The laboratory was located in the west wing of the academy, directly opposite the classrooms and training grounds. With the break already halfway over, Itekan and Itoyea broke into a sprint.
Upon arrival, they immediately tried picking the lock—no luck. They attempted the windows next, but those didn't budge either.
"Stand back. Let me try something," Itekan said, stepping forward. He whispered an incantation and his form melted into shadow. Grabbing Itoyea's shoulder, he enveloped them both in darkness and slipped through the narrow gaps along the doorframe.
To his surprise, it worked. They emerged inside the lab, shadows stretching before them as they reformed.
"Nice," Itoyea breathed, brushing off the phantom chill.
They didn't waste a second. Pulling out the instruction list from the letter, they split up and began gathering the necessary equipment.
After a few minutes, they assembled everything: an SE conduit designed to absorb energy from blood, a vial of blood from a Chimera Ant Queen, and another conduit for direct energy infusion.
The process was long and delicate. By the time they were done, sweat clung to their foreheads and the classroom bell had already rung twice.
"We missed our next class," Itoyea groaned, checking the time.
"It's Tuesday, right? That means… physical training and then SE reconstruction," he muttered, then his eyes widened.
"Oh no—"
"We just missed Professor Tedorinzu's class," both boys gasped in unison.
Just then, footsteps echoed down the hallway outside the lab.
"Ohhh, sheet!" Itekan cursed under his breath, eyes darting around for an exit.
***
"Remember—not a word when he's talking. Gods hate that. And don't do that creepy smile—no one likes it. Also, for the love of creation, stop picking your nose—it's disgusting. And if we're given seats, wait till he sits first, okay? A-and—" Aitken rambled anxiously.
"Okay! Okay! I've got it. You've said this a gazillion times!" Larriu groaned, dragging his feet as they walked down the gold-lined corridor.
Their angelic escort, the silent guard ahead of them, paid no attention to their chatter and kept walking. Their journey to the Heavens had been surreal—bordering on madness.
The gates of Heaven had only been opened after a full week of blood sacrifices. They were assigned a guardian angel not to protect them from others—but from Heaven itself. The raw purity of SE here was so overwhelming it could shatter their SS and drive them mad—or worse.
Even now, they weren't going to witness the true form of the god Jakari. Not even an avatar of that form. What awaited them was a projection—an echo of an echo. But even that was enough to demand reverence.
The only reason they remained conscious this far into Heaven was because of the guardian angel's grace, a divine buffer shielding them from reality's crushing weight.
As they walked through the golden gates, they didn't notice the shadow that slipped in behind them. A man who had lost everything—his love, his title, his power—all because of one legend: Carpathia.
They didn't notice Fadex.
And even if they had, they would've wondered—why isn't he vaporizing? How is someone without any SE surviving in a realm that should rip his body apart?
But that was the thing. Fadex had no SE. Nothing to burn, nothing to overload. The very thing that made him broken was now his only protection.
He had been watching them since they arrived—since the first ritual. He recognized them immediately. How could he not? The cloaks. The tattoos under the left eye. The unmistakable signs of the Apostles of Death.
He knew them well. He used to be someone—one of the elite. A high-ranking member of the Chrisom Knights. Until he made the gravest mistake of his life:
He underestimated a legend.
He underestimated Carpathia.
The consequences were total. His comrades cut him off. His fiancée left him. His position was stripped away. His cultivation destroyed.
But the true devastation? Carpathia had done the unthinkable. He had annihilated Fadex's SS. A wound no one could ever heal. Without an SS, there was no cultivation, no power, no future.
Only rage remained.
Rage... and hate.
Fadex had sworn a blood oath. Justice—or vengeance—would be his. He would bring ruin to Carpathia, to everything that man held dear.
A few weeks ago, he had a vision. In it, he saw the two Apostles journey to the wilderness—his wilderness. A voice spoke to him, whispering that they would lead the path to vengeance. That they were the key.
When he saw them arrive, his heart ignited for the first time in years. They began their rituals. He watched. He waited. His purpose finally clear. His revenge finally near.
Now, as he followed them—hidden within the glowing land of gold and ruby—he knew this was fate.
His story wasn't over.
It was only just beginning.
Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)