Even Felix couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Anything related to an Archetype, whatever form it took, was notoriously difficult to obtain. There was no reliable method to find one. No proven path, formula, or ritual that guaranteed results.
Archetypes were entities shrouded in mystery, existing beyond conventional understanding.
And as a researcher, Felix was painfully aware of that fact.
So far, all he truly knew was that an Archetype represented an entity that governed a specific domain. Like hunger, rage, decay, concepts that were abstract yet terrifyingly real within the Labyrinth.
Over the years, Felix had identified certain combinations of symbols and sigils that indicated the presence of a Dark Archetype fragment.
But that was all.
There were no complete records. No detailed explanations or surviving manuals that explained how Archetypes formed, how they chose vessels, or how fragments came into existence.
Felix had searched for answers for a too long time.
And yet, despite all that effort, he had never made real progress.
Until now.
Now, he was staring at it. After he found it inside the body of a regular Labyrinth creature.
And Dominic had been the first to find it.
The stone… no, the fragment of an Archetype.
More than that, it had reacted to Dominic.
Felix remained silent, his gaze fixed on the stone as his thoughts raced.
While he stood there, Sevran broke the heavy silence, his voice tight with unease.
"I think we shouldn't get involved any deeper with this kind of thing."
He looked at Dominic and Gaudia, searching their faces for agreement.
Gaudia's expression tightened. She was clearly conflicted.
She was reluctant too. The Labyrinth was already dangerous enough, and anything that came from it tended to be even worse when handled recklessly.
Now, one of the most powerful, most dangerous, and most mysterious things tied to the Labyrinth was sitting right in front of her.
Of course she felt wary.
But then there were the scores.
She needed to graduate with a high evaluation.
Dominic, on the other hand, was clearly intrigued.
Beyond the fact that he would be working under Felix, he needed those scores too to get a high status within the kingdom. And more than that, he was curious, about the stone, the Archetype, and about his own power.
"Uh, hello?" Sevran said, irritation creeping into his tone. "Are you two even listening to me?"
"I think we should stick around, Sevran," Dominic said calmly. "We'll know more than the other students. You want a high score, right? This will also help us grow stronger faster. If we want to survive dealing with those nobles, we need strength and status."
Sevran stiffened.
He hated to admit it, but Dominic wasn't wrong.
He wanted payback. And this really was the fastest way.
In the end, after a whole minute of pondering, Sevran let out a long sigh. "I think… I'll stay a bit longer."
Felix finally pulled himself together.
He turned back to them, forcing a smile onto his face. It was a familiar smile but stiffer than before.
He then nodded to himself.
"This is an incredible finding," he said at last. His voice carried weight now, the casual tone stripped away. "I'll record your names and send a recommendation to the Headmaster. He needs to know that the three of you were directly involved in the discovery of an Archetype fragment."
He moved to his desk and pulled out a clean sheet of parchment.
The scratch of his pen filled the room as he wrote their names one by one.
Dominic. Sevran. Gaudia.
Watching him, the three finally grasped how serious this achievement was.
This wasn't just some strange incident in the Labyrinth anymore. This was official and important.
And they couldn't help feeling a spark of excitement knowing that they will get the high scores and recognition. This was a big opportunity.
"Are we… partners now?" Dominic asked after a moment.
Felix paused and glanced back at them. A faint, knowing smile tugged at his lips.
"Well," he said, setting the pen down, "I don't know. What do you three think?"
His gaze lingered on each of them in turn. The choice was theirs. Joining this meant stepping deeper into unknown territory.
The three exchanged looks.
Sevran nodded slowly. Gaudia followed with a firm nod of her own. For her, this was too big an opportunity to ignore.
"Yes," Dominic said. "We want to be involved in this project."
Felix's smile widened, this time it was genuine.
"Alright," he said. "Then we're partners."
He straightened and looked at them seriously.
"From this point on, I'll tell you everything I know about Archetypes. But what we discuss here cannot leave this room. Ever."
All three nodded without hesitation.
Felix nodded again, satisfied.
"Good," he said. "Then listen carefully."
He turned toward the board filled with tangled diagrams and symbols.
"Archetypes are… strange," Felix began. "No one knows exactly what they are, not even the Scarlet Council. Some believe they're ancient gods that died and left fragments behind. Others think they're living concepts with form. There are even theories that they're something else entirely."
He tapped the board lightly.
"All we know for certain is this. Archetypes dwell in the deepest layers of the Labyrinth. Those places were so hostile that even veteran Arcanists rarely return alive. And when fragments of an Archetype surface…"
His eyes flicked briefly to the stone resting on the equipment.
"…I think… something was happening right now."
Felix's gaze then shifted on Dominic.
"There's another thing," Felix said slowly. "Something about Dominic. He has a strange power that doesn't fit neatly into the known classifications."
Sevran frowned. "Known… classifications?"
Felix nodded. "There are two recognized ways a person gains power."
He raised one finger. "First is the Bloodmark. An innate power. It awakens naturally, tied to lineage, potential, or compatibility. You're born with it, and when it awakens, that's what you get."
Then he raised a second finger.
"Second is called Signatures. It was powers obtained from within the Labyrinth. Dangerous, unstable, and earned through effort like trials, contracts, fragments, or rituals. No one gains a Signature without paying a price."
His eyes returned to Dominic.
"But Dominic don't follow either rule," Felix said.
The room went silent.
Dominic's jaw tightened. He hadn't planned on this coming out.
At first, he didn't want them to know.
But it was already too late.
They were in this together now. There was no real way to hide it anymore.
Sevran and Gaudia both turned toward him, eyes wide with questions written clearly on their faces.
"What does that mean Dominic?" Sevran asked.
Gaudia didn't speak, but her stare was sharp, searching, as if she was seeing him for the first time.
Dominic exhaled through his nose. Then he shrugged.
"It means exactly what he said," Dominic replied. "I didn't awaken a Bloodmark. And I didn't earn a Signature through much effort either."
"It shouldn't be possible. And yet it is," Felix said with a smile.
Dominic lifted his gaze and looked at both of them, his eyes hard now.
"Like Felix said," he said calmly, but there was a sharpness beneath it. "This discussion doesn't leave this room."
The tone wasn't threatening. It didn't need to be.
Sevran swallowed and Gaudia felt a chill run down her spine.
Both of them shuddered involuntarily, suddenly aware that Dominic wasn't simple.
However, Gaudia and Sevran didn't immediately want to distance themselves from Dominic. Instead, they wanted to get even closer to him now… for their own reasons.
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