By the time morning came, the entire academy was buzzing.
Whispers passed through the hallways like wildfire, each more twisted than the last. They said Damien Altrhrone had died in the dungeon in really brutal way.
His body had been found mutilated, blood smeared across the stone like a message no one could read, it's as if whoever done this held really great grudge towards him.
No one knew how it happened, and who is responsible for this incident.
The guards hadn't heard anything. The security enchantments hadn't gone off. There were no traces of forced entry, no magic residue, nothing.
Just a corpse.
It's as if Damien dies of its own accord, but of course, who gonna believe something ridiculous like that?
But, one thing is certain, someone had been down there.
Someone knockdown the guards, no one knows who that person is but for now, that person is the main suspect of this case.
...
The very first thing i heard in the morning is an announcement ringing through the academy's sound crystal system.
"Due to recent events, all classes are temporarily suspended until further notice. Students are to remain within dormitory grounds unless instructed otherwise. Faculty and security personnel will be conducting an internal investigation. We ask for your full cooperation"
The voice was calm, but even that couldn't mask the tension beneath it.
In the common room, students were gathered in clumps, faces pale, voices hushed. The rumors had already taken a life of their own.
Some said Damien's body had been torn apart by a curse gone wrong. Others whispered about an assassin—an unknown figure cloaked in shadows who had snuck past wards and guards like they weren't even there. A few were already claiming it was an inside job, that someone from the academy was involved. A student. A teacher. Maybe even someone in the disciplinary squad.
No one could agree on the details, but everyone agreed on one thing.
Whoever got in… they didn't leave a trace.
And that was what made it terrifying.
I kept my head down as I moved through the hallway. Even without classes, the air was thick with tension. Every conversation stopped when someone new walked by. Eyes darted, suspicious, paranoid.
Cedric was in the lounge, slumped over the couch with a half-eaten apple in his hand, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"You think they're gonna find whoever did it?"
He asked as I passed.
I shrugged.
"Probably not"
He grunted.
"I heard the guards didn't even realize someone had gotten in until it was too late. And i heard when they're still interrogate Damien someone knocked out the guards outside"
I froze for a moment, just a second but long enough.
He noticed.
"You good?"
"Yeah, I guess"
I said quickly, keeping my tone light.
"Just didn't sleep much"
Cedric didn't press further. He wasn't the type.
I spotted Iris in the corner, her arms folded, lips drawn in a thin line. She'd heard the rumors too. Maybe more than she let on.
Her eyes flicked to me as I sat down across from her.
"You hear what they're saying?"
She asked.
"I hear a lot of things"
I replied.
"Wich one are you referring? Because most of them are ridiculous rumor"
"They said someone slipped past the seal. That they were already inside before the night even started. That's how they got to Damien"
I didn't answer.
Because she wasn't entirely wrong.
She frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"You were gone last night… Weren't you?"
I kept my expression still.
"Just needed some air"
"You always need air when something big happens?"
She asked, voice calm, too calm and it's somewhat scary.
I didn't answer, I don't know what I should said here, her intuition is to sharp.
There was a pause. Then she said.
"You're… hiding something aren't you? I can feel it."
"Iris"
I said softly.
"I don't know what are you thinking, but i can assure you, I didn't kill Damien"
She looked at me, searching my face like she wanted to believe it. Then finally, she looked away.
"I never said you're the one who killed him."
"…But if you remember anything, tell me okay?"
I nodded.
"I will."
She didn't believe me.
And honestly? I know there no way she believed me, but honestly I wouldn't have either.
...
You know, this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
In the game, Damien was barely a footnote, a side character whose name only popped up in passing. He was supposed to die, yes, but not like this. Not this early. His death came near the end of the first arc, during the academy's destruction, when original Tristan who possessed by Lilith went on a rampage, destroyed this entire academy and nearly killed Lyria.
Back then, it was just a throwaway tragedy. A background death.
But now?
Now he'd been dragged into the spotlight, arrested, interrogated, and murdered in a sealed cell.
This was never part of the scenario, too much thing already different, like why?
Why was he dead now?
I went over every possibility in my head. Could Lilith have done something? Was this her meddling again? Or… was it someone else entirely?
Damien wasn't a good person, but the look on his face back in the cell—it wasn't someone lying. He really didn't know what happened to him. And now he was dead before anyone could get more answers.
Was that the point?
To silence him before the truth came out?
Or was it just fate shifting because of me?
"...Dammit"
I whispered into the dark.
"What the hell is going on?"
This world was changing. Deviating.
And I was running out of time to figure out why.
The day passed in a haze. Classes were still suspended, but the atmosphere was heavier than ever. Rumors had only grown wilder—about the murder, the mysterious intruder, and whispers of some deeper conspiracy none of us fully understood.
I spent most of the morning avoiding people. Iris had backed off, but I could still feel her eyes on me whenever we crossed paths. Cedric, bless his thick-headed soul, was more concerned about lunch than investigations.
It was just past noon when an announcement echoed through the halls. A formal message from the Academy's central office, directed at me.
"Tristan Altrhrone, please report to the Headmaster's Reception Hall immediately."
My stomach twisted.
Damn it, did they finally found out it was me who knocked the guards and infiltrate the underground prison?
By the time I arrived, the hall was eerily quiet, only the sound of footsteps echoing behind me. I stood at the doors for a moment, wondering what this was about.
Then they opened.
And I saw them.
Duke Aldric Altrhrone. His towering frame and cold presence filled the room the moment he stepped in. Behind him, Lady Evelyn, her smile tight and unreadable as always. And finally, Beatrice.
She looked around with thinly veiled curiosity, her violet eyes scanning the hall like it was some foreign land.
They had come.
And from the way they were greeted by the staff, this wasn't just a visit.
They were going to stay.