Morning arrived cloaked in mist, and with it came unease.
Max walked through the academy halls, his face blank, but his thoughts churned like a storm. His body still ached from last night's battle—his limbs sore, his mana core humming with new power. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the beasts he killed. Not with guilt.
With hunger.
He wanted more.
But he also knew time was short. Julius Frost was circling like a hawk, and the trap was slowly closing.
Inside the Frost family's private war room, Lena stood beside a hovering image, eyes scanning fast.
"We filtered all students wearing necklaces or pendants," she said. "Cross-referenced their dorm locations and mana history."
Julius didn't reply. His arms were crossed behind his back.
"Only one student has no matching mana signature on file, and was previously recorded with a green-tier talent—"
She tapped the screen.
"Max."
The image sharpened. Max's academy ID hovered above his head. Julius stared at it in silence, then spoke:
"No elemental affinity, weak mana—yet he's never missed a single day of training. Never ranked in exams, but has no reported injuries in monster raids."
Lena nodded. "There's more. No known family. Registered orphan. But he's been wearing that necklace since enrollment."
Julius's eyes darkened. "Run full spectral scans. If it's what I think it is... we've found Peter's heir."
Meanwhile, Max sat in the back of a library room, his eyes locked on a pulsing screen in front of him.
[System Notice: Artifact Bond Rate — 14% Unlocked]
[New Passive Discovered: Elemental Sync – Minor boost to control speed across all affinities.]
The deeper he bonded with the artifact, the more the system unlocked. It was as if the necklace was rewriting his limits.
And yet, it wasn't just power he felt anymore.
It was presence.
Sometimes, at night, the necklace pulsed on its own. Once, he thought he heard a whisper—a voice ancient and full of pain.
He had no idea what the artifact truly was. Only that his parents had died for it. That Peter—the man in the archived files—was somehow connected to him.
And now... he was being hunted for it.
Max closed the screen and slid the necklace beneath his shirt.
He needed to stay invisible.
Later that night, Julius Frost stood alone at the cliff where Jack died.
The winds blew fiercely, but he didn't flinch. His thoughts were with Peter—their old friend. The one who had betrayed them all.
"Peter," he murmured, "you thought hiding it with your son would protect it. But if that boy becomes like you…"
Julius raised a hand.
A sheet of ice spread over the cliff, sealing it beneath a frozen tomb.
"I'll kill him myself."