Leaving the infirmary under the silent watch of his hidden "landmines," Caelum navigated the lightless corridors of the Academy's underbelly. Beside him, **Mina** flowed like a river of molten amber, her bioluminescent glow the only thing keeping the oppressive darkness at bay.
They reached a set of doors forged from **Void-Iron**, a material that nullified standard Aether. This was the **Library of Shadows**, a restricted vault containing the forbidden history of the Alchemic Wars.
"The lock is a biological frequency," Caelum observed, his **Violet Logic**—inherited from Vespera—instantly analyzing the runic sequence. He placed his hand on the cold metal, pulsing a specific, dissonant chord of gold and shadow. The doors groaned, swinging open to reveal aisles of obsidian shelves filled with scrolls made of human skin and crystalline memory-shards.
Deep in the back of the vault, Caelum found a pedestal holding a tome bound in **shifting, translucent scales**. As he touched it, a holographic projection flickered to life. It wasn't a book of spells, but a ledger of **"Soul Transmutation."**
Caelum's eyes narrowed as he read the entries. The records didn't list the Headmaster by name, but by a title: **The Prime Parasite.**
The mystery deepened. According to the scrolls, the Academy wasn't built to teach; it was built as a **human-scale refinery**. The Headmaster's real identity was tied to an ancient entity that had "run out of internal fuel" centuries ago. He wasn't a mage—he was a **Vessel of the Void** who could only exist by consuming the "refined peaks" of other mages' Aether.
"Master," Mina hissed, her **golden eyes** fixed on a particular diagram. "Look at the catalyst requirements."
The diagram showed a **Gold Catalyst** (Caelum) at the center of a pentagram. Surrounding him were five specific "Elemental Keys":
* **Wind** (Lyra)
* **Gravity** (Seraphina)
* **Ice** (Isolde)
* **Fire** (Elena)
* **Wood** (Siris)
The Headmaster wasn't just stealing Caelum's Aether; he was waiting for Caelum to **perfect the harem**. Each girl Caelum synthesized became a "Filter" that refined raw Aether into a specific, high-purity reagent that the Headmaster could finally digest.
"He isn't trying to stop me," Caelum whispered, the realization hitting him like a physical blow. "He's **farming** me. He's letting me build the harem because he can't synthesize the girls himself. He needs me to 'cook' the ingredients before he eats."
But the ledger showed a sixth slot—one that remained blank, pulsing with a dark, rhythmic violet light.
**The Oracle.**
A cryptic note at the bottom of the page read: *"The Synthesis of the Five creates the Body, but the Oracle provides the Spirit. Without the Sixth, the Parasite remains a Ghost."*
Suddenly, the air in the library grew cold. The shadows on the walls began to stretch and twist, taking on the elongated, skeletal shape of the Headmaster's silhouette. A voice, echoing from everywhere and nowhere, filled the vault.
*"You are a diligent student, Caelum. You've prepared the first five reagents so beautifully. But do you know where the Oracle hides? Or will you be consumed before the table is fully set?"*
Caelum felt a sudden, sharp vibration from the infirmary. His **Trojan Infusion** had been triggered. Somewhere in the Academy, **Kaelith** had just attempted to "snack" on the gold he left in the girls, and the "mind-boggling pleasure" was currently detonating inside her.
"The bait has been taken," Caelum growled, his **Prismatic Aether** flaring in the dark.
He had more questions than answers: Who was the Headmaster originally? And where was this "Oracle" that served as the final piece of the puzzle? But for now, he had a screaming, orgasmic Assistant to hunt.