn't told."
Calcam continued.
"But if you survived, I was instructed to give you the Mana booster."
Henry shook his head piecing everything together
"Holy shit and you were sure that could kill him."
"Yes."
"And you still did it?"
"Orders are orders" then he looked at me "and it seemed to have awoken something in you which is why i wanted to take you in"
I couldn't say anything.
My mind was trying to put everything together.
The fight, the tonic, the dream, the voice, the ring, the warmth.
Everything.
Then it hit me.
"That's why."
Calcam frowned.
"What?"
"The dream that happened before all of this. I saw someone, a man. He spoke to me told me to Wake up.
Calcam's expression changed slightly.
I continued "He knew my name."
"Then when that thing attacked us…"
I remembered the voice.
"Take the ring off."
Calcam stared at the ring.
"You don't know what that is, do you?"
I shook my head.
"No, my father gave it to me."
Calcam stepped closer.
"Your father?"
"He disappeared when I was young."
I looked down at the ring.
"It's the only thing I have from him."
Calcam's expression became more serious.
"James."
He sighed like he was about to deliver bad news.
"That is an ancient Mana inhibitor."
I froze in confusion.
"What?"
"To be fair i've actually never seen anything like it. Still, i knew what it was the moment i saw it, i could feel it if you would say that."
He studied the ring.
"An inhibitor that powerful shouldn't even be on someone like you."
"What do you mean?"
"Because you barely have traces of Mana, you couldn't even use qi well until hours ago but that isn't the most interesting part. The important part is taking off the ring seemed to actually unlock something in you, it's why you could use a shadow step. A demon technique.
Henry and Arielle snap their heads at me in shock.
I feel Henry step back a little, he couldn't quite fathom was he was hearing.
"How did you do that?" Calcam asked.
Everyone stared at me with curious eyes.
Before I could respond, the door suddenly slammed open.
Mr. Matthew rushed into the room.
His face was pale.
Everyone turned toward him.
"Mr. Matthew?"
He looked at Calcam.
"The demon escaped."
Henry frowned.
"What demon?"
Matthew looked at him in pure horror.
Then at me.
For a moment, he didn't say anything.
Arielle slowly stood.
"Wait."
She looked between them.
"What demon?"
Matthew's breathing was heavy.
"One of the test subjects"
Silence.
"You captured demons?"
Matthew nodded.
"He escaped the academy."
Henry looked confused.
"But how?"
Matthew didn't answer, he only looked straight at Calcam. There was a way he looked, like he was trying to tell Calcam something.
And just then, it looked like Calcam understood.
I stared at him.
I saw beads of sweat break out on his forehead, i saw his eye twitch. I could feel it, this was true terror.
But what could he be so terrified of.
Calcam said coldly "Use Dennis and Trevor".
He looked at me, then looked at Henry and Arielle.
STAY HERE.