The air hummed with raw energy, every breath Mira took laced with the lingering power of Fengrion's awakening. The ground beneath her trembled, the sheer weight of his presence pressing down like an invisible force.
She barely had time to process what had just happened when she felt it—
A shift in the wind.
The elders of Artemis Academy had arrived.
Through shimmering portals, eight powerful figures descended, their robes billowing like storm clouds as they landed in formation. Each one radiated an aura so dense it made the air vibrate.
At the forefront stood Elder Veena Dawnblade, her golden robe glistening with embedded runes, eyes sharp and unwavering. Her gaze flicked from Mira to Fengrion, her expression unreadable. "Who dares disturb the sacred balance of Artemis?" Her voice cut through the air like a sword, steady and controlled, but the undertone of power was unmistakable.
Beside her, Elder Ragnor Shadowcrest, a towering figure clad in deep violet, folded his arms across his broad chest. His gaze was heavy, his very presence suffocating. "That presence…" he muttered, his voice a low rumble. "It should have remained sealed."
The moment the words left his lips, a low, bone-deep growl filled the air.
Fengrion's eyes snapped toward them.
A wave of heat pulsed outward, scorching the ground beneath his massive paws. But his fury wasn't directed at the elders. It was locked onto one man.
A man with silver-white hair and piercing emerald-green eyes—his figure standing calm and unmoved in the face of an immortal beast's wrath.
Lucian Voltaris.
The Grand Immortal.
For the first time, Mira saw a flicker of something new in Fengrion's golden eyes.
It was not just anger.
It was pain.
"YOU."
The single word shook the mountains.
Lucian did not react.
He stood there, his emerald eyes calm as ever, as if time itself did not dare touch him.
Fengrion's flames flared wildly, his claws digging into the earth, his massive body coiling with restrained fury. The chains around his limbs rattled, the magic binding them flickering under his sheer rage.
"YOU SEALED ME AWAY FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS!"
The sky cracked with thunder.
Mira flinched as an unseen force rippled through the air, making even the elders stiffen.
Lucian finally moved. He let out a slow exhale, his expression never changing. "It was the only way."
"THE ONLY WAY?!" Fengrion bared his fangs, his flames now an uncontrollable inferno. "YOU KNOW WHY I FOUGHT. WHY I STOOD BY HER SIDE!"
Lucian's expression remained unreadable. But his voice was quieter when he spoke. "I know."
Fengrion's roar split the sky. The sheer force of it sent shockwaves rolling across the ground, cracks spider-webbing beneath him.
"THEN WHY? WHY DID YOU NOT COME FOR ME?!"
The world froze.
The elders did not move.
The Seven Devils barely breathed.
Lucian's emerald eyes flickered—just for a second. A hint of something heavy, something burdened by the weight of time.
"Because you would not have listened."
Fengrion's growl softened, but his eyes did not.
"I would have fought until the end."
Lucian nodded. "And you would have died."
A terrible silence settled between them. The kind only two old warriors could understand.
For the first time since his release, Fengrion hesitated.
His flames dimmed—not in weakness, but in pain.
Lucian's gaze lowered for a fraction of a second. "Maya would not have wanted that."
The heat in the air wavered.
Mira watched, frozen, as something changed in Fengrion's expression. It wasn't rage anymore. It was grief.
A grief that had waited ten thousand years.
But then, Fengrion turned toward her.
His massive head lowered, golden eyes piercing into her.
Mira's breath caught.
His next words sent a chill down her spine.
"She is not my master."
She barely had time to process it before Fengrion spoke again.
"Not yet, at least."
A heavy silence followed.
It was Elder Seraphis Voltaris—Lucian's own descendant—who finally broke it. He stepped forward, his dark cloak billowing behind him, his golden eyes sharp and calculating. "Grand Immortal." His voice was careful. "Explain."
Lucian exhaled, turning to the gathered elders. "The War Goddess' beast has returned to its master."
The reaction was immediate.
The air rippled with shock. The elders exchanged sharp glances, their expressions ranging from disbelief to deep contemplation.
Elder Aria Aerovault, a striking woman with silver eyes and a staff imbued with wind energy, narrowed her gaze. "That's impossible."
Elder Magnus Brightflare, a broad-shouldered mage with hair as red as fire, rubbed his chin.
Elder Kael Aquaelis gripped his staff tighter, his ocean-blue robes flowing like liquid, eyes filled with unspoken thoughts.
But Mira… Mira could only hear the sound of her own heartbeat.
Fengrion had called her not his master.
Not yet.
Lucian's gaze lingered on her before he turned, his emerald robes sweeping behind him.
"This is not yet the time for answers."
His voice was final, a statement that silenced even the elders.
But before leaving, he locked eyes with Mira one last time.
And with a voice that only she could hear, he murmured:
"Your presence changes everything."
Then, just like that, he was gone.
Mira let out a shaky breath she didn't know she had been holding.
She could feel it.
Even as the tension settled, even as the elders and the Seven Devils processed what had just transpired—
This was only the beginning.