"I intend to sell the original Forbidden Technique I used, along with every insight I gained from watching it fail."
The statement hit Corwin like a thunderclap.
"You want to sell it? The Forbidden Technique itself?"
His shock was justified.
Techniques capable of elevating a subordinate race’s bloodline carried catastrophic risks even under ideal conditions. That was precisely why the Academy had banned them outright. Only experienced deities, usually well past graduation, possessed the knowledge and resources to attempt such techniques. Even then, few were reckless enough to try.
And the technique Caelum had used had come dangerously close to succeeding.
The midterm examiner had confirmed as much.
That alone made it worth a fortune to the right buyer.
If the technique reached a public auction, the resulting chaos would be impossible to predict.
"If your plan is to sell the technique to cover Solaris’s debt," Corwin said carefully, "I think you’re making things worse. You’ll be trading one disaster for three."
Caelum took another slow sip of tea. Something sharp flickered behind his calm expression.
"Don’t worry. I’ve thought this through."
He lowered the cup.
"I have no intention of repaying Solaris a single credit."
Corwin studied him for a moment.
At first, Caelum had genuinely considered leaving Solaris on good terms. He’d planned to repay what he owed, sever the partnership cleanly, and move on with his life.
That had been before his domain collapsed.
Before he’d watched Solaris’s mask slip away.
Now, looking back, the pattern was painfully obvious.
Solaris hadn’t been generous because they believed in him. They had encouraged his spending because they knew exactly how valuable his talent could become. The deeper he sank into their investment, the greater their eventual return would be if he succeeded.
And if he failed?
They would simply collect whatever remained.
No wonder every deity who reached true godhood tried to sever their ties with sponsoring companies as soon as they gained enough power to stand alone.
Corwin still looked uneasy, but he didn’t argue further.
Caelum’s certainty carried a weight that made resistance difficult.
After walking him to the door, Caelum watched until the man disappeared down the corridor.
Then he returned to the pond and sat down.
His expression gradually hardened into thought.
Solaris was a problem.
A serious one.
But it wasn’t the only thing bothering him.
Ever since awakening his divine domain and choosing the Hobgoblins as his retinue, things had gone suspiciously smoothly.
The drop of Eternal Water.
The Bloodline Ascension Technique, discovered in the Academy library almost as if it had been placed there specifically for him.
At the time, he’d considered it good fortune.
Now, he wasn’t so sure.
He’d been too focused on the strange premonition driving him toward the technique, too desperate to understand its connection to his previous life. He’d never stopped to question why every piece had fallen into his hands so neatly.
But now that he understood the truth, the coincidence was becoming difficult to ignore.
The technique wasn’t merely flawed.
It was fundamentally incompatible with what he’d attempted.
The Bloodline Ascension Technique was designed to elevate a bloodline along its existing evolutionary path. Caelum had tried to use it to turn one race into another entirely.
Hobgoblins into Orcs.
That wasn’t ascension.
It was transmutation.
And someone had placed that technique inside the Academy library.
Forbidden Techniques didn’t simply appear on shelves.
Someone had put it there.
Which meant someone had either wanted it discovered or had failed spectacularly at keeping it hidden.
Either way, the Academy had a problem.
And Caelum now had an opportunity.
If he sold the technique publicly, two things would happen immediately.
First, the resulting uproar would force the Academy to investigate its own library. Whoever had placed the technique there would inevitably come under scrutiny.
Second, the Academy would have little choice but to intervene in his dispute with Solaris.
A student being openly exploited on Academy grounds, using resources obtained through the Academy, would be a terrible look for the institution.
Caelum was still an Elysian student.
His divine path might have been shattered, but his status hadn’t disappeared yet.
That still carried weight.
Three problems solved with one move.
Solaris would be pressured into backing down. His frozen accounts could potentially be restored. The source of the Forbidden Technique might be uncovered.
And the Academy would do most of the work for him.
A triple win.
Caelum leaned back slightly, a faint smile touching his lips.
Solaris had stopped being something he needed to fear.
It was simply a matter of time.
Elysian Academy existed within a world of its own.
A colossal ring of mountains surrounded the Academy’s territory, their peaks so immense that they resembled the walls of some ancient fortress.
Three rivers descended from those mountains and wound inward before converging at the central lake, dividing the Academy’s territory into three distinct regions.
Each region was dominated by a massive mountain that pierced the clouds.
Emberpeak.
Cloudspire.
Seawatch.
Each served as the administrative center for one of the Academy’s three grade levels, with a director overseeing each.
Smaller peaks surrounded the main mountains, one assigned to every class within the corresponding grade.
Cloudspire was perhaps the most beautiful of the three.
A permanent sea of mist drifted around its summit, while traditional pavilions stretched across the mountainside. Their upturned eaves, carved stone lions, and bronze guardian beasts gave the entire place an ancient elegance.
At sunset, when the clouds turned gold and white cranes circled overhead, it was one of the most breathtaking sights in the entire Academy.
At the heart of Cloudspire stood the central pavilion.
Inside, an old man dressed in black robes sat behind a broad wooden desk.
He was heavyset, with a warm face and an almost grandfatherly appearance. Nothing about him suggested danger.
The badge pinned to his chest told a different story.
A three-legged cauldron marked with two golden stripes.
A rank that most students would never come close to reaching.
"Deputy Director Fenwick. Anything?"
Grand Elder Osric’s tone was casual.
Almost too casual.
Across from him sat a leaner man with sharp features and an immaculate posture. A single golden stripe adorned his badge, marking him as a rank beneath the elder.
His eyes, however, carried enough weight to make most people think twice before underestimating him.
Fenwick frowned.
"Nothing."
He paused.
"I personally reviewed the library archives. Thoroughly. There’s no record anywhere of a technique called the Bloodline Ascension Technique."
Osric’s fingers stopped tapping against the desk.
Fenwick continued.
"That’s not even the strangest part. Every surveillance camera covering the section where the student discovered it was damaged."
"All of them?"
"Every one."
His expression darkened.
"They failed at roughly the same time. We sent our best investigators to examine the area directly. There were no signs of physical tampering. No traces of divine power. Nothing."
Osric’s genial expression faded.
"So you’re telling me a Forbidden Technique appeared out of thin air, and every camera in the area happened to malfunction at exactly the same time."
Fenwick nodded.
"Based on everything we’ve confirmed so far, yes."
"Pure coincidence."
"That’s the only conclusion the evidence supports."
Osric gave a short laugh.
He watched Fenwick for several seconds.
"Don’t hold back on me. You’ve found something."
Fenwick didn’t deny it.
A faint smile crossed his face before disappearing just as quickly.
"No direct evidence from the scene itself. But I cross-referenced the Academy’s Forbidden Technique catalog."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I found something called the Bloodline Promotion Technique."
Osric’s eyes narrowed.
"It’s based on the same underlying principles as the technique the student used. But it’s much rougher. Less refined."
"An earlier version?"
"That’s what it looks like. Almost as though someone took the original technique and developed it further."
Silence settled over the pavilion.
"Bloodline Promotion Technique," Osric repeated slowly.
Something cautious entered his expression.
"I know that name."
Fenwick waited.
"It was one of Empyrean Combine’s core research projects."
The room seemed to grow quieter.
"Years ago," Osric continued, "that technique caused quite a stir throughout the Asian Community. Nearly ten deities attempted it."
His eyes hardened.
"Every single one ended with a shattered divine domain."
Fenwick’s expression grew grim.
"It was banned almost immediately afterward."
"Naturally."
Osric leaned back.
"But when Empyrean collapsed, that research should have disappeared with it. The project was supposed to be sealed permanently."
He looked directly at Fenwick.
"Locked away."
A pause.
"So why is a refined version sitting in our library?"
Fenwick went completely still.
The name alone was enough to make the implications impossible to ignore.
Empyrean Combine.
Once, it had been counted among the four great powers of the Asian Community. Its influence had extended far beyond divine research, woven into the foundations of the region’s economy and technological development.
Then its founding True God had fallen during a failed advancement.
The consequences had been catastrophic.
Without its strongest pillar, Empyrean’s internal factions turned against one another. Every group wanted control of what remained.
The infighting crippled the organization.
Mismanagement followed.
Then came bankruptcy.
What little remained of Empyrean Combine was eventually carved apart and sold to smaller companies.
Those companies survived for a few years.
Then most of them disappeared as well.
Empyrean Combine no longer existed.
Which made the appearance of its research inside Elysian Academy’s library far more disturbing than a simple filing error.
Fenwick slowly raised his eyes.
"Grand Elder."
Osric said nothing.
The old man’s expression had lost every trace of warmth.
"Someone brought that technique here."
"Or someone wanted us to think they did."
For the first time that evening, neither man spoke.
Outside, the white cranes continued circling above Cloudspire, their cries carrying through the golden mist.
Inside the pavilion, however, the atmosphere had become considerably colder.