Chapter 800: The Cursed Promise
Adam puffed his cheeks with all the stale air born from the dreadful revelation—the horror of the netherworld overseer, the absurd promise to wander a place none of them truly understood. Or perhaps only he hadn’t.
All for what?
Elena’s guilt about her deceased parents? Or her irrational hunger for their lost affection?
Irrational, because she had already found it in her later years. Hunger, because satisfaction had never taken root. More, always more—an obsession that drove her past risks, past consequences, past anyone else’s wishes.
She had set him up with that alliance, with that promise.
’I won’t go!’ An inner scream rocked his mind as the air churned between his cheeks. The golden specks of light reflected in the classroom mist seemed cold and distant—just like these questions.
He exhaled it all, the dread, the echo of his heartbeats against his bones. A world, or several, separated him from Elena’s ambitions, from Gaston’s lies, from that cursed promise. There were years to learn, to grow stronger, to return. And a present to live unburdened from a future that might not come.
His eyes settled on Teacher Louis’ burnt scars and green eyes, his emotions flowing out, and his mind thirsting for knowledge.
Louis tapped his chalk on the blackboard, the sound captivating the students. "We’ve established that the overseer pulls souls to the Netherworld upon death. Who can tell me how some resist this entity’s call to remain as ghosts?"
For once, no one raised his hand. Instead, a student sneered a little too loudly. Adam made out the word taboo, and something about Teacher Louis trying to deduct points for knowing the answer.
Not sharing his opinion, he raised his hand.
"I’m listening," Louis said with a deliberate nod.
"There are several methods," Adam started, his mind drifting in remembrance of the scrawny woman—Rachel. "Bound and driven by deep resentment, a soul can wander the realm with madness and perversion as its new compass until it turns evil."
Louis frowned but remained silent.
Adam continued with Selene and Elena’s methods. "Another method would be through spells, more precisely, to seal one’s soul before the overseer pulls it to the Netherworld. The third one relies on affinity. I’ve heard soul affinity wielders can turn others and even themselves into ghosts."
At the third method, Louis’ frown became so deep that it seemed to cut through patches of burned skin. "And where might you have heard about this third method?"
"In a forest, from an arrogant man who believes he’s the sun. Oh, but don’t worry, teacher. He didn’t tell me how—just that someone sought ways to reclaim a body after having turned himself into a ghost thousands of years ago." Adam’s lips curved into an ironic smile barely noticeable. "A strange story, isn’t it? I didn’t quite believe him, but thought it might interest you, teacher."
Louis narrowed his eyes. "Who’s that person?" he said, his fingers tightening around the chalk and his voice half a growl.
"Never met him." Adam shrugged. "As I said, I thought it was an ancient scary story to frighten me when I was barely twelve."
The students gasped, and Louis stared at him for a moment too long. Then he sighed. "The third method wasn’t part of the lesson, but everything is correct. Ten points for you."
The emblem on Adam’s chest brightened as Louis wrote three words connected by arrows in the negative column drawn on the blackboard: emotional instability, madness, and evil.
"There is nothing worse than turning into a ghost with the first method. They change until they lose their sense of self. Foes, friends, family—they strike everything down with the same all-consuming rage until we end their rampage."
Beneath the three words, he added: loss of mana circuits, eternally sealed if not awakened, and evil again.
"Do you know why I don’t add extended longevity in the positive column?" He locked his eyes with every student who began to have unsavoury ideas. "Because the second method is not better in the slightest. Besides a few exceptions, they’ll all lose their ability to wield magic, which will tilt them to evil to compensate. There is no salvation or hope on a ghost’s path; only evil at the end."
Finally, the chalk scraped against the board like nails. The shrill sound made the students grimace as he wrote: threat to the world.
"Might as well explain this one," he said, but his tone was more hate than wisdom. "They are immortal slavers, threats to the living. Think about it; if necromancers only bring back fragmented egos in rotting flesh from the netherworld, a powerful soul affinity wielder keeps their magic circuits and emotions intact. The more they kill, the more their ranks grow until their armies turn into unstoppable waves crashing at our gates. What will you do when he weaponises your childhood friend, your father, or your lover—when they beg you to free them while trying to kill you under their master’s command?"
A tense silence lingered until the chalk exploded between his fingers. "They’re as vicious as they are dangerous and must be stopped no matter the cost."
He slammed the desk, glaring at Adam and repeating through clenched jaws. "No matter the cost."
Adam nodded silently. The Magus had to be stopped, but that had nothing to do with him at the moment. He was too weak, not even in the same realm. Like Elena and Gaston’s trip to the Netherworld, this would have to wait until he actually found his way back to the magic world.
With a last sigh, Louis condensed a new chalk from the mist and crossed the positive column. "There is nothing positive about ghosts. We exorcists have hunted them for millennia—not to destroy them. They were once people, our friends, now tormented shadows. Our purpose is to guide them back to where they belong: the Netherworld, where, with luck, they may finally find peace."
The students gave Louis solemn nods, their features twisted in somber devotion as they accepted the sacred mission.
However, Louis wasn’t over. "Our mercy doesn’t extend to demons. You’ll learn more in Teacher Salem Draal Zephros’ lesson if he ever judges you worthy to attend. For now, our history lesson is over. You’re dismissed."
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AN: Just to remind you: Adam doesn’t know who the magus is and, unlike Julius, hasn’t seen her flee with her ghost army.