(The Sanctum of the New Dawn)
Deep within a fortified compound hidden from the mundane world, the air was still and cold. The room was spartan, lit only by the hellish glow of a massive, rune-engraved brazier in which blue flames danced silently. In the center, a man sat on a throne of polished obsidian, his features obscured by shadow.
Before him, two figures knelt. One was a mountain of a man, his musculature straining against the void-black fabric of his Order coat. A tattoo of a half-sun dawning behind a mountain was etched in red onto his shaved scalp. This was Ruger, Agent #2, whose strength could shatter enchanted stone.
The other was a woman, lithe and poised as a stalking panther. Her hair was cut short and sharp, and the same red insignia was tattooed elegantly on the side of her neck. Her eyes, the colour of jade, held a cold, analytical sharpness. This was Jade, Agent #1, a master of binding and sealing magics.
"The signal was brief, but its resonance was unmistakable," Jade reported, her voice crisp and devoid of emotion. "A massive, uncontrolled surge of malevolent blood-shadow magic. The signature matches the one from the London incident a decade ago. It originated from the Tokohashi Academy grounds."
The man on the throne steepled his fingers. "Tokohashi... Gregory Frostvale's fortress. He fancies himself a purist, a guardian against the very corruption he now harbors." A low, humourless chuckle escaped him. "The irony is delectable."
Ruger spoke, his voice a low rumble. "The target is there. Do we mobilize? We can be at their gates in an hour."
"Patience, Ruger," the man said. His voice was smooth, cultured, but carried an undercurrent of immense, barely contained power. "The target has eluded us for ten years. A few more hours will not matter. Frostvale will be... apprehensive. He will likely attempt to handle the problem himself. This will make him predictable. We will let him soften the target for us."
He rose from his throne, stepping into the light of the blue flames. He was tall, with a familiar sharp jawline and piercing eyes. But where Barry's hair was black, this man's was a shock of pure, stark white. It was the only immediate point of difference in an otherwise eerily similar face.
"Jade, you will lead the extraction team. Use the chaos. Ruger, you will ensure our path remains open. The Academy's defences are formidable, but they are not prepared for us."
He walked to the brazier and stared into the flames, his expression hardening into a mask of cold envy and bitter resentment.
"Soon... very soon..." he whispered, the words a venomous promise. "I'll avenge you... Mother."
The blue flames flickered, and for a moment, they seemed to form the shape of a screaming, tormented woman's face.
---
(Tokohashi Academy - Headmaster's Office)
The atmosphere in the frozen office was even colder than usual. Barry stood before Headmaster Frostvale's desk, his energy still sapped, his body aching. Belinda stood slightly beside and in front of him, a defiant glint in her newly thawed eyes.
"...an egregious breach of trust and security!" Frostvale boomed, slamming his fist on the ice desk, causing fissures to spiderweb across its surface. "Harboring a user of forbidden magic! Unleashing it on the academy grounds! And you!" His furious gaze snapped to Belinda. "Consorting with it! Do you have any idea what he is?!"
"He is a person, Father!" Belinda shot back, her voice trembling not with fear, but with anger. "His name is Barry! And he saved my life!"
"He is an abomination! A walking violation of the natural order! The magic he wields is a plague! It consumed his bloodline and it will consume this academy if it is not purged!" Frostvale's eyes were wide, a fanatical light burning within them. "My own daughter, my greatest achievement, my purest legacy... brainwashed by this... this filth!"
Barry finally spoke, his voice quiet but firm, all weakness hidden behind a wall of reclaimed stoicism. "I have never hurt anyone who didn't try to hurt me or someone else first."
"Your existence is an act of violence against magic itself!" the Headmaster roared. "I should have known. I felt the anomaly the moment you arrived. I will not make the same mistake I did ten years ago. I will not let sentiment stay my hand."
He pointed a trembling finger at Barry. "You are expelled. And you will not be handed over to the mundane authorities. You will be remanded to the custody of the Order of the New Dawn for immediate... purification."
The words hung in the air, heavy and final. Barry's blood ran cold. The Order. The gallows. It was all ending exactly as he'd always feared.
Belinda's face paled. "Father, no! You can't! You know what they do! They don't 'purify' anyone! They—"
"SILENCE!" Frostvale's voice shook the room. "I am saving you from yourself! Guards!"
The ice doors burst open, and two hulking members of the academy's security force, their robes shimmering with protective enchantments, stepped in.
But before they could take a single step toward Barry, the entire academy was rocked by a deafening BOOM!
The ice in the windows vibrated violently. An earsplitting alarm began to blare—the invasion siren.
Frostvale's head snapped up, his personal fury instantly replaced by institutional alarm. "What is the meaning of this?!"
A third guard stumbled into the office, his face ashen. "Headmaster! We're under attack! The perimeter shields are failing! They just... collapsed!"
"Who? Who is it?" Frostvale demanded, already striding toward the door.
The guard's eyes were wide with terror. "It's the Order of the New Dawn, sir. They're here. And they're... they're tearing the academy apart."
The Headmaster froze, his triumphant expression morphing into one of dawning horror. He had been so focused on the snake in his garden, he hadn't seen the wolves at his gate. He had just declared his intention to hand Barry over, and the Order had come to collect. His actions had painted a target on his entire school.
Barry and Belinda exchanged a look of shared understanding. Their personal drama was now a sideshow. They were under siege.
Chaos erupted in the courtyard below. Students and professors ran in panic as figures clad in void-black coats descended from hovering, sun-insignia emblazoned skiffs. They moved with brutal efficiency, neutralizing academy defences with terrifying precision.
Barry, Belinda, and the Headmaster rushed to the now-shattered window. The scene below was one of calculated destruction.
And then Barry saw him.
Moving through the chaos with a predator's grace was a man directing the troops. He wasn't a foot soldier. He was a commander. And as he looked up, his gaze scanning the broken windows of the administration tower, his eyes locked with Barry's.
Time stopped.
It was the man from the alleyway. Older, his face harder, his eyes filled with a cold, professional hatred instead of fanatical zeal. But it was him. The agent who had shot Meli. The man whose death had unleashed Barry's curse.
The agent's lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. He pointed directly at Barry, and then made a slow, deliberate slicing motion across his own throat.
The message was clear. I remember you. And now I'm here to finish the job.
The Headmaster followed Barry's gaze, his face a mask of confusion and fury. "You... you know that agent? They are here for you ?"
Barry didn't answer. The Voice in his head, which had been quiet since the woods, erupted in a frenzy.
"THEY HAVE COME! THE LITTLE SUN-SEEKERS HAVE COME TO CAGE THE NIGHT! SHOW THEM! SHOW THEM ALL THE PRICE OF HUNTING US!"
The countdown was irrelevant now. The fight was here. The time for hiding was over.
Barry turned from the window, his expression grim. He looked at Belinda, then at the stunned Headmaster.
"You wanted to be rid of the abomination," Barry said, his voice low and laced with a terrifying calm. "But it's the only thing that's going to save your academy now."
He pulled his hood up, the shadows in the corner of the room seeming to stretch toward him.
"Belinda," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Stay close."
The siege of Tokohashi had begun. And Barry Crimsonwood was done running.