The aftermath of the duel left the Academy in a state of confused mockery. To the elite, Ken Vaelstron was nothing more than a statistical anomaly—the luckiest failure in history. But as Ken navigated the high-vaulted corridors of the "Library of Whispers," he knew the eyes on his back were no longer just dismissive. Some, like the Architect, were now forensic.
The Library of Whispers was a vertical cathedral of data, stretching hundreds of floors into the apex of the floating island. Here, physical books were rare artifacts; most information was stored in "Memory Shards," floating crystalline fragments that required a specific mana-frequency to unlock.
Ken moved through the stacks, his head bowed, appearing to browse the low-tier historical archives. In reality, he was heading for the restricted "Paleo-Tech" section.
"You're in the wrong section, Bronze-wing."
The voice was like the chime of a silver bell—perfectly modulated, yet devoid of warmth. Ken stopped and turned.
Standing by a floating console was Elara Vance, the younger sister of the framed Kaelen Vance and the Academy's highest-ranked "Data-Seer." She wore the platinum-trimmed robes of the Research Division. Her eyes were an unsettling, luminous violet, a side effect of her rare Ocular-Circuit—an artificial mana-sight that allowed her to see the flow of information as physical strands.
"I... I was looking for the maps of the old world," Ken stammered, his eyes darting to the floor. "The Professor said I needed to catch up on geography."
Elara stepped closer, her violet eyes narrowing as she scanned Ken. To her sight, Ken was a blur of low-energy static, a "quiet" spot in the room that felt almost intentional.
"My brother is being interrogated by the Inquisitors because of a 'ghost' in the system," Elara said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "The Architect thinks Kaelen is a thief. But I looked at the logs. The mana-signature wasn't his. it was a perfect copy—a digital mask."
She leaned in, her gaze piercing Ken's "weak" facade. "There are only three people in this Academy capable of that kind of encryption. Two are professors. The third is a ghost. So tell me, Prince Ken, why does the air around you feel like a void?"
Ken felt the temperature in the room drop. Elara was dangerous. She didn't rely on raw power like Dorian; she relied on the truth of the code.
"I don't know what a void feels like," Ken said, his voice trembling slightly. "I just want to find my book."
Before Elara could press further, a massive shadow fell over them. General Marcus Thorne, the Academy's Head of Security and Isabella's father, walked down the aisle. He was a man built like a fortress, his armor humming with the power of a Grade-S core.
"Student Vance," the General barked. "Your brother's hearing is about to reconvene. The Architect requires your 'Seer' testimony."
Elara stiffened, her violet eyes flashing one last look of intense suspicion at Ken before she bowed. "Of course, General."
As they walked away, Ken let out a long, shaky breath. Too close, he thought. Elara can see the silence. I need to recalibrate the Null-core's output to mimic actual background noise.
He reached the section he was looking for—a dusty, neglected corner dedicated to the "Seven Pillars." He reached out and touched a dark, unpolished stone shard.
"Selene," he whispered into his comms. "I'm at the terminal. Elara Vance is a problem. She's a Seer. She nearly saw through the mask."
"I know," Selene's voice crackled, sounding distracted. "I'm already digging into her Ocular-Circuit specs. I can feed her a false-positive loop the next time she looks at you. But forget her for a moment. I've located the Second Relic. It's not in a vault this time."
"Where is it?"
"It's embedded in the heart of the Aegis-Golems. The ones they use for the Mid-Term 'Gauntlet' exam. To get it, you can't sneak in. You have to destroy the Golem in front of the entire faculty without showing a single drop of your true power."
Ken stared at the dark stone shard. The "Lazy Prince" would have to face a mechanical titan designed to crush Silver-rank squads, and he would have to do it while appearing to fail.
"A technical victory," Ken murmured, a cold light returning to his eyes. "Just like the duel."
End of Chapter 8.