Steam rose from the small bathing room, filling it with a thin white mist.

Elysia stood beneath the warm stream of water, letting it wash over her bruised skin.

Each droplet stung, tracing the trails of pain across her back, shoulders, and arms.

Her hands trembled as she reached for the side of the tub, steadying herself.

The battle replayed again and again inside her head — Ethan’s magic surging toward her, the ground splitting beneath her feet, and finally, the collapse of her body into darkness.

She let out a slow, heavy breath.

"Pathetic," she whispered to herself. "I was too weak again."

"And that’s what he did to Jin and Cecelia too"

When the water turned icy, she finally shut it off.

She grabbed a towel, dried her body, and walked to her bed without any clothes.

The moonlight shone softly through the curtains, bathing her pale skin in silver light.

Elysia looked at the small vial of healing potion resting on her table.

It glimmered faintly — a single sip could erase the pain, close her wounds, and restore her strength. But she didn’t move toward it.

Her hand clenched into a fist.

"No," she muttered. "I won’t drink it."

She sat down on the bed, her hair still wet, droplets sliding down her neck.

"These wounds... they should hurt," she said under her breath, staring at her reflection in the mirror across the room.

"Because they need to feel it too... those who hurt me, those who doubted me... and the part of me that hesitated."

She lay down, naked, with her hair spread like dark silk over the pillow.

As she closed her eyes, a faint pain pulsed from every wound, a reminder of the battle — of her weakness.

"I’ll surpass them all," she whispered. "Even if it breaks me."

Her eyes slowly closed, and silence filled the room.

Meanwhile, far across the academy grounds, in a quiet dorm lit only by a small lamp, Kael sat at his desk with his map spread before him.

The dorm was silent except for the faint scratching sound of his pencil and the flicker of the oil lamp flame.

The fragment he got in Elaris City.

It looked ancient — the edges burned and cracked, and faint symbols shimmered when the light touched it.

Kael leaned closer, brushing dust off the surface with his fingertips.

The parchment was thicker than normal, lined with runic etchings he couldn’t read.

But as he poured a bit of mana into it, faint golden lines emerged, forming a partial map.

A small, faint route appeared — but it wasn’t one he recognized.

"This... wasn’t in the original novel," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "What is this path?"

He compared it to the academy’s general world map on his wall. The route started near the southern border of Elaris but curved into the unmarked forest regions, then suddenly stopped — as if cut off.

"It’s only a third..." Kael realized. "That means there are two more fragments to be unlocked."

"I hopeI won’t have to fight for that. For the next fragment, I will plan accordingly as soon as possible".

He leaned back on his chair, thinking deeply.

In the original story, the fragments were not mentioned and no one knows it’s power, even the author hasn’t written about it.

Now, Kael had one in his hand.

He picked up the fragment again, holding it toward the lamp’s light. Faint inscriptions ran across the bottom edge, written in a language unfamiliar to him.

"Runic... maybe pre-celestial," he guessed. "If I could find a rune specialist, I could decode this."

He paused, his gaze distant.

"But that would draw attention. If anyone knew I had this..."

He remembered what the merchant in Elaris City had said before selling it to him:

"This piece ain’t just old paper, boy. People have died for it. Handle it with care."

Kael exhaled. "Died for a map piece... What’s so special about it?"

He tapped his finger against the table, thinking.

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

Kael leaned closer, studying the symbol at the top of the map — a circular mark resembling an eye with wings.

He had seen that mark once before — carved into the ruins beneath the temple of Virelton, where he found the Sealed Box.

His expression darkened.

"That same mark again..."

He ran his hand through his hair, trying to make sense of it all.

"Why is everything linking back to those ruins? The box, the dark orb, and now this..."

His reflection flickered faintly on the map’s surface — his own eyes glowing slightly under the lamplight.

Ever since the orb fused with him, Kael sometimes saw faint threads of dark energy curling from his skin.

Not visible to normal eyes, but he could sense them.

He clenched his hand. "Whatever this power is... it’s changing me."

The air around the map began to hum softly. Kael’s eyes widened as the golden lines started to shift and connect, forming new shapes.

"What the—"

He quickly infused a bit more mana.

The lines responded, glowing brighter. A faint voice — like a whisper carried by the wind — brushed against his mind.

’...Find the others... before they awaken...’

Kael froze.

"Who’s there!?"

No one answered. The room fell silent again.

The glow faded, and the lines on the map dimmed to their normal color.

The mysterious voice was gone, leaving behind only confusion and unease.

Kael’s pulse was racing.

"That voice... Was it from the map?"

He leaned back in his chair, breathing slowly.

Whatever this map was, it wasn’t normal. It was reacting to mana — and maybe even to him specifically.

"I can’t show this to anyone. But what about Selena?" he said, folding the fragment carefully and slipping it inside a reinforced case.

"I need to find the other two parts first."

He stared at the moon through his window. "But where...?"

His mind drifted back to the novel’s Chapters — the ones that described ancient ruins scattered across the continent.

There were mentions of two sealed sanctuaries — The Vault of Echoes and The Crystal Vale.

Both were rumored to contain something "left by the demon god."

"If I follow the pattern on this fragment... the next location should be near Crystal Vale but i am not sure," he murmured.

He marked a point on the map with ink.

"I’ll start from there."

Then he leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment.

He hadn’t realized how late it was — the faint sound of the academy’s clock tower echoed in the distance, marking midnight.