The Arcane Aurora Academy was the pinnacle of magical learning, a meeting place for the scions of all great clans. It was here that Kaelan arrived, his entry secured by mysterious means.
And it was here he found them.
Headmistress Seraphina. The Flame Sovereign herself. The piece of her soul she had lost festered, transforming her regret into a mad, obsessive need to find her son. She had taken control of the academy, using its resources to search for him, her once-cold heart now a whirlwind of psychotic guilt and desperate longing. She was more beautiful and more terrifying than ever.
Selene of the Moonfall Clan. The celebrated prodigy. She had everything she ever wanted, but her nights were haunted by the image of a broken boy in a dusty street. Her justification for leaving him felt hollow, replaced by a gnawing, unshakable regret.
Kaelan stood across the grand courtyard, the Black Dragon sealed within a spatial ring. His gaze, cold and analytical, passed over his mother and his former love. A tremor, deep within the icy vault, was instantly crushed.
He was not here to learn. He was here to conquer. To make the strongest woman in the world recognize the son she abandoned. To make the saintess regret the boy she betrayed.
The Demon Sword Emperor had arrived, and his cultivation had only just begun. The game was set, and the pieces—unaware of the predator in their midst—were finally all in one place.