The room remained silent after David revealed everything.
Daniel stood near the window with his arms crossed while Mary quietly processed everything she had just heard.
A hidden basement beneath the academy.
A sleepwalking Dawn Kingdom student.
And the words:
"The Master is waiting."
Even saying it aloud felt wrong.
David finally sat down heavily on the chair.
"I'm telling you… something down there felt dangerous."
Mary looked toward him seriously.
"You think Kaden is there?"
David shook his head slowly.
"I don't know."
"But whatever is happening with Dawn Kingdom…"
"…I think the answer is connected to that basement."
Daniel remained quiet for several seconds.
Then finally spoke:
"We're going there."
Mary immediately looked toward him.
"Tonight?"
Daniel nodded.
"We already know too much to stop now."
David sighed tiredly.
"And if teachers catch us?"
Daniel gave a weak smile.
"At this point, that's probably our smallest problem."
The next day, the atmosphere inside the academy felt normal on the surface.
Students attended classes.
Training continued.
Teachers walked through the halls strictly because of the night restrictions.
But underneath all that normality—
fear continued growing.
Meanwhile, Daniel, Mary, and David secretly prepared for the next night.
David managed to steal an old academy map from the archive room during study hours.
Mary gathered flashlights and small healing supplies quietly.
Daniel mostly remained distracted.
Ever since the nightmare, he had started feeling strange whenever he thought about the basement.
Almost like—
something below was calling him.
And that feeling disturbed him deeply.
That afternoon, Lucy finally noticed something was wrong.
Again.
Daniel, Mary, and David kept disappearing together.
They lowered their voices whenever someone approached.
And every time Lucy asked questions—
they avoided answering properly.
Inside the training ground, Felix stretched lazily after finishing practice.
Lucy stood nearby watching Daniel leave with David again.
Her expression slowly narrowed.
Felix noticed immediately.
"You've been staring at them for five minutes."
Lucy crossed her arms.
"They're hiding something."
Felix glanced toward Daniel's direction.
"Probably investigation stuff again."
Lucy looked annoyed.
"That's exactly the problem."
"They keep acting like only the three of them can handle everything."
Felix stayed quiet for a moment.
Then shrugged lightly.
"Well… Daniel probably doesn't want others involved."
Lucy sighed softly.
"That's stupid."
Then her expression became more serious.
"Something's happening inside this academy, Felix."
"And I think they know more than they're telling us."
Felix looked toward her carefully.
For once—
even he could not disagree.
That night, curfew began again.
The academy slowly became silent as lights turned off one by one.
Guards patrolled different sections carefully while teachers checked dorm rooms repeatedly.
Inside Daniel's room, the atmosphere felt tense.
David unfolded the academy map carefully across the table.
"The hidden hallway is here," he whispered while pointing toward the eastern wing.
Mary frowned slightly.
"That area should've been abandoned years ago."
David nodded.
"Exactly."
Daniel quietly grabbed Thrones beside him.
The moment his hand touched the weapon—
a strange black pulse moved briefly across the blade.
Mary noticed immediately.
"Daniel…"
He looked toward her.
"You okay?"
Daniel hesitated slightly.
"…Yeah."
But he was lying.
Because deep inside—
the closer they got to the basement—
the stronger Thrones reacted.
Almost excited.
And that terrified him.
A few minutes later, the three quietly left their room.
The academy halls looked darker than usual at night.
Cold air moved through the corridors while distant footsteps echoed occasionally from patrolling guards.
Nobody spoke much.
Every sound suddenly felt dangerous.
David carefully checked corners before moving ahead.
Mary stayed behind Daniel while watching carefully for guards.
Finally, after several minutes—
they reached the eastern wing.
The hallway there looked completely different from the rest of the academy.
Older.
Dust covered the floor.
Several academy symbols on the walls were broken or scratched out.
Mary whispered quietly:
"This place gives me chills."
David nodded slightly.
"It feels hidden intentionally."
Then suddenly—
Daniel stopped walking.
Both immediately looked toward him.
"What happened?" Mary whispered.
Daniel stared ahead silently.
"…Do you hear that?"
They listened carefully.
At first—
nothing.
Then faintly—
very faintly—
whispers.
Coming from somewhere below.
David's expression changed instantly.
"You hear them too?"
Daniel slowly nodded.
The whispers sounded distorted.
Almost impossible to understand.
But one word repeated again and again.
"Awaken…"
Mary stepped closer nervously.
"We should leave."
But Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"We're too close now."
Eventually, they reached the hidden wall David discovered earlier.
The corridor around it remained completely silent.
David carefully pressed against the stone section.
RUMBLE.
The hidden gate slowly opened once again.
Cold air rushed out from below.
Dark stone stairs stretched underground.
Completely black.
Mary swallowed nervously.
"Why does every horrible thing happen underground?"
David almost laughed quietly.
But nobody truly found this funny anymore.
Daniel slowly stepped forward first.
The whispers immediately became louder.
And Thrones suddenly spoke inside his mind.
"You finally arrived."
Daniel's eyes widened slightly.
"What do you mean?"
But Thrones only laughed softly.
That same cold laugh again.
The three slowly descended underground.
Every step echoed through the darkness.
The deeper they went—
the colder the air became.
Finally, they reached the bottom.
And what they saw immediately froze them.
Massive underground halls stretched beneath the academy.
Old chains hung from walls.
Strange black symbols were carved everywhere.
Broken weapons covered several tables.
And scattered papers filled the floor.
Mary whispered in shock:
"What is this place…?"
David slowly picked up one old file from the ground.
His eyes widened while reading.
"These are academy records…"
Daniel looked toward him immediately.
"What kind?"
David's expression became pale.
"…Missing students."
Mary froze.
"What?"
David continued flipping pages quickly.
"Different kingdoms…"
"Different years…"
"Some disappeared during exams…"
"And some…"
His voice lowered.
"…were never found."
Silence filled the underground hall.
Then suddenly—
Daniel noticed something else.
At the center of the room—
someone was standing there.
Motionless.
A Dawn Kingdom student.
His eyes remained closed.
Black marks around his neck glowed faintly in the darkness.
Mary stepped backward slightly.
"What is he doing here?"
Then another figure slowly appeared beside him.
Then another.
Then another.
More Dawn Kingdom students stepped from the shadows silently.
Standing completely still.
Like puppets.
David whispered nervously:
"This isn't normal…"
Suddenly—
all the students opened their eyes together.
At the exact same time.
Mary's breathing stopped for a second.
And then—
someone behind them spoke.
"You should not have come here."
The three immediately turned around.
A figure stood at the top of the stairs.
Hidden mostly in darkness.
But one thing was clearly visible.
A teacher's academy uniform.
And the figure slowly smiled.