By Erik's tone, Maya knew something terrible had happened here. He seemed to be wrestling with the decision of whether to share his full story.

Maya sensed that his hesitation wasn't due to any fabrication of events, as Elena suspected, but rather his reluctance to burden her with his past. Sharing wasn't easy for him, but openness was an important step for trust.

As he gathered his thoughts, Maya glanced back at the glade they had just reached. To the naked eye, it didn't look like anything significant, but Maya sensed a heavy aura in this place.

"Has someone died here?"

"Many did…" his voice was quiet, "Including myself."

At this, Maya's head snapped toward him. This must be why Elena had declared him deceased after going through his file the other day.

She reached out and placed her hand on his—a gentle gesture of comfort. Though Erik was reluctant to share, Maya yearned to understand his past, to hear his story. As she felt the warmth of his hand under hers, an insecure awareness washed over her.

Was she being too forward? Despite the comfort he evidently needed, they had only just met recently.

Feeling awkward, she turned away, her gaze landing on Elena standing amidst the tall miscanthus grass. Her sapphire eyes were like bright jewels under the sunlight, and her raven hair gently swayed in the breeze, but her face was an impassive mask, not giving anything away.

Erik suddenly broke the silence. "Are there any souls around? Is… Lady Anastasia there?"

"No," Maya responded, a hint of curiosity colouring her tone.

She didn't understand why he was interested in Anastasia's presence at that moment, but she didn't press. The fact that he didn't seem concerned about Anastasia contradicting his story from the other day only strengthened her belief that he was telling the truth.

Taking a deep breath, Erik began to speak slowly. "Upon reaching the age, my mother called in a favour from Daria to bring me here."

"Simple as that?" Maya asked.

Erik shrugged, "I doubt it was simple, but that doesn't quite concern me."

"Aren't you a rather cold son," Elena inserted.

Ignoring Elena, Erik pressed on. "As one might expect, Amanda wasn't thrilled about my arrival at her Academy. Of course, she couldn't just send me back." He paused, adding under his breath, "Not for the lack of effort."

An image of the Headmistress trying to shove Erik back through a portal flashed through Maya's mind. Under different circumstances, it would have been amusing. However, after witnessing Amanda's darker side when she trespassed on her property, the thought sent a cold shiver down her spine.

"I gave Amanda my word that I wouldn't divulge any of my knowledge and became a student here," Erik continued.

It seemed by that time, everything was proceeding according to the plan.

"Well, it was rather mind-numbing to go through courses equal to propaganda designed for toddlers. I've realized how over-prepared I was on the matter," he admitted, avoiding eye contact. "I should've eased into it, built more trust, but it just wasn't as engaging with not much else to do here. I grew reckless."

Erik's voice took on a new tone. He no longer seemed to be distancing himself from the past, instead owning up to his actions and their consequences. It was clear that this part of his story was of his own making, not the product of someone else's influence or circumstances forced upon him.

"This place was far from ideal, but it offered me the freedom I craved. I made friends and, foolishly, revealed the truth to them. We became united in our mission to save this world from itself."

He rose and moved towards a pile of rocks. Maya followed, her attention fixed on his every word.

Stolen novel; please report.

"I was naive, my views too idealistic. And as expected, it all came crashing down," he confessed, a note of self-reproach creeping into his voice. "Amanda was not pleased. But as I was the one who involved them, they were all going to pay for my mistakes." He accepted full responsibility for his actions, and the shame was evident in his voice.

Erik fell silent, closing his eyes as if battling a storm on the inside.

"Were your friends Tianna, Lillie, and Jeremy?" Elena's voice suddenly cut through the silence, catching him off guard.

A painful recognition in his eyes confirmed she was on the right track.

"Their files were alongside yours," she clarified in a lower tone, anticipating Maya would wonder how she knew their names.

"Yes, we were a friend group. It was the number of us, one for each element—making us a complete circle, that bothered Amanda," Erik admitted reluctantly.

It was very likely Erik hadn't spoken their names ever since the incident. But Elena's intervention forced him to acknowledge something they had yet to fully understand about magic—the significance of circles.

"Amellan area is the turf of a single but strong vampire clan," Erik seemingly digressed. "You might remember a name being tossed around the other night—Marcellus, their leader. He is ancient and powerful, and every vampire around here follows him."

"They wanted to bring him your head," Maya recalled.

Erik smiled bitterly. "Well, on this night, I've learned that he serves Amanda."

Maya was taken aback. The formidable ancient vampire leader was subservient to the Headmistress?

"We were abducted by vampires, but she was the one who willed it," Erik stepped toward the deep and dark entrance to the cave, "And they dragged us to their lair."

Maya instinctively stepped back. This was where they lived? But he wouldn't just lead her to their doorstep if it wasn't safe. Would he?

"They've changed their location since," he reassured her, noticing her reaction.

But he then paused in front of the entrance of the ominous, dark cave. Its gaping opening seemed like a monstrous maw of a primordial beast, ready to swallow him. His mind seemed conflicted about continuing with his story.

"Perhaps we should stop here. You don't need to learn what's in there…" he started, but Elena breezed past him and vanished into the deep shadows of the cavern.

Maya was struck by Elena's unwary plunge into potential danger.

"You wondered how relinquishing one's element could be of benefit," he turned to Maya, his breath quivering slightly. "Well, this is what it can do…"

"Holy hell!" Elena's gasp echoed from the inside, prompting Maya's legs to carry her inside without noticing.

The inside of the cave was unusually dark for a cavity with such a large opening. It seemed blackened and… scorched. Erik followed quietly behind, keeping his distance like a taciturn guardian, allowing her to learn the truth for herself.

At first, there wasn't much to see. The walls were charred, making it seem darker. As she walked, soon realization hit her, and Maya recoiled—the ragged, occasional jutting she was tripping over weren't rocks, but bone pieces.

Despite the disturbing revelation, Maya swallowed and ventured deeper.

Soon, it became clear those bones belonged to blackened humanoid skeletons that rested deeper within. Perhaps wild animals nibbled on their brittle structures and scattered them around. They seemed fragile, as if a single touch could turn them into dust.

Maya was horrified but continued.

Deeper in, the bones weren't just scattered on the ground, but melted into it. Skulls, ribcages and pelvises in impossible locations and positions, hardened within rocks like fossils. And, what disturbed Maya the most, they weren't just on the ground, but on the walls and even the ceiling above them.

'What the…?'

They were like fixtures that had always been part of the stone, fused into the rock as if they had formed at the same time, blackened and glossy as if unimaginable power had polished them. The deeper she went, the more disturbing sight awaited, and she knew she was moving toward the epicentre.

Maya felt chills as if silent screams still echoing after the blast could touch her skin. But she knew screams were never there; every living thing in here had perished instantly, leaving nothing but bones. It started to make sense; she was moving toward the hearth of an extinguished blast furnace.

Here, they've met up with Elena, standing in an eerie glow of her witchlight. Her attention was on one of the skulls fused into the wall, its face locked outwards, its empty eye sockets staring at them.

But she had no sympathy for the dead in here. Her fingers pressed against one of its elongated fangs until it snapped and fell off, clattering to the cave floor like a pebble.

All the remains belonged to vampires. There could have been a couple of dozen of them.

But who could have known the true number, as further in, skeletons weren't even recognizable anymore. Everything had been melted into a formless glob of stone, smooth and shiny, like a polished black gem. No. It was like the surface was made out of black glass.

Maya finally looked at Erik, eyes wide.

His gaze avoided hers, haunted by ghosts of the past and consumed by visible discomfort and pain. He remained silent, allowing the horror to speak for itself.

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