One by one, the students took their turns. Some managed to produce only a faint glow, others failed completely, even snuffing out the candles on their tables. The classroom was filled with nervous laughter and sighs of frustration.
When Caelum's name was called, Magister Valerius tapped the altar.
"Caelum Dominic… step forward. Show us."
Caelum rose slowly. His hands trembled as he lifted his palm. Taking a deep breath, he spoke the words he had learned:
"In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti… Fiat Lux."
Nothing happened.
Silence filled the room. Only the sound of breathing and faint whispers among the students. Malik lowered his eyes, sympathy on his face. Shen observed sharply, his expression unreadable.
Caelum tried again, louder this time:
"Fiat Lux!"
Once more—nothing. His hand remained empty, and his chest felt as though something heavy was pressing against him, blocking the words from bearing fruit.
Magister Valerius arched a brow. "Curious… it seems as though you are restraining something far greater."
Caelum bowed his head, shame creeping in. "I… I'm sorry, Master, I—"
Suddenly, his chest convulsed with a violent pulse. Heat spread through his veins, his vision swam. Then—voices. Whispering. Not the holy words of the Latin prayer, but something heavier, darker, echoing within his skull:
"Caelum Dominic… dominus inter lucem et tenebras…"
(The lord between light and darkness…)
Gasps erupted across the room as from Caelum's body burst both blinding light and shadowed flame. One hand shone with pure white radiance, the other flickered with black fire that trailed smoke. The two opposing forces twisted together, trembling as if ready to explode.
"What is that?!" a student cried.
"He's wielding… both powers at once?!"
Valerius's eyes widened. He strode forward and slammed his staff into the ground. Golden light surged outward, containing the chaotic energy.
"Stop, child!" he commanded. "Do not let them collide!"
Caelum screamed, his body shaking violently. The light and the shadow flared, then collapsed in a burst that snuffed out every candle in the room.
Darkness fell. Only Caelum's ragged breathing could be heard.
When the candles reignited, every gaze in the classroom was fixed on him—some in awe, some in terror. Malik's jaw hung open. Shen's eyes narrowed, his expression hard to read.
Magister Valerius lowered his head slightly, his tone filled with both caution and curiosity.
"It seems… the prophecy was true after all."
After the incident in class, Caelum was summoned by a black-robed officer bearing a crimson cross on his chest.
"Caelum Dominic, follow me. The Head of Academia wishes you to find calm in the holy place."
Not to the dining hall, nor to the headmaster's office. The officer led him instead to the castle's chapel, a towering structure with stained-glass windows glowing in the evening light. Incense hung heavy in the air.
Caelum walked slowly to the altar. He knelt at the prayer bench, bowing his head and clasping his hands.
"Father… what is happening to me? I only want to learn like the others…"
Silence. Only the sound of his own heart.
Then—thud… scrape… thud. Heavy footsteps echoed between the pews. A faint shriek followed, sharp and inhuman.
Caelum's breath quickened. He opened his eyes—and across the altar, half-hidden by candle shadows, stood a gaunt demon, skin black as ash, eyes burning crimson. In its arms squirmed a grotesque childlike figure with a swollen head and hollow eyes: a tuyul.
The demon grinned at him.
"The child of the exorcists' bloodline… at last, I've found you."
Caelum tried to step back, but his body froze. Heat surged through his wrist. He looked down—there, on his skin, a glowing circle etched itself into existence, rotating slowly. At its edge, a triangle of light emerged, rays bursting outward like a sun.
"What… what is this?" he gasped.
The demon advanced. Candles sputtered out one by one. The chapel grew dark.
Suddenly—words erupted from Caelum's lips, not learned, not memorized, but carried by some deeper voice within:
"Exsurge, lumen Dei… expelle tenebras! In nomine Christi!"
Light exploded from the circle on his wrist, forming a radiant cross that shot toward the demon.
The demon screamed, its body seared by the brilliance. The tuyul disintegrated into black smoke.
With a guttural roar, the creature shrieked:
"No… impossible! The Seal… reborn?!"
And then—BOOM!—it vanished in a burst of shadow.
Caelum collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. His hand trembled violently, the circle on his wrist fading to leave a faint ancient mark carved into his skin.
Silence returned to the chapel. Only his hammering heartbeat remained.
"The Seal? Reborn?" he whispered, disoriented. "What does it mean… for me?"
That night, the dining hall of the dormitory echoed with laughter and chatter. Plates of warm bread, steaming meat stew, and goblets of watered wine filled the long tables. Yet Caelum sat in silence, staring blankly at his untouched meal.
The image of the demon carrying the pale child-creature haunted him. Its shriek, the circle burning on his wrist, the sudden burst of light—it all replayed endlessly in his mind.
"Caelum, aren't you eating?" Malik asked, puzzled.
"I… I'm not hungry," Caelum murmured. He rose from his seat, leaving the food behind.
Shen only cast a sidelong glance, his sharp eyes unreadable, as if he sensed something Caelum was hiding.
Inside the dorm room, Caelum sat on his bed. His gaze fell again on his wrist. The faint trace of a circle was still there—etched like an ancient mark upon his skin.
"What's happening to me…?" he whispered.
He lay back, forcing his eyes shut, but sleep carried him elsewhere.