[Headmaster's Office – Dawn]
The soft hum of protective barriers filled the room. The Headmaster, Elric Valenhart, stared at the sword embedded in the floor—Ashen Vow, once wielded by the strongest battle mage humanity ever knew: Hajun Ardyn.
Now reborn as Lohan.
And that sword had resonated again.
Elric clenched his jaw, his memories drifting back to fifty years ago—when he had stood at the edge of a crumbling tower, soaked in blood, watching Hajun fall before the wrath of the gods.
> "You were more than a friend…" he whispered.
"You were our shield. Our hope."
A hidden drawer opened beneath his desk.
Inside—an old, sealed letter addressed in Hajun's handwriting.
Unopened.
Until now.
---
[Forest Outside the Academy]
Justine knelt in front of a divine messenger—this time, a Judge-Class Agent of the Celestial Throne. His golden eyes bore into her.
> "You were given one task. Kill him."
> "And I failed," Justine replied, her voice calm. "Because I wanted answers."
The Judge raised his hand. Divine fire gathered at his fingertips.
> "You hesitate again, and you fall with him."
But before he could strike—
A ripple of divine pressure burst forth.
Justine's own aura flared, corrupted and wild, not the pure blessing of a god—but something twisted.
> [Skill Activated – Forbidden Domain: False Divinity]
The Judge stepped back, startled.
> "You… you're no longer fully one of us."
Justine's smile was cruel now.
> "No. I'm something worse."
---
[Academy Courtyard – Noon]
Winter sat under the ancient frost tree, hands trembling. The awakening had left her exhausted—her core was still unstable.
A girl approached. Not a student. Not even someone from the school.
Clad in robes marked by runes long forgotten.
> "You carry the blood of the Iceborne Dragon," the woman said.
"Join us. We can stabilize your power—and give you revenge."
Winter stared at the stranger.
> "Who are you?"
> "The Frostweaver Sect. Exiled by the gods. Feared by the clans."
> "And you want me?"
> "You're the key to our return."
---
[Hidden Archives Beneath the Academy]
Elric lit the final seal. The stone door opened.
Inside was a shrine—dedicated not to a god, but to a man.
To Hajun Ardyn.
> "You predicted this. That you'd return."
He laid the opened letter before the shrine.
The words made his heart freeze.
> "If you're reading this, I've failed. But if I return—don't stop me. No matter what I become."
> – Hajun
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