Chapter 13: The Echoes of Submission
The morning following the "Library Incident" broke over the Imperial Zenith Academy not with the usual fanfare of trumpets, but with an eerie, heavy silence. The students who gathered in the dining hall spoke in hushed whispers, their eyes darting toward the empty seats of the Student Council. Usually, Marquess Julian and his peers would be the first to arrive, their presence a symbol of order and noble superiority. Today, the obsidian table remained vacant, and the air felt charged with an invisible electricity.
Cyan Valerian walked into the hall with the same nonchalance he had displayed since his arrival. He was flanked only by Isabella, whose crimson eyes seemed to glow with a hidden secret. As Cyan sat at a commoner's table, a path cleared for him as if he were a plague-bearer. No one dared to speak. No one dared to look him in the eye.
"Master," Isabella leaned in, her voice a soft murmur. "The seeds of fear have sprouted beautifully. Julian has already begun the 'reorganization' of the internal security. By noon, the academy's surveillance will belong to us."
Cyan picked up a silver goblet, swirling the dark liquid inside. "Fear is a powerful tool, Isabella, but it is brittle. To truly rule, we must replace their fear with dependency. They must feel that without me, their world would collapse into chaos."
Suddenly, the heavy doors of the hall swung open. Prince Kaelen entered, his face pale but his expression hardened into a mask of righteous fury. He was no longer wearing his ceremonial robes; he was dressed in full white-and-gold battle armor, the hilt of his holy sword glowing with a faint, pulsing light.
Behind him followed a dozen elite students, the "Sun-Guard," their expressions grim.
Kaelen marched straight to Cyan's table, the sound of his armored boots echoing like hammer blows against the stone floor.
"Cyan Valerian," Kaelen's voice boomed, vibrating with a mana-infused authority. "I spent the night purging your filth from my veins. You think a few parlor tricks and a frightening bodyguard can topple the order of this Empire? You are nothing but a shadow, and shadows vanish when the sun rises."
Cyan didn't even look up from his goblet. "The sun is a dying star, Kaelen. It burns out of desperation. You, on the other hand, burn out of ignorance. Tell me, does your 'Holy Light' still feel warm? Or is it starting to feel... heavy?"
Kaelen's grip on his sword tightened. "Enough! I challenge you to a Duel of Honor. In the Grand Arena, before the entire student body and the Saintess. If I win, you and your 'followers' will be branded as heretics and executed. If you win... which is impossible... I will step down from the Council."
The hall erupted in gasps. A Duel of Honor was a sacred tradition, monitored by the academy's ancient artifacts to ensure no foul play.
Cyan finally looked up, his purple eye flashing with a malicious light. "A duel? How very 'heroic' of you. But I find the stakes a bit... dull. Let's add a condition. When you lose, Kaelen, you will not just step down. You will kneel before me and acknowledge me as your Sovereign in front of your father's banners."
The Prince's face flushed with rage. "Deal. Three hours from now. Do not be late for your execution."
As Kaelen marched out, Isabella turned to Cyan, her brow furrowed. "Master, the Grand Arena is enchanted with 'Holy Purification' runes. It is designed to weaken dark mana. He is luring you into a trap."
Cyan stood up, a cold, predatory smile playing on his lips. "I know. He thinks the arena is his sanctuary. He doesn't realize that I've been waiting for an excuse to corrupt the very foundation of their 'Holy' ground. Lilith!"
From the shadow of a pillar, Lilith materialized, her silver hair flowing like moonlight. "Yes, my King?"
"Is the 'Blight-Core' ready?"
"Ready and waiting, Master," Lilith purred. "I have planted the fragments beneath the arena's ley lines. The moment Kaelen summons his 'Holy Sun,' he will inadvertently trigger the feast."
"Excellent," Cyan said, walking toward the exit. "Let the Saintess know that her presença is mandatory. I want her to watch her champion fall. I want her to feel the moment the Light she worships turns into the poison that kills her hope."
Three hours later, the Grand Arena was packed to capacity. Thousands of students, professors, and even high-ranking Church officials sat in the tiered stone benches. At the center of the arena stood Kaelen, a magnificent figure of gold and light. On the VIP balcony, Servina sat trembling, her eyes fixed on the entrance.
When Cyan entered, the crowd hissed. He was alone, carrying no weapon, wearing only his student uniform. To the spectators, he looked like a lamb walking into a slaughterhouse.
"Begin!" the High Arbiter shouted.
Kaelen didn't hesitate. He drew his sword, and a massive pillar of golden light erupted from his body, soaring toward the sky. "Heaven's Judgment: Solar Flare!"
A scorching wave of holy energy swept across the arena, turning the air into a furnace. The ground beneath Cyan's feet began to glow with purification runes, designed to burn away any trace of corruption.
Cyan stood in the center of the inferno, his hands behind his back. As the golden flames licked at his skin, he didn't scream. He didn't even move.
"Is that all?" Cyan's voice echoed through the roar of the flames, cold and mocking. "You call this light? It's barely a candle in the wind."
Cyan snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, the golden flames turned a sickly, bruised purple. The purification runes on the floor began to bleed black ink, the holy enchantments twisting and groaning as they were forcefully rewritten.
[System Skill Activated: Domain of the Abyssal King.]
The sky above the arena darkened instantly, as if an eclipse had occurred. The "Solar Flare" that Kaelen had summoned didn't dissipate; it curdled. The holy energy was being devoured and spat back out as pure, concentrated corruption.
Kaelen's eyes widened in horror. "My... my mana... it's turning against me! What have you done?!"
"I didn't do this, Kaelen," Cyan said, walking through the black flames as if they were rose petals. "Your own 'righteousness' did. You fed the arena with your mana, and my system simply... changed the recipe. Now, your light belongs to me."
Cyan reached out and grabbed the blade of Kaelen's holy sword with his bare hand. The metal hissed and screamed as the gold turned to rusted iron under Cyan's touch. With a sharp snap, the legendary blade shattered.
Cyan grabbed Kaelen by the throat, lifting the armored Prince off the ground with supernatural strength.
"Look at them, Kaelen," Cyan whispered, gesturing to the horrified crowd and the weeping Saintess. "Look at their 'hero' dangling like a broken toy. This is the truth of your world. The Light didn't fail you. It just found a better Master."
Cyan slammed Kaelen into the ground, the impact shattering the marble floor. He placed his foot on the Prince's chest, leaning down until their faces were inches apart.
"Now," Cyan's voice echoed through the silent arena, amplified by the System. "The deal was... you kneel."
Kaelen struggled, his pride fighting against the overwhelming pressure of the corruption, but his body was no longer his own. Slowly, painfully, his limbs moved against his will. Under the gaze of thousands, the Golden Prince dragged himself up and pressed his forehead against the black, cracked stone at Cyan's feet.
"I... acknowledge... my Sovereign," Kaelen choked out, tears of humiliation hitting the ground.
The silence that followed was the sound of an Empire breaking. On the balcony, Servina collapsed into her seat, knowing that the last shield of the Light had been turned into a stepping stone for the King of Sin.
Cyan looked up at the crowd, his purple eye glowing like a dying star.
"Who's next?" he asked.
No one answered.
The Zenith Academy had been conquered without a single drop of Cyan's own blood being spilled.