Chapter 7: The Bloodmoon Ritual
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It began with a red sky.
Not crimson.
Not sunset.
But blood — thick, unnatural, pulsing like a wound.
Noxharte Academy students gathered on balconies, pointing upward.
> "Is that… the Bloodmoon?"
> "That only appears during a Reaping Era… but that's just myth."
The professors tried to calm them, but whispers were stronger than reason.
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Underground Ritual Site – Unknown Cult Temple
A hooded figure dipped their hand into a basin of blackened blood.
A circle glowed on the floor — fifteen layers of corrupted glyphs. At its center, the symbol of the Void Throne: a crown broken into seven shards.
> "The seal weakens," said one cultist.
> "Aero Nacht walks again."
A massive tome floated above the altar.
Its title shimmered:
> "Chronicle of the Forgotten Monarch."
The leader stepped forward.
> "Begin the chant."
> "Call the Eye. Let it watch again."
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Noxharte Academy – Spell Theory Class
Aero sat silently while the teacher rambled about mana circuits.
He wasn't listening.
His head ached.
No — it throbbed, like something beneath his thoughts was stirring.
Nyx turned to him.
> "You feel it too, don't you?"
> "The air's too heavy. The sky's not lying."
Suddenly, a loud shriek echoed through the halls.
Not human.
Not animal.
Just… wrong.
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Main Hall – Moments Later
A portal ruptured in the air — not summoned by any mage.
Students screamed as a horned beast emerged, half-matter, half-shadow, bleeding black mist. Its body looked stitched together by cursed magic.
A rank A instructor tried to stop it.
> CRACK!
He flew into a wall, coughing blood.
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Aero stepped forward.
No panic.
No preparation.
> "This isn't a monster."
> "It's a message."
He raised one hand — no sigils, no spells.
Just intent.
The creature halted mid-charge.
And shattered like glass.
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Everyone stood frozen.
Nyx stepped beside him.
> "They're calling to you."
> "No," he corrected. "They're challenging me."
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Headmaster's Tower
> "They summoned a Bloodspawn… inside the school," whispered a professor.
> "What do we do now?"
The Headmaster stared out the window.
> "Now? We watch. And pray the Monarch hasn't remembered everything yet."
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Cult Temple
The ritual finished.
A single eye opened in the air — massive, vertical, pupil-less.
It gazed east.
Toward Noxharte.
And it smiled.
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