Robert spent the night in the library. He had no idea which library had the best or the biggest collection, the Academy or the arcology but he was leaning toward the Academy. Not that he would tell that to anyone. He needed to learn about this crazy cult that wanted to get Mickey.

A unique spirit was practically priceless. The few recorded instances where one was sold at an auction not only reached a stratospheric price in heated bidding wars but also caused deaths. Plural. Be it attempts to steal the spirit or force others to drop it. The reason was obvious. They granted a new spell and their affinity. A broader toolset meant more power and the ability to adapt to more situations. But using a unique to gain a new affinity was considered by most a waste. The real gain was to gain a unique derivative affinity.

Due to the secretive nature of Archhumans, little information existed on these unique affinities. A guy with the Fire affinity once obtained a unique Fire spirit and gained the ability to animate creature-shaped flames who would fight under his orders. They had a mind of their own but were completely loyal. Another, an Ink affinity Arch, gained the power to create binding contracts impossible to circumvent. This one was murdered by terrorists shortly after his power was discovered.

Robert could gain a lot of power if he bound Mickey and gained a unique Void affinity. But the thought was so abhorrent he felt sick just by having it. This void cult would stop at nothing to get Mickey. Worse, if it became public knowledge Mickey was out there, it would trigger a gold rush. Every Arch and their mother would try to find him. That's why he told nobody and would never do so. He was sure even the mighty four-star Archs that led the world's biggest organizations would throw a hat into that ring.

He used his time in the void to read more books and to train with the sword and the spear. When morning arrived, he felt ready for whatever this world tossed at him.

*

*

The world decided he should suffer an inquisition.

Robert was leaving the library at dawn when a man from the Academy staff flagged him.

"Mr. Robert Blaze?"

"That's me. Good morning."

He handed him a folded sheet of paper. "You've been summoned for an inquiry, Sir. Please follow me."

The man turned but Robert remained still. He opened the paper and read it. Despite his testimony yesterday, the Academy higher-ups summoned Robert to speak about the incidents again. He sent silent messages to both Amanda and Actus, warning them of what was happening.

The Academy staff stopped and turned. "Are you coming? Or are you going to ignore the summons?"

"I'm coming. Just wanted to read this first," Robert waved the paper. He entered the liminal void to study the message and compare it against the Academy statutes he had in his ring.

Once he returned with nobody the wiser, the man led him to the administrative building. Robert sent the remainder of his messages.

*

*

Robert sat in a chair at the far end of a long meeting table full of people. Amanda and Actus were nowhere to be seen. He had the whole end for himself. Three seats on each of his sides were empty.

The man at the other end of the table broke the silence. "I am Marcus Palmer, Imperial's deputy head of security. On behalf of the Academy and everyone present, I thank you for accepting our invitation."

So this guy should be Lars Graahaal's direct subordinate. Funny.

It wasn't like he had much choice. Robert just nodded. He then entered the liminal void to study the room from there. He stayed for only two days and then returned.

"Mr. Blaze, what do you know about the Cult of the Pail Priestess?"

"That they worship this deity, are somehow fascinated with the Void affinity, were involved in the incident at the cafeteria, and have infiltrated this institution. I had no prior contact or knowledge of their existence before yesterday."

His last statement was a tentative jab at the guy. Wasn't he supposed to stop exactly that? He knew he'd scored one when he saw the slight clenching of Marcus' jaw and his narrowing eyes. Robert was pissed. He was the victim here. What was this guy's intentions? To frame him? Did they need a scapegoat this badly?

A guy sitting on Marcus' left nodded slightly. Was he someone with a lie-detection talent? Most likely.

"How many times do you believe you came into contact with one of their agents?"

"Two. One at the cafeteria and another when the guy blocked me from leaving the dorm."

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"Are you a member—"

"No," Robert cut him.

"Wait until I finish the questions."

"Sure. I'll wait until the questions are finished."

Marcus grunted. He waited for a breath before continuing. "Are you a member of this cult?"

"Hell, no."

Another nod from the left-hand guy. Robert activated Prescience with a two-second warning window.

"Do you have the Void affinity?"

"I refuse to answer that question. Academy rules, article seventy-eight."

"Everyone here is under a geas. You are aware of it, right?"

"Do you mean the geas that teachers take to not disclose their students' information?"

"Yes."

Robert took a good look at the panel members, stopping to make eye contact with each of them.

"Nobody here is my teacher."

Silence. No chuckles or coughs were heard. Robert took the initiative. They were obviously not playing by the rules. Time to remind him he wasn't one of those braindead young masters and ladies.

"Sir, I would like to state that I've read the whole corpus of the Academy rules and guidelines at least thirty times. I would ask you to avoid such disingenuous traps."

The left-hand guy nodded. Robert met his eyes and nodded at him.

"Do you know the whereabouts of a unique spirit?" Marcus asked, finally getting to the point.

Robert had no idea where Mickey was. True, the last time he saw the mouse spirit was in the district twenty-three park but he could be anywhere. No, he was sure Mickey wasn't at the park anymore. Otherwise, they could have found him already.

"No."

Marcus scowled. The left-hand guy nodded. Marcus scowled harder.

"I might know the whereabouts of a Life-attuned eidolon, tough," Robert offered to misdirect them.

One of the teachers present became very interested. "Where—"

"That's irrelevant," Marcus said, glaring at the teacher. "What spell did you use on Pablo?"

"Academy rules, article seventy-eight. I'm not required to answer that."

"Why did you use a spell on Pablo?"

"Because he was being annoyed. Let the record show he allowed it."

"What did the spell do to Pablo?"

"I believe that has been already determined in yesterday's investigations."

"Did you implant a suggestion on Pablo?"

"Academy rules, article seventy-eight. I will not disclose anything about my talent, my abilities, or my affinities."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Perhaps you would like to fill in the rest of your questionnaire by yourself, Mr. Palmer. As you are clearly disregarding my rights. Weave the narrative you want but please don't waste everyone's time."

Marcus placed his hands on the table and stood up. He released his pressure and it threatened to crush Robert. The guy was a four-star Arch, from the pressure and the readings Robert got from Life Sense.

Robert wondered what the hell was going on here. This was not normal by any means. Were these people who they claimed to be? How corrupted was the Academy if the ones in charge allowed this to happen? And why wasn't anyone speaking up?

He started using spells that had no external manifestation. Thought acceleration. Mind Shield. Enhance Senses. Sense Recording. He felt relieved nobody was messing with his mind. Mind Shield wasn't reacting to any external influences and even helped him partially resist Marcus' pressure. Robert knew he was playing a dangerous game. Even with his talent, he would probably not leave the room alive if Marcus so decided. He didn't feel that much safer outside. The cultists and whoever they managed to bribe were out there and they knew who Robert was.

"We have the power to expel you, Mr. Blaze. You better cooperate with our investigation!" Marcus threatened.

"Of course, Mr. Palmer. What else do you want to know that doesn't violate my student rights?"

"Now, now. Marcus, tone it down," one of the teachers said. The pressure vanished.

Robert paid attention to the faces of the silent audience. He was glad this wasn't a one-on-one interrogation. The teachers in attendance would give the inquiry legitimacy but would also shield Robert from any unethical practices. Their overall mood was one of disapproval. Marcus was clearly skirting if not outright violating Academy rules and his own authority. He recognized two of the teachers from the combat classes yesterday at the auditorium. But what did Marcus want?

Option one. He needed a scapegoat. They had Pablo for that already. The political cost of pinning it on Pablo was way smaller than implicating Amanda's bodyguard, then Amanda, then Samson by proxy.

Option two. He wanted Mickey for himself. He doubted the four-star couldn't go into a passage and get a unique spirit for himself if he wanted to. They were extremely rare but not the only way to get an affinity. Maybe the unique ability they granted was better than the affinity but Robert doubted it. A new affinity opened up a whole new deck of options.

Option three. He needed to get the cult out of the Academy before too late. A prolonged search would put his job in jeopardy.

Option four. He was a cultist.

Option five. Option one is on steroids. The news had spilled outside the Academy and now he really needed a scapegoat because the higher-ups were really upset. If the reverse recognition squid massacre caused that much uproar, coupled with the Kraven patriarch's death, and now this? Most of the next generation of Archhumans was in this Academy at this very moment. A large-scale massacre here would be catastrophic.

Robert believed he had a winner. Occam's Razor told him to not be so hasty in his conclusions but he didn't care. He had to work with the worst-case scenario and hope he'd overestimated the danger. The results, wasted resources, were way better than underestimating it and dying.

"Good. Shall we continue, Mr. Blaze?"

"Sure, I'm here to help," Robert matched Marcus' scowl with a smile.

"We believe the cult's goal is to awaken a Void eidolon, Victor the Etherborne. Do you know anything about it?"

"Only what I read at the library last night," Robert said. "Victor the Etherborne is an undead creature from the Void that feeds on life energy. It attacked our realm eighty years ago and was defeated by the Empress. And no, if your intention was to make me admit I learned it from the cult, I can assure you and your assistant that I never had any contact with this cult before yesterday."

Robert said that staring at the left-hand guy who he was sure had a truth-detecting power. The man nodded, then whispered something to Marcus.

But that last exchange pushed one of Robert's eyebrows up.

Marcus had top-notch intel on the cult. It begged the question of where did he acquire it. Did he capture some cultists and interrogate them? Was Robert witnessing the end of the operation where he was being debriefed just to clear himself of all suspicion?

Not only that, but Victor the Etherborne was an eidolon so powerful that he had to be contained and sealed instead of just taken by an Arch. Eidolons were evolved unique spirits and worked just the way the latter did. They granted a powerful ultimate ability – nothing like the ones Chris and the gang were using – and their affinity. They also could only be captured by four-star Archs or higher because of their sheer power. Anyone weaker would need a powerful ally to subdue the Eidolon and then why wouldn't that person take it for themselves? It made no sense to go through all this trouble just to twink someone else.

Marcus leaned in his chair. "Mr. Blaze, what do you know of the intermediate dimension known as the liminal void?"

Robert started to laugh. This was the last clue he needed. He sent a silent message. Ten seconds later, the door burst open.

Actus, Amanda, Marcus Palmer, along with knight Lars Graahaal and Academy security staff barged into the room. The attending teachers jumped from their seats in shock.

Robert stood and pointed at the Marcus Palmer on the other side of the room, voicing his suspicion. "That man is an impostor."

The metaphorical Emergency Meeting button was pressed.