The morning mist clung to the stone walls of the Academy, damp and cool against Ellie’s skin as she walked, still groggy from sleep, through the quiet halls. Her mind was foggy, her thoughts drifting between dreams and waking. The events of the previous day—the relic, the overheard conversation, Mariel’s words—swirled in her head, but she couldn’t quite make sense of them. Not yet.

As she rounded a corner, she nearly collided with someone—a tall, robed figure moving swiftly down the hall.

“Watch your step, Ellie,” came Achron’s voice, low and smooth, but with an edge that made her pulse quicken. His face was calm, but his eyes—sharp, glittering—narrowed as they met hers. He looked different this morning, his movements too precise, too deliberate.

“Sorry,” Ellie mumbled, stepping aside. She rubbed her eyes, still not fully awake, but something felt off. There was a strange, sulfurous smell in the air.

Her eyes fell on the pedestal standing in the corner nearby. On it sat a glowing orb, one of the Academy’s enchanted monitoring artifacts. Its light pulsed faintly, steady and unremarkable.

Her eyes fell on the pedestal standing in the corner nearby. On it sat a glowing orb, one of the Academy’s enchanted monitoring artifacts. Its light pulsed faintly, steady and unremarkable. She didn’t even notice when she exhaled the air she had been holding, her breath hanging in the air like mist.

As the faint magical residue in the corridor reacted to her breath, the orb’s glow suddenly flickered, its rhythm shifting as if detecting something. The reaction wasn’t unusual—Ellie knew her presence often had strange effects on enchanted objects—but this time, the flicker spread outward.

A rush of cold air surged through the hallway, a pulse of magic that sent a chill through Ellie’s bones. She gasped, feeling an odd tightening in her chest. As she turned to look back at Achron, her breath caught in her throat.

Achron was... flickering. His robes, his face—everything about him was shifting, like an illusion unraveling. His tall, stately form melted away, revealing something darker and twisted beneath. Blackened skin, gnarled and sinewy, gleamed faintly in the dim light. His hands—once so composed and elegant—became clawed talons. His face was sharp and angular, his eyes burning red, like embers glowing beneath a veil of shadow.

‘He’s not Achron,’ Ellie realized with a jolt of horror. ‘He’s something else. A devil’.

Ellie took a step back, heart hammering. How could this have happened? How had she—she of all people—exposed him? But before she could make sense of it, Achron’s true form—now towering, monstrous—snarled at her, his voice a low, guttural hiss.

‘Look at the bright side,’ Ellie tried to stay positive. ‘At least it's a devil, not a demon’.

“You were never supposed to see this,” the devil growled, his eyes burning with hatred. “But no matter. You are too late to stop what is already in motion.”

Ellie stumbled back, her mind racing. “What are you?” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

A cruel smile twisted across the devil’s face. “I have waited centuries for this,” he hissed. “To bring the ancient king of the devils back from the void.”

Ellie’s blood ran cold. The ancient devil king. She had heard whispers of such things in the old stories—beings of immense power who had been sealed away long ago, bound by the greatest mages of their time. Their existence was more legend than history, but now it seemed the tales were real.

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“You... you’ve been pretending to be Achron this whole time?” Ellie’s voice wavered with disbelief.

The devil let out a harsh laugh, his true form shimmering faintly in the misty corridor. “The fool Achron was an easy puppet,” he spat. “His identity has served me well. Through him, I have positioned myself at the heart of the Academy, ensuring no one could interfere. The relic you found—it was the final key, and now nothing can stop the resurrection of the true master of this world.”

Ellie’s heart pounded in her chest. The relic—it was a key, a piece of a larger plan she hadn’t understood until now. She had unwittingly helped this devil bring his master closer to awakening. “You’re trying to resurrect the devil king,” she whispered, dread building in her throat. “You’ve been using the Academy to—”

“To prepare for his return,” the devil finished for her, his voice dripping with triumph. “And now, all of Lorthraine will fall to him.”

Before Ellie could react, the door at the end of the hallway burst open, and a group of students and faculty spilled into the corridor. Their voices, filled with casual conversation, died instantly as they took in the scene before them—the broken orb on the floor, Ellie standing wide-eyed, and the horrific form of the devil before them.

A collective gasp filled the air. Master Kolvin, one of the senior professors, stepped forward, his face pale with shock. “Achron? What... what is this?”

The devil turned toward the crowd, his fiery eyes narrowing. For a moment, there was a stunned silence, and then the students began to back away, horrified. One of them—a young girl—dropped her spellbook, the thud echoing like a death knell through the hall.

Ellie, still frozen, felt her hands trembling as she clutched the relic in her pocket. She had never been trained for something like this—never wanted to be here—but the truth of Achron’s deception was laid bare now, and there was no going back.

“You deceived us all,” Master Kolvin’s voice rang out, filled with righteous fury. “You are no archmage. You are a devil!”

The students murmured in terror, their faces filled with disbelief. Ellie watched as realization spread through the crowd—their beloved leader, the one who had guided them, was a monster. And it was her accidental blunder that had revealed the truth.

“A devil, yes,” the creature snarled, turning his attention back to Ellie. “But it is you, child, who has hastened the return of the ancient king. You’ve done more than you know.”

Ellie’s heart thundered in her chest. She could barely breathe, barely think. The weight of what she had done, what she had uncovered, pressed down on her like a heavy fog.

Before the devil could strike, Master Kolvin raised his staff. “To arms, now!” he commanded, his voice cutting through the panic. “We must not let him escape!”

The professors sprang into action, their magic rippling through the air in shimmering waves. The students, wide-eyed but determined, followed suit, drawing upon their own skills to bolster the attack. The hall filled with the crackle of magic as the faculty unleashed a torrent of energy, forcing the devil back.

Ellie stumbled aside, watching as the fight unfolded before her eyes. The devil was powerful, his form shifting and twisting, but even he couldn’t withstand the combined strength of the Academy’s mages. The air vibrated with the force of their spells, pushing him further into retreat, his red eyes flashing with fury.

As the devil was driven into the shadows, disappearing into the labyrinthine corridors beneath the Academy, Ellie stood motionless, her breath coming in shallow gasps. The students and faculty turned toward her, their faces pale but filled with awe and admiration.

“You exposed him,” Master Kolvin said, his voice tinged with disbelief and respect. “Ellie Liddell... you’ve saved the Academy.”

The students murmured in agreement, their eyes filled with wonder. Ellie could barely process what was happening. She hadn’t meant to expose the devil; she had tripped over a book, for gods’ sake. But they believed it had been a calculated act of bravery, another feat to add to her growing legend.

“I...” Ellie began, but the words caught in her throat.

The truth didn’t matter now. She had revealed the impostor. And in their eyes, she was a hero once again.

But deep down, Ellie knew this wasn’t over. The devil had escaped, and the resurrection of the ancient king still loomed over them like a shadow waiting to fall.