The final lesson of the day had ended, and students poured out of classrooms into the academy grounds, filling the stone pathways with conversations and laughter.

Some headed toward the training grounds while others made their way back to the dormitories, and among the crowd, two figures blended in perfectly. Dahlia and Sari.

Neither wore their Dominion Academy uniforms, instead they had used illusion magic to alter their appearances just enough to avoid attracting attention.

Dahlia scanned the flow of students and said, "There," and Sari followed her gaze.

Lucien had just stepped out of the academy building, looking completely normal, too normal.

There was no trace of the Dominion side, no trace of the Sovereign Berserk state, just a young priest walking through the courtyard, and the problem was that this Lucien didn’t remember them.

Dahlia sighed. "This is going to be annoying," and the next moment she raised two fingers as a faint silver rune flashed beneath Lucien’s feet.

His body instantly froze, the paralysis spell wasn’t strong enough to hurt him, it was only meant to stop him from reacting, and before he could even process what happened, Sari grabbed one arm while Dahlia grabbed the other.

A teleportation circle appeared beneath them, the world blurred, then vanished.

---

Several moments later, inside the Student Council Room, the paralysis finally wore off and Lucien immediately jumped to his feet.

His eyes darted around the luxurious chamber, completely unfamiliar, with three large windows overlooking the academy grounds while ancient books and magical artifacts filled the shelves lining the walls.

Then he looked at the people standing before him. Dahlia, Sari, and several others he didn’t recognize, and his expression instantly became guarded.

"Who are you people?" he asked, but got no answer, so he took a step backward. "Why did you kidnap me?"

Dahlia immediately raised her hands. "Relax."

"I’m not relaxing," Lucien snapped. "You literally kidnapped me."

"Technically teleported," Dahlia said.

"That doesn’t make it better," he shot back, and Sari covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

Lucien pointed toward the door. "I have classes."

"No you don’t," Dahlia said.

"Yes I do," Lucien insisted.

"No," Dahlia replied.

"Yes," Lucien said again, and Dahlia rubbed her forehead. "Can you stop arguing for five seconds?"

"No," Lucien said, and for the first time Dahlia understood why Nyx found him exhausting.

Taking a deep breath, she approached him. "Lucien, do you remember us?"

"No," Lucien said.

"Nothing at all?" Dahlia pressed.

"No," Lucien replied, and Dahlia sighed.

"Think harder."

Lucien frowned. "I don’t know any of you," and Dahlia placed a hand on his shoulder, releasing a stream of memory magic as silver light flowed around him.

Fragments of forgotten memories attempted to resurface, the Dominion Academy, the Student Council, Nyx, battles, his crew, but nothing happened. Lucien only pushed her hand away. "Stop that."

Dahlia tried again, but the result was exactly the same, so Lucien said, "Get away from me," and Sari frowned.

"It isn’t working."

Dahlia looked frustrated, then suddenly a voice echoed inside her head. Nyx. "Dahlia."

Dahlia immediately answered through telepathy. "How’s the battle?"

"Annoying," Nyx said as an explosion echoed faintly through the connection, then continued. "I remembered something."

"What?" Dahlia asked.

"The holy connection," Nyx explained. "When Priest Lucien comes into contact with holy objects, it damages the Dominion side. Every blessing, every sacred artifact, every holy ritual, it affects both halves."

Dahlia’s eyes widened and Nyx continued. "So we don’t need to hurt him, make him touch something holy, the stronger the holy energy, the stronger the effect."

The connection ended and Dahlia immediately began thinking, a holy object, a holy object, then Sari suddenly snapped her fingers.

"I have an idea," Sari said, and Dahlia looked at her. "What?"

Sari pointed toward Lucien. "He still thinks he’s a priest, obviously, and what do priests do when they encounter a sacred relic?"

Dahlia froze, then smiled. "Oh."

---

Several minutes later, Lucien stared suspiciously at the object resting on the table, a crystal sphere filled with concentrated holy essence, one of the sacred relics borrowed from the Holy Academy. "Why am I touching this again?" he asked.

Sari smiled innocently. "You said you’re a priest."

"I am," Lucien replied.

"And priests should be able to resonate with holy artifacts," Sari said.

Lucien narrowed his eyes. "Something feels suspicious."

Dahlia immediately answered, "You’re imagining things," but he wasn’t convinced, not even slightly.

Still, his curiosity won, and slowly he reached forward. The moment his fingers touched the sphere, BOOM! Holy light erupted throughout the room.

---

At that exact moment, back inside the Dominion Examination, Lucien’s Sovereign Berserk form suddenly froze as the dark aura surrounding him flickered violently.

Nyx immediately noticed. "There it is," she said, and a pulse of holy energy erupted through the connection between both halves.

Lucien dropped to one knee, blood escaped his lips, and his dark eyes trembled as the black energy around him cracked, again and again and again.

Nyx didn’t hesitate, the moment he weakened she moved, space shattered beneath her feet, and before Lucien could recover, chains of shadow wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso.

The weakened Sovereign Berserk state struggled violently, but it was too late, a massive Dominion Seal appeared beneath him and the battlefield exploded with light.

The exam system instantly recognized the defeat, and a loud voice echoed across the arena.

"Participant Lucien has been eliminated."

"Eliminated? Where? I don’t see anyone," Nadia said as the others stared blankly, because no one had witnessed what actually happened. One moment he had been fighting, the next moment his name had disappeared from the rankings.

---

Inside the Student Council Room, a teleportation circle suddenly appeared and Nyx stepped through, behind her floating an unconscious body, the Dominion Lucien. The moment Priest Lucien saw him his eyes widened. "...What?"

The room became silent as he slowly stood up, then looked back and forth between himself and the unconscious figure, the same face, the same hair, the same eyes, even the same aura.

"What am I looking at?" he muttered, then suddenly pain exploded inside his skull. "Agh!" He grabbed his head as memories collided, voices echoed, fragments of two lives crashed into one another.

Sari immediately stepped forward. "What’s happening?"

Nyx crossed her arms. "The artifact, the one made from devil essence, it split his existence. The Dominion side accepted it, but his priest side is rejecting it," and Lucien fell to one knee as the pain only intensified, his body literally fighting against the artifact’s influence.

Sari frowned. "If he wins?"

Nyx answered immediately. "The effect disappears, but only temporarily, the artifact will eventually reassert itself, which means we need a permanent solution."

The room fell silent, then the pain suddenly stopped and Lucien slowly opened his eyes. The confusion was gone, the emptiness was gone, recognition returned, and he looked at each of them one by one before smiling weakly. "I remember now."

Dahlia visibly relaxed, Sari nearly collapsed from relief, even Nyx looked slightly less annoyed.

"I might have a way to make the artifact’s effects temporary," Nyx said.

Lucien shook his head. "No need," and everyone looked at him.

"No need?" Sari repeated.

Lucien nodded. "I’ll find a solution myself," and before anyone could question him further, he walked toward the center of the room, sat down, legs crossed, back straight, hands resting calmly on his lap, a perfect meditation posture.

Silence filled the room, one minute passed, then two, then three, and Sari blinked. "...Now what?"

Dahlia smiled. "We trust him," but Sari looked unconvinced and Nyx rolled her eyes.

"That is somehow the most reckless plan I’ve heard today."

Nobody answered, because despite all their doubts, every one of them stayed exactly where they were, watching, waiting, and hoping that whatever Lucien was about to do would actually work.