THE FORGOTTEN TRUTH

WHISPERS IN THE DARK...

The Academy felt different.

Not just because of the fractured Sky or the presence of the abyss's emissary- but because of something else.

Something Elias hadn't noticed before.

The walls held secrets. The halls whispered names long erased from history.

And among those names....

Was the headmaster before Aldric.

Seraphina's voice was tense as they walked through the dimly lit corridor. "There's no record of him it's like he was wiped from existence."

Elias's fingers twitched. That's not an accident."

They exchanged a look.

There was only one place left where the truth could still exist.

The Forbidden Archive.

THE HIDDEN RECORD...

The library was silent- too silent.

Even the usual failed Hum of protective wards seemed to have weakend as if the Academy itself was hesitating to reveal what was hidden inside.

Elias reached out, finger tips brushing against the old, dust-covered iron doors of the restricted section.

The wards should have stopped them.

But instead-

The doors creaked open on their own.

Seraphina inhaled sharply. "That's...not normal."

Elias stepped inside first, magic Humming Beneath his skin. Something wanted them to see what was inside.

Rows upon rows of ancient Scrolls and books lined the walls, untouched for years.

And there, near the back-

A book lay open.

As if waiting.

Elias picked up carefully, eyes scanning the faded ink.

"Headmaster Aldric Varian- dismissed from record. Cause: unauthorised knowledge acquisition."

His group tightened. "They erased him."

Seraphina leaned over his shoulder, reading the words allowed. "Dismissed from record? that's not the same as being removed from position."

Elias nodded, voice grim. "No. It means they didn't just fire him."

They made sure no one would you remember he existed.

Seraphina shuddered. " why would they go that far?"

Elias flipped to the next page.

And froze.

Because there- written in jagged, frantic handrawitting- was a warning.

"The watchers are inside the Academy. The king must not awaken. If they take him- if he speaks the word- everything ends."

A chill ran down Elias's spine.

The old headmaster knew.

And that meant-

Aldric had known, too.

ALDRIC'S TRUE FACE...

Elias amd Seraphina barely made it out of the archive before a deep voice stopped them.

"You shouldn'thave done that."

Aldric stood in the hallway, arms crossed.

His usually calm expression was Ice-cold.

Seraphina moved instinctively in front of Elias, her magic pulsing at her fingertips. "So, it's true."

Aldric's gaze flickered between them, unreadable. "Depends on what you think is true."

Elias held up the book. "The old headmaster didn't just disappear. The watchers erased him. And you helped them."

For the first time, Aldric smirked.

Not the way a teacher would.

The way a Predator would.

"Elias, you were never supposed to find that."

Elias's jaw tightened. "Why?"

Aldric sighed, tilting his head slightly. "Because your path was decided the moment you were born."

His eyes glowed faintly silver.

Seraphina stiffened- "you-"

Aldric took a slow step forward. "Did you really think the watchers were just observing that they were only waiting?"

Elias's fingers curled into fists. " you were never headmaster, were you?"

Aldric's smirk didn't waver. "Oh, I'm. But I am also something more."

The air crackled.

And suddenly-

Elias understood.

Aldric wasn't just working for the watchers.

He was one of them.

THE WATCHERS PLAN..

Seraphina reached, first summoning a barrier between them. "You're not taking him."

Aldric didn't even flinch. "Seraphina, dear girl, I don't need to take him."

His gaze locked onto Elias.

" he is already right where we want him."

Elias felt a shark pressure in his skull. A pulse deep in his mind like a door trying to open.

His breath hitched. "What- what did you do to me?"

Aldric's smirk turned almost....sympathetic.

"You think your awakening was a coincidence?" His voice was quite. "You think your power just emerged?"

Elias's pulsed roared.

"You didn't unlock your power Elias." Aldric's silver eyes gleamed.

"We did."

Elias's vision blurred. The realisation struck him like a blade to the chest.

The watchers hadn't been waiting for him to awaken.

They had been preparing him for it.

Every strange occurrence. Every push towards his destiny. Every test of his power.

It had all been leading to this.

They never needed to force him.

Tjey just needed him to choose it himself.

Elias took a shaky step back, but Aldric didn't move closer.

He didn't have to.

"The old headmaster tried to stop us," Aldric continued, "He failed."

Seraphina's breath was unsteady. "You killed him."

Aldric smiled again- but this time it didn't reach his eyes.

Elias's stomach twisted.

Beacuse Aldric didn't look like a man who was lying.

Which meant-

The old headmaster might still be alive.

THE FINAL WARNING...

Aldric sighed. " this doesn't change anything, Elias."

His voice was almost... tired.

"You can fight it all you want. You can hate me. You can hate the watchers."

Aldric's eyes darkened.

"But the prothromains you will awaken fully. And when you do...."

The walls trembled. The sky outside cracked further.

Aldric smiled.

"You will ne ours."

A sudden pulse of energy Sent Elias and Seraphina flying backward.

By the time they recovered-

Aldric was gone.

Leaving only the heavy weight of truth behind.

And single terrifying question.

If Aldric was telling the truth....

Was Elias ever free to begin with?