Kael did not attend the academy for some time.
When he finally returned, something felt odd.
Every gaze seemed to follow him noticed.
Students whispered. Some stared openly, others avoided his eyes entirely.
It was strange.
From what Kael remembered, the Dravenheart family had always been powerful. Their strength and swordsmanship were known throughout the Magnum Kingdom. So why was everyone so surprised to see the Dravenheart swordsmanship. And why did Kael's father say that Dravenheart family was a small barony.
On top of that something about the way Dephlien family was treated, felt… odd.
Too much respect.
Too much caution.
How can the traitor family be treated with such respect?
How can a family that should have been executed… or exiled… still carry such weight in their name?
It didn't make sense.
The pieces did not add up.
Kael could not dismiss the unease growing inside him.
So he went to the one place that held the answers to almost everything within the academy.
The library.
The academy library was a towering structure.
Eight floors tall.
Each level contained knowledge of increasing importance and secrecy.
Access was determined by authority and rank.
The higher one's position within the academy, the deeper into the tower they could go.
For most students, access was simple.
First-year students were allowed only the first floor.
Second-year students could access the second floor.
Third-year students the third floor.
Fourth-year students the fourth floor.
Normally, students could not go beyond that.
But for Kael it was different.
Because he was a member of the Student Council, he had access to the fifth floor.
The sixth floor was reserved for junior professors, assistant professors, and the Council Pillars.
The seventh floor belonged to senior professors.
And the eighth floor…
Held the most important and forbidden books, manuscripts, and grimoires known to mankind.
Second only to the Royal Library.
Kael arrived at the library.
Without wasting time, he began searching through historical records.
Book after book.
Scroll after scroll.
He skimmed through hundreds of pages.
But he found nothing.
Not a single mention.
No record.
No reference.
Nothing about the Great War between the Magnum Kingdom and the Azerath Kingdom.
Kael frowned.
That war had been enormous.
Entire nations had been shaken by it.
Yet here,
It was as if it had never existed.
From the first floor to the fourth floor, Kael tore through hundreds of books.
He skipped classes.
Ignored meals.
Day after day he searched.
But in the end...
Nothing.
He sat down beside the towering bookshelves.
His mind raced.
Was the war erased from history?
Was it hidden?
Or had he remembered something that never happened?
Slowly, his gaze lifted upward.
Toward the staircase.
The fifth floor.
His final hope.
Kael took a deep breath.
Then climbed the stairs.
The fifth floor was quieter.
The books here were rarer, many of them centuries old.
Kael searched through another dozen volumes.
Then another.
Still,
Nothing.
Frustration surged through him.
With a sharp breath, he punched the bookshelf beside him.
The shelf trembled.
The magically reinforced wood shook slightly from the impact.
Something slipped from the top.
A dusty old book fell...
Thud.
It struck Kael lightly on the head before landing beside him.
He sighed.
Annoyed, he looked down at it.
The book was strange.
Dust covered its surface as if it had been forgotten for years.
Which was odd.
No matter how old a book was in this library, they were usually kept clean and preserved by magic.
Yet this one looked abandoned.
The cover itself was plain.
Just simple leather.
No title.
No markings.
No symbol.
It looked more like a diary than a proper book.
Kael picked it up and brushed the dust away.
Then he opened it.
The first page contained a single line.
"If you found this book, then I must have failed… and you must be someone searching for the fallen Magnum Kingdom."
Kael froze.
His eyes widened.
Magnum Kingdom.
But something else struck him even harder the word.
'Fallen'.
His mind reeled.
No… that's impossible.
The academy itself was named Magnus Academy.
Then suddenly,
It clicked.
Magnus.
Not Magnum.
Realization struck him like a stampede of charging bulls.
His heart began to pound.
Hurriedly, he continued reading.
"I am a member of the Crandle family, one of the great supporters of the Magnus Kingdom.
I belong to the eighth generation.
I wished to learn more about the kingdom my family once served.
But I found nothing.
The more I researched…
The deeper into the rabbit hole I fell.
Although I managed to become a council member, my authority was limited.
I lacked the talent required to become one of the Council Pillars.
Because of that, my access remained restricted.
With the little authority and wealth my family still possesses, I gathered as much information as I could.
But I am certain of one thing.
There is more hidden within the sixth floor.
Knowledge I was never able to reach."
Kael turned the page.
Then another.
And another.
Empty.
Every page after that was blank.
Not a single word remained.
Kael flipped through the entire book anxiously.
Nothing.
Questions flooded his mind.
How did the book know someone would search for the Magnum Kingdom?
What happened to that kingdom?
What is the connection between the Magnum Kingdom… and Magnus Academy?
Then one sentence echoed inside his mind.
"I lacked the talent required to become one of the Council Pillars."
"There is more hidden within the sixth floor."
Kael slowly closed the diary.
His eyes hardened.
The answer was clear.
If he wanted the truth,
There was only one path forward.
He clenched his fist.
"I will become a Council Pillar."
Only then…
Would the secrets of the Magnum Kingdom reveal themselves.