Kael didn't move.
Not because he was calm…
But because his body refused to respond.
The shattered summoning crystal still lay in front of him, broken into glowing fragments. The academy hall was still loud—students laughing, talking, mocking.
But something was wrong.
The sound was… fading.
Like the world was being turned down slowly.
Kael blinked once.
The laughter didn't stop—but it sounded far away now.
Too far.
"Hey, F-rank!"
A student shoved past him.
Kael didn't feel it.
Another laugh.
Another voice.
But everything was stretching, like reality itself had been pulled apart.
Then—
The whisper returned.
"Host confirmed."
Kael's breath caught.
He turned slightly.
"…Who's there?"
No answer.
Only silence.
Then—
A pulse.
The broken crystal at his feet moved.
Not physically.
But like it remembered how to exist.
Suddenly—
The fragments lifted into the air.
Every single piece.
Floating.
Shaking.
The academy hall went quiet instantly.
Someone noticed.
"…What is that?"
The examiner stepped forward. "Everyone back—!"
But he didn't finish.
Because the light from the crystal changed.
From white…
To black.
Kael stumbled backward.
"I didn't do anything…" he muttered.
But deep inside—
He knew that was a lie.
Something inside him had answered.
Or something had answered him.
The floating shards began to rotate.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
A circle formed in the air.
A summoning circle—but wrong.
The runes were ancient. Older than academy magic.
Older than the system itself.
And then—
It spoke again.
But this time… outside his mind.
A voice echoed through the hall.
Cold.
Deep.
Female.
"Who dares disturb the seal of the First Forgotten?"
The temperature dropped instantly.
The lights in the hall flickered out.
One by one.
Screams erupted.
"Magic suppression field?!"
"No—it's not the academy system!"
"Something's overriding it!"
Kael stood frozen.
Because he was the only one looking at the circle.
Everyone else was looking at the darkness.
The voice spoke again.
Closer now.
"Answer me, summoner."
Kael swallowed.
"I… I don't know what you are."
Silence.
Then—
A soft laugh.
Not cruel.
Not kind.
Just… ancient.
"Interesting."
The floating crystal shards suddenly stopped spinning.
They aligned.
Like a lock clicking into place.
And then—
The summoning circle opened.
Not upward.
Not forward.
But inward.
Like a wound tearing open reality itself.
A figure stepped out.
Barefoot.
Wrapped in broken white armor that looked like it had survived the end of the world.
Her eyes were covered by a blindfold made of black chains.
And behind her…
Something enormous moved in the darkness.
Kael couldn't see it fully.
But his instincts screamed one thing:
Run.
He didn't.
Because his body wouldn't listen anymore.
The woman tilted her head slightly.
"…You are not him."
Kael frowned. "Who?"
Silence.
Then her voice dropped lower.
"The summoner I once served… is gone."
The entire hall shook at her words.
One of the teachers stepped forward. "Identify yourself!"
The moment he raised his hand—
The woman turned slightly.
And the teacher collapsed instantly.
No attack.
No spell.
Just silence.
Like his existence had been paused.
Panic erupted.
"STOP THE SUMMONING!"
"SHUT IT DOWN!"
But the academy circle system was dead.
Completely unresponsive.
The summoning authority had been overwritten.
By something older.
Kael finally found his voice.
"What are you?"
She slowly turned toward him.
For the first time—
Her blindfold shifted slightly.
And Kael saw it.
Not eyes.
But a burning symbol.
SSS-RANK AUTHORITY MARK.
The air cracked.
Every student nearby fell to their knees.
Not from pressure.
But instinct.
Their bodies recognized something their minds couldn't understand.
Kael was the only one still standing.
Barely.
The woman stepped closer.
Each step made the ground fracture.
"I am the one they erased first."
She paused.
Then added:
"I am the beginning of the Forgotten War."
Kael's heart pounded.
"…Forgotten War?"
Her head tilted slightly.
"You do not know?"
A pause.
Then her voice sharpened.
"Then why have you awakened me?"
Kael shook his head fast.
"I didn't—I swear I didn't mean to!"
Silence.
Then—
The chains over her blindfold shifted.
Slowly.
Like something inside her was awakening too.
The summoning circle behind her expanded.
Beyond the hall.
Beyond the building.
It spread into the sky itself.
And for a brief second—
The entire academy saw it.
A second moon in the sky.
Made of broken runes.
The woman whispered softly.
"If you are the false summoner…"
She stepped closer.
Now only inches away from Kael.
"Then why does your soul carry the seal of my prison?"
Kael froze.
"…Seal?"
The moment he said it—
Pain exploded in his chest.
Not physical.
But deeper.
Like something inside him was waking up too.
The woman raised her hand slowly.
And placed it above Kael's chest.
The chains on her blindfold rattled violently.
Then—
A system notification appeared in Kael's vision.
⚠️ WARNING
FIRST FORGOTTEN LEGEND DETECTED
CLASSIFICATION: SSS-RANK (ERASURE CLASS)
STATUS: AWAKENING
Kael's eyes widened.
"This… this is inside me?"
The woman's expression changed slightly.
For the first time…
She looked uncertain.
"No…"
A pause.
Then a whisper:
"You are not summoning us."
Her hand tightened slightly.
"You are releasing us."
The entire sky cracked again.
And somewhere far beyond the academy…
Something answered back.
Thousands of miles away.
Something else was waking up.
And it was angry.
The woman leaned closer.
Her voice barely audible now.
"Tell me your name, summoner."
Kael hesitated.
"…Kael Ardent."
Silence.
Then—
The woman's chains suddenly shattered.
All at once.
And her blindfold fell.
Her eyes were fully visible now.
Not human.
Not divine.
Something else.
And as she looked at him, she said the final line of the chapter:
"Kael Ardent… that name does not exist in the original history."
A pause.
Then—
"So why do I remember you?"