"Congratulations on activating your bloodline."

The voice echoed through Azrael’s head like a gong.

The first instinct that surfaced in his mind was to kill.

Kill whatever was speaking.

But a strange calm passed through him instead.

"Who are you?" Azrael yelled.

"I am the instructor in charge of bloodline training. Ymir."

As she spoke, a beam of light cut through the darkness, slicing through it like the sharpest blade in existence.

The darkness was consumed entirely.

Then he saw her, Ymir, the woman who had spoken.

She stood at the same height as Azrael, six foot five, considered average for someone her age given the clan’s genetics.

But Azrael’s gaze moved beyond her.

He saw the rest of his classmates waking up too, eyes filled with the same shock he felt.

"I know you are all confused," Ymir said, walking toward the tree behind her.

The tree was massive. Larger than anything Azrael had ever seen, in this life or his last.

She rested against the trunk before continuing.

"I placed all of you in an illusion to force the activation of your bloodlines."

She said nothing more. Nothing less.

And given the weight of what had just happened, the simplicity of it felt almost mocking.

Her words only deepened the students’ confusion.

When had they entered an illusion?

The last thing any of them remembered was Aiden dismissing the class.

When had there been time for another teacher to slip them into one?

Ymir did not bother explaining further, despite clearly sensing their inner chaos.

"By the way, so none of you walk away too confident, every enemy you fought was only one stage above you, with the final boss two stages above," she added.

"In the real world, if you attempt to cross that many stages at once, your chances of survival are slim to none."

She emphasized survival in particular, as though she wanted the word to linger in their ears for the rest of their lives.

"Class is over."

She snapped her fingers, sending the students back to the reception room they had entered through.

As they vanished from her sight, Ymir’s gaze lingered on the two spots where two particular students had stood.

"Two Primordial grade bloodlines in one generation," she muttered, stroking the tree’s trunk.

"This year’s Nexus Convergence is going to be fun."

She vanished from her place, reappearing atop the tree.

...

The students appeared back in the reception in a flicker of silver light, but none of them moved.

It felt as though they were still trapped in a dream, one they might never fully wake from.

The receptionist spared them no more attention than they had on the way in.

After all, this was a familiar sight on the first day of resumption every year.

"Ymir and her dangerous teaching methods," the receptionist muttered.

Still, it made sense. This was the Wrath bloodline, the most battle hardened lineage among all the demon clans. It was only natural their training went far beyond normal.

Clarity slowly returned to the students as the pieces fell into place.

’Who knew illusion abilities could be this strong,’ Azrael mused, walking toward the door.

"You have not signed out for the day," the receptionist called from behind the desk.

Azrael blinked.

He had not realized there was a sign out process before leaving the academy.

He turned back and walked to the table, pressing essence into the same orb he had used that morning.

The receptionist waved a hand, essence flowing from their palm into Azrael’s body.

Azrael’s brows furrowed at the sensation, but he said nothing.

He stepped away from the line slowly.

For a moment he stood rooted in place, as if something had passed quietly through his mind.

Then the entire experience of the illusion faded from his memory.

He still remembered it had happened, but the trauma attached to it was gone.

"Should we walk together?" Zephyr asked, stepping away from the line as well.

"We can," Azrael said with a calm nod, and the two of them headed for the exit.

The wide gates parted on their own as they approached.

The sun had already dipped below the horizon, the planet wrapped in the veil of night.

Even in the darkness, Azrael could make out familiar figures.

First was the guard who had nearly crushed him with pressure earlier that day.

He did not so much as glance at the exiting students, his eyes fixed elsewhere entirely.

Next were the seven maids lined up at the front, standing like a wall.

Two of them stepped forward.

One was Zephyr’s maid. She wore a regal smile as she looked at him.

"Welcome back, Lord Zephyr," she bowed.

Zephyr nodded with a smile.

"We have been through this enough times. Why don’t you drop the formality?" He asked with a nervous laugh.

The maid said nothing as she raised her head slowly.

"Welcome, Lord Azrael," Clara said with a bow.

Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment, something Azrael noticed immediately.

He chose to let it go for now, planning to ask her about it once they were alone.

The two students began walking toward the residential area beneath the warm light of the stars.

"What do you think about the Nexus Convergence?" Zephyr asked suddenly.

The question caught Azrael off guard.

"Why ask all of a sudden?" He raised a brow.

Zephyr sighed.

"No reason. Sorry if that came off strange."

Azrael nodded and said nothing further.

But he noticed Zephyr stealing glances at him as they walked.

’This guy is acting suspicious,’ he thought.

Soon the warm lights of the residential area came into view.

Azrael glanced back.

The academy had already faded into the distance, the only things visible behind them the other students and their maids.

In no time, they were in the centre of the estate, with hundreds of mansions spread across the place.

At the forefront was the Main Palace.

"See you tomorrow then," Zephyr said as he parted ways with Azrael.