Chapter 12: The End or the Beginning

Sunlight shone directly onto the dome of Starborne Academy, yet the once clear sky now blazed with streaks of blinding light—as if even the sun trembled before the battle unfolding below.

At the outermost layer of the academy's main barrier, the Supervisors had all taken to the skies.

Each of them—robes bearing the academy's insignia fluttering in the wind—were top-tier combatants. They soared into the air like stars clashing, each strike tearing the sky as if it were paper.

"Hold the eastern flank! Don't let them near the second-tier spirit vein!"

A professor with long green hair shouted. Behind him, a glowing azure array spun mid-air like an ancient portal just unlocked, unleashing a barrage of energy blades that ripped through space.

The invaders—clad entirely in black robes, their aura chaotic—emerged like phantoms from the depths. They moved in coordinated squads, launching simultaneous attacks at multiple points of the barrier. Clearly, this had been planned long in advance.

At the same time—within the academy grounds.

In the beginner-level classroom wings, the alarm bells rang ceaselessly, their sharp echoes cutting through hallways and lecture rooms.

"Stay calm! Move in lines! No pushing!"

A third-year senior shouted, her voice firm as she formed a protective barrier with her spiritual energy, shielding a group of first-year students being evacuated from the western wing.

Behind her, several instructors were activating defense formations—dome-shaped shields of light covered strategic areas, gleaming beneath the early morning sun.

Though many of the younger students had never faced real combat, the pressure of looming battle was tangible. Some trembled in fear, but still held tightly to one another's hands, hiding behind their seniors. Their eyes remained fixed on the towering spire in the distance—where beams of energy surged skyward, as if declaring the fire of war had been ignited.

High above, a red-haired Supervisor, tall and broad-shouldered, stood with blood trickling from a wound on his shoulder—but his eyes still blazed like wildfire.

"We are the gatekeepers.

Even if we fall here today…

They'll have to bury their corpses outside our academy walls first."

As the students were urgently retreating toward the underground shelter, Luc Diep suddenly froze in the middle of the crowd.

"Wait… Where's Hao Thien?" he muttered, frowning as he scanned the surroundings.

There was no sign of his friend.

"Did he stay back at the plaza!?"

But Hao Thien was no longer there.

…

"Where… am I?"

Hao Thien whispered, his eyes cautiously surveying the area.

In front of him stretched a dark, dense forest unlike any he'd ever seen — towering trees thick with foliage, with only faint shafts of sunlight piercing through the heavy canopy. There were no voices. No warning sirens. Only the soft whistle of wind slipping through brittle leaves.

He walked carefully, each step crunching against the damp forest floor, the sound oddly echoing in the stillness.

"How did I end up here? I was just at the…"

Hao Thien furrowed his brows, unease welling up inside. Everything had happened too fast, too suddenly.

Just then—

Whoosh!

A streak of light slashed down from above like lightning. Instinct kicked in—Hao Thien threw himself to the side, rolling out of harm's way. A tree beside him was cleaved in two, its severed trunk still smoking.

"What the…?" he gasped, staring upward.

From the treetops, a shadowy figure descended. A black cloak fluttered around him, face concealed by a wooden mask, leaving only a pair of cold, piercing eyes exposed.

"You're a student of the Tinh Van Academy,"

the figure said, pointing directly at Hao Thien. His voice was low, calm, yet unwavering.

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Hao Thien took a cautious step back, clenching his fists. His eyes sharpened.

"Who are you? Where is this place? Why did you attack me?"

The masked man didn't answer. A faint smirk formed behind the mask.

"Then you die."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cloaked man lunged forward like a swirling shadow. The air shrieked sharply as a strike came crashing down toward Hao Thien's head. He stepped back, dodging just in time.

"Whoosh!"

A second slash came diagonally from below—Hao Thien twisted left, narrowly avoiding it. He almost slipped on the damp, leaf-covered ground. His heart pounded in his chest like a war drum.

"Ugh!"

A sudden kick from the enemy sent him staggering, his back slamming hard against a tree. Leaves rained down as dust rose into the air.

There was no time to think. No space to breathe.

The attacks kept coming, fast and relentless—each move precise, deadly, and without hesitation. Every time Hao Thien dodged a strike, the next was already at his throat. Every time he tried to steady himself, the ground cracked beneath him from the aftershock of the last blow.

Hao Thien clenched his teeth, sweat dripping from his brow.

"I can't beat him. But if I can't keep my distance, I'll die for sure…"

He rolled behind a boulder, darted through a clump of underbrush, but it was as if the masked figure knew exactly where he would go. This wasn't just power—this was familiarity. The man knew this forest like it was his own home.

At last, a brutal kick sent Hao Thien flying. He tumbled across the forest floor, his back scraped, clothes torn to shreds. His breath came in ragged gasps, hands trembling from exhaustion.

The masked attacker walked slowly toward him, cold eyes locked on the struggling boy like one would study a pitiful insect.

Then he laughed—a short, dry, scornful laugh.

"So this is all a student of Tinh Van Academy is capable of?"

There was no rage in his voice. No urgency.

Only… disappointment.

The masked man said nothing more. He stepped forward and suddenly reached out, gripping Hao Thien by the neck and lifting him clean off the ground.

"Kh–!"

Hao Thien gasped, his hands clawing at the man's arm as his legs kicked helplessly in the air. His breath caught in his throat, chest tightening as though every muscle was being crushed from the inside out.

"I expected more from the so-called prestigious Tinh Van Academy…"

The man shook his head slightly, his voice dripping with disdain, as if speaking to a child who had barely learned to walk.

"Just a bunch of pampered weaklings hiding in their ivory tower. You can't even take a single real hit."

But Hao Thien didn't react the way the man had expected.

Despite his face turning pale from lack of oxygen, despite the tremors racking his body, Hao Thien's eyes never looked away from his attacker.

No rage. No panic. No plea for mercy.

Just a blank, hollow stare—Soulless.

Hao Thien looked up, his eyes glowing a deep crimson, locking onto the masked man who was still struggling in panic within the illusion. His voice rang out low—not loud, but cold enough to send chills down one's spine:

"The one who must die… is you."

At that very moment, his gaze turned completely red, glowing like molten lava on the verge of eruption. On his forehead, the third eye opened once again—this time, not just an illusion, but a reality that bent the world itself.

The masked man froze.

The illusory space shifted once more.

He was bound tightly to the black crucifix, but this time, in front of him… was a giant black wolf.

Its fur was jet black like the night. Its eyes gleamed fiercely, full of savagery. Its mouth was filled with razor-sharp fangs, long like blades, dripping with thick, dark liquid that fell to the ground. With each step it took, the earth trembled, and the air thickened as if freezing solid.

"No… NO…! This is an illusion! It's just—"

"GRỪAARR!!!"

The black wolf roared and leapt forward in a flash—

"Chomp!"

Its jaws sank deep into his neck.

A moment later, his head had already fallen, rolling across the ground of the illusion, his eyes still wide open, frozen in panic that hadn't yet faded.

…

In reality—

The masked man's body jolted. His eyes rolled back.

Then he collapsed to the ground like a soulless corpse, showing no signs of life.

The wind in the forest quieted. The space fell into an eerie stillness.

Hao Thien stood there, his eyes still burning red, a breeze rustling through his disheveled hair. The third eye on his forehead slowly closed…

As if it had never existed at all.

The red glow in Hao Thien's eyes gradually faded, and the third eye on his forehead slowly closed, as if it had never existed. He stood motionless among the trees, his breathing heavy, eyes blankly fixed on the empty space ahead.

His body trembled slightly—not out of fear… but because the aftershocks of the power just now were still faintly coursing through every muscle and tendon—like something wild, quietly awakening from deep within his soul.

"…I… have to return to the academy…"

Hao Thien murmured, his steps slow and heavy as he made his way toward the faint light of the academy in the distance. Each step dragged as if burdened by exhaustion and unease.

Suddenly—

"That power just now… it came from the Spirit Seal of the Ancient Realm, didn't it?"

A clear voice rang out through the quiet forest mist, like a drop of water falling onto a still lake, snapping Hao Thien's mind back to clarity.

Startled, he turned his head.

Standing silently in the clearing between the trees was a young girl. Her white dress fluttered gently in the breeze, her long hair flowing naturally down her back, shimmering under the moonlight.

Her eyes were calm and deep, as if they held an entire silent sky, reflecting the stunned figure of Hao Thien gazing back at her.

Hao Thien froze slightly, his eyes filled with a mix of surprise and confusion.

It was… Hoang Da Nguyet.

That girl — someone he had only met twice before, fleetingly, like a passing breeze — now stood in the misty forest as if she had been waiting for this very moment.

Da Nguyet stepped forward gently, her voice clear and calm in the stillness, yet carrying an unmistakable seriousness:

"Hao Thien… the academy is in great danger right now."

She looked up, meeting his gaze.

"The ones attacking… they're not just after the academy. They're looking for you."

A cold wind drifted through the trees.

"You should leave." she added, her eyes wavering slightly, as if hiding something.

"If you stay… the consequences won't fall on you alone."

Hao Thien frowned slightly, his eyes still locked on Da Nguyet. A brief silence passed between them, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the wind.

"If I run…" he said quietly, voice low and calm,

"…then where am I supposed to go?"

He looked up at the dark sky above the canopy.

"In this new world… I have nowhere to return to."

His voice didn't sound desperate—just honest. A plain truth, spoken like someone who had long realized he didn't belong anywhere in this ever-changing world.

—

At that very moment — at Tinh Van Academy.

Explosions echoed through the air, waves of energy clashing against the barrier, shaking the ground beneath. Smoke and bursts of light lit up the sky in all directions.

The Supervisors were fighting with everything they had. Every strike was precise and powerful, but against the overwhelming numbers and frightening coordination of the attackers, the tide was beginning to turn.

"Don't let them reach the academy's core!"

One Supervisor shouted, stepping back after blocking a direct blow. Blood dripped from his arm onto the stone floor, but his eyes remained filled with determination.

The attackers — most masked, dressed in black cloaks — didn't utter a word. They fought like they were programmed: fast, brutal, relentless, and seemingly tireless.

The pressure on the defenders was growing heavier by the second.

The battle was tipping in the enemy's favor.

But just as everything seemed about to collapse —

"BOOM!"

A single sound rang out, full of force. It wasn't deafening, but it carried a strange weight—like it struck directly at everyone's willpower.

Immediately, all the attackers froze.

Some instinctively stepped back. Others stopped mid-strike, turning their heads to scan their surroundings in alarm.

No one knew where the sound had come from — but it was strong enough to halt even a force that had been overwhelming just moments ago.

For a brief second, the chaos fell into silence.

The battlefield was caught in a strange pause.

And then, every eye turned in the same direction.