Reborn as the bastard son of a Duke

In the dim corridors that were beyond the academy, they were pulsing faintly with mana conduits — twisting steams of energy that were keeping the barrier strong.

In a far away place, away from the training hall. It was deep within the sealed catacombs that was beneath the mountain, that's when a shadow started to shift.

There was a faint shimmer that was rippling through the darkness and the was a silhouette of a very tall figure that materialized.

His body was cloaked in black mist, and his face hidden behind a cracked obsidian mask, at the forehead of the mask was etched with the single of a single weeping eye.

The figure started to step into a faint glow of a crimson crystal.

The crystal started to pulse as it was connecting to something, or someone far away from here.

From that crystal, a distorted voice was muttering, the voice was low and it was layered with static.

Even though they have advanced technology to and mama phones that they would contact people from a far, they preferred to do this in order to hide any traces of their activities.

"Report."

The voice said, it was commanding, low and cold.

Then the masked figure clad in a shadow cloak knelt down.

"The observation is complete. Target known as Adam, exiled from the Dragonis family. From previous observations awakened space affinity, and now has awakened ice affinity along with that and his synchronization is almost perfect."

He passed for a second before continuing:

"He was also displaying adaptive combat instincts that surpassed his peers, it's almost unreal. The final strike that took down the final boss... it was far beyond what I've ever seen before."

The voice at the other end paused, only static was heard.

"Describe it."

"He area where he stroked the Cerberus collapsed into a frozen void. The mana readings showed temporal distortionm."

There was a long moment of silence, even the masked figure started to get nervous because of the silence. Then it spoke again, but it was quieter, heavier.

"Hm... he seems like a perfect vessel. What about the other targets?"

"The other targets are showing remarkable progress as well. We might have suitable vessels for 'them'." The masked figure said.

The figure lowered his head even further.

"My Lord, should we proceed with retrieval?"

"No." The voice said immediately, it was sharp and deliberate. "This isn't the right time yet, we're still not prepared. They'll notice if we act now... I'm sure Veyra already sensed your presence, and she's probably told hose to."

The figure clad in shadows hesitated to speak. "Yes, she already knows."

There was a low, distorted laugh that came, it was echoing through the crystal.

"She's always the sharp one. Well no matter. This changes nothing."

The crystal flared one more, the light beamed a little to show a faint silhouette on the other end.

It was humanoid, cloaked in a deep crimson light, there was a faint crown made of shadow that hovered above its head. This was the leader of Kyrexis.

"Just continue to observe. Don't engage, if Adam grows too fast, then we'll bring him to test. His power and actions might connect us to that 'Woman'."

The masked figure made a respectful bow that was filled with reverence. "At your command."

Then the connection cutt off from the end end, the crimson glow faded. There was a heavy silence that followed, it was suffocating, but heavy with power.

The masked figure slowly rose as he stepped out the crimson chamber and went through a tunnel.

"Adam von Dragonis, 'Here' child, you've yet to display the powers of your bloodline."

He said his voice was low, calm and heavy:

"The Primordial Dragon... who stopped our masters. We shall have it or erase its last flame."

The masked figure stopped just for a moment and looked up towards the ceiling, as he was below the academy.

"Soon..." He muttered, in a low tone, it was unreadable. Then he showed a wide devilish grin as he took off his mask. "Soon... you'll be the vessel of our 'God'... that is your fate."

The shadows began to shift and swallowed him whole, The figure was gone leaving a heavy silence.

____

In the corridors of Silford Academy they were quiet after the evaluation had ended. Classes came to a close and almost every student was either training or in their dorms resting.

Professor Verya Lysandre was walking very quickly through the silent hall, her expression was calm but there was impatience flickering across her face.

Her aura was restless. Ever since the shadow came she was always cautious ready to fight at any moment but it never came.

She had felt that mana signature, she couldn't forget it. It was an energy that brought devastation anywhere it was found.

They shouldn't be able to infiltrate the academy, or at least they thought.

That mana signature was something dark, ancient and long forgotten.

At the very end of the hall, there was a tall door that was engraved with runes, there was faint barrier around it that dispelled intruders, and also kept talks inside those walls secret.

Veyra raised her hand as the door scanned her mana signature, it recognized her signature and with a low hum it opened instantly.

This was the Headmaster's Office, and two figured were already waiting for her inside.

The first figure was Dave Vorn, a man who had a commanding presence. His hair was silver and had eyes of gold, his calm demeanor filled the entire room. There were mana crystals floating above his desk, each replaying the students evaluation data.

The second figure was the Vice-Headmaster Emily Bifrost, she was leaning against the wall near a book shelf.

Her blue hair and shape eyes gave her a more playfulz unpredictable air, but there was always something shape behind her smirk, it was like a snake waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"Veyra" said Dave. "What's wrong? You looked troubled."

Dave lifted his head. "I heard you were conducting a dungeon survival trail. Don't tell me those first years gave you a headache?"

Veyra ignored the joke, this wasn't the time for that.

She spoke, her tone was cold and steady:

"There was someone else inside the chamber. Someone was watching."

They both looked up to her immediately, the faces filled with caution.

"Explain." Dave said.

Veyra started by taking a deep breath, and exhaled. "During the trial, I was projecting the students progress through a mana relay. It was normal until the final phase took place. That's when I felt a presence, it didn't belong to a student or any of the staff. And this energy didn't register with the Academy's mana system, it was from outside our barrier."

Emily's playful grin instantly faded. "Impossible. Outside the barrier? Unless..."

"Unless the signature was cloaked," Dave finished calmy.

Veyra just nodded and continued. "But something happened when I tried to trace it, the moment I focused on the source, it just disappeared. The only thing it left was a residue of maan, the mana was faint but recognizable. It had demonic frequency, but not the normal kind. It was twisted and tainted, traces of corruption."

Emily straightened on her couch, her voice was shape filled with killing intent.

"Kyrexis."

The name silenced the whole room, the mana vibrated subtly as if responding to it.

Dave just leaned back to his chair. "Are you certain?"

"I don't want to be right either." Veyra admitted with a sigh. "But it matches the signature from the 'Rift Of Tenebral'. The has the same corruption pattern and the same iky resonancem and the strangest part of it all." Her eyes were narrowing slightly. "The shadow was focused heavily on just one student."

Adam," Emily said instantly, she didn't even need to ask.

"Yes," Veyra confirmed. "After their boss fight. I saw the shadows movement, but when I looked closer it was already gone."

Emily just folded her arms, her expression was now serious, she said with a sigh:

"If Kyrexis is now watching him, then that's dangerous. Although he hasn't shown any features belonging to 'Her' yet, the boy is hiding it well but I already suspect they know, but I didn't think they would notice this fast."

Dave exhaled slowly. "We buried they main faction long ago. But if they're now starting to show up, they must be moving through the cracks we left."

They said nothing for a long moment. There was silence in the whole room only the quiet hums of the barrier runes was the only sound.

Finally, Emily spoke once more. "You warmed him right?"

Veyra nodded. "Yeah I did, I told him that he is being watched and that he should be careful. He didn't ask much but I'm sure he must have sensed it as well."

"That's good for now." Dave said in a low tone. "For now we'll place a guardian to watch over him discreetly and the others. Nothing too drastic, we don't want the council to panic or the elves."

Emily just faintly smirked, but there was not humor behind it. "The council was always unseasy about how fast this new generation is growing. When they hear that Kyrexis might be active, they'll prep for another war."

"Precisely why we should stay silent." Dave said was glancing towards her. "For now."

Then he turned his gaze back to Veyra. "Continue monitoring. If the shadow comes back, you have the authorization to engage immediately. But don't kill them unless necessary, we need proof of the mole."

She just bowed slightly. "Understood."

Emily looked at her for a moment. "Veryra, did the seal react when the presence vanished?"

Veyra hesitated. "Yes... I felt the dungeons man fluctuate for a moment. It was the seal below, it pulsed and responded to it."

Dave expression hardened. "The seal!?"

"The same one that contains that beast." She said quietly. "It seems that's also their goal, they are planning to wake it up."

Dave just leaned back in his chair slightly, his eyes were distant but cold. "So it begins."

Emily just sighed softly. "Things are getting hectic, quiet the show were having."

Dave just stood up slowly, he gazed out the window overlooking the academy's grounds, watching the students who were unaware of the storm that was brewing below and above them."

"We'll keep quiet about this," he said in a low tone. "For now we should remain calm. The seal shouldn't be broken.

Veyra nodded the turned and left the room without saying anything else.

The door shut behind her, Dave looked at Emily and said. "Do you think he's ready for the storm that's coming?"

Emily didn't answer right away. She just gazed at the sky, where dark clouds started to gather.

"He has to be," she said. "I'll make sure of it."