Darkness pulsed like a living entity beneath the Magic Academy, deep within the hidden underground chamber. The air was thick with residual magic, a silent testament to the countless forbidden experiments that had been conducted here over the past few months.

  In the center of the vast chamber, Eo floated weightlessly, his form flickering between solidity and something more fluid, more ethereal. His countless eyes, shifting in hue and focus, observed the intricate spell formations surrounding him. The chamber was no longer just a forgotten relic of the past—it had been repurposed into a sprawling laboratory of understanding and domination.

  Eo had spent months unraveling the mysteries of Faith Magic. A power so fundamentally different from the natural forces he had studied before. Unlike elemental energies that could be manipulated through will and structure, Faith Magic thrived on belief, devotion, and obedience. It was a paradox—an intangible force bound by the thoughts of mortals, yet capable of reshaping reality itself.

  He wanted to understand it, and more importantly—control it.

  Standing beside him, Frid, his ever-loyal assistant, meticulously recorded the results of each experiment. His face, though as unreadable as ever, had lost the troubled hesitation that once lingered in his gaze. Perhaps it was acceptance. Perhaps it was something else.

  Bound in magic-nullifying chains Aelith, Thorne, and Antru kneeled in a separate section of the chamber, their expressions ranging from fury to cold detachment. The powerful anti-magic field embedded into the floor ensured they remained helpless, unable to resist or retaliate.

  Eo did not acknowledge them yet. They were subjects, not participants.

  Instead, he turned his attention to a mage, one of the many who had fallen under Caelum’s influence.

  The man, once a respected scholar of the academy, now stood motionless, his vacant eyes reflecting only obedience. Through Caelum’s power, his will had been erased, replaced with an unwavering devotion to the simple task of maintaining silence and secrecy.

  The entire Magic Academy remained oblivious to the horrors unfolding beneath their feet.

  Every student, professor, and guard had been carefully conditioned—their minds twisted into compliance. They noticed nothing unusual. They questioned nothing.

  It was an unprecedented success.

  "The subject is ready, Master Eo," Frid stated, voice devoid of emotion.

  Eo pulsed with acknowledgment, his form briefly shifting into an elegant web of shifting tendrils before stabilizing once more.

  The experiment was simple:

  Could Faith Magic be artificially replicated and subverted?

  Eo had long since discovered that Faith Magic was not something a being like him could simply absorb and utilize. It required belief—a force beyond logic. But if mortals could be conditioned into compliance, could they also be conditioned into faith?

  Could worship be manufactured?

  Eo reached out, his appendage wrapping around the mage’s head.

  The man did not flinch, did not resist.

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  His pulse slowed, his body stiffened, and a faint golden aura flickered around him—the remnant of a faith-based blessing bestowed upon him long ago.

  A fragile power.

  With a mere thought, Eo injected his influence into the mage’s very core. Not magic, not physical force—but something more insidious. A subtle rearrangement of thought, a rewiring of devotion.

  He did not wish to simply erase faith, as Caelum had done to so many.

  He wished to replace it.

  Seconds passed.

  Then, the shift occurred.

  The golden glow of Faith Magic dimmed.

  And in its place…

  A new radiance took hold.

  A faint, foreign aura now surrounded the mage, a corrupted reflection of Faith Magic—one no longer bound to the gods.

  Eo pulsed in satisfaction.

  It was not yet perfect, but it was progress.

  Faith, as it turned out, could indeed be forged.

  Frid, having watched the process unfold, gave a slow nod. “Shall I begin another round of tests?”

  Before Eo could respond, a weak, yet defiant voice spoke from the other side of the chamber.

  “Monstrosity… you’ve already destroyed more than half of them. What else do you want?”

  It was Aelith.

  She glared at Eo, eyes burning with rage, though her body remained motionless under the anti-magic suppression.

  Eo slowly turned, his many eyes fixating on her.

  She was referring to the Holy Scouts.

  Twenty-six had been captured at the start of his experiments—each one a golden-robed warrior blessed with divine magic.

  Now, only fifteen remained.

  The rest had perished, their faith shattered under the weight of Eo’s relentless experimentation.

  Aelith clenched her fists. “You don’t understand what you’re tampering with.”

  Eo’s response was silent but absolute.

  A pulse of energy resonated through the chamber, a chilling reminder of his control.

  “I understand enough.” His voice, a whisper and a roar, echoed through the chamber. “Faith is nothing but a structure. And all structures can be rewritten.”

  Aelith’s expression darkened.

  She had seen it firsthand.

  The few remaining Holy Scouts, once unwavering in their devotion, were no longer the same.

  Their faith had been fractured.

  Some had lost the light in their eyes, their minds broken beyond repair.

  Others… had begun to worship something else.

  Not the gods.

  Not the Church.

  But Eo.

  Aelith gritted her teeth. “You think you’ve won?”

  Eo did not answer.

  He did not need to.

  His experiments were not yet complete.

  There was still so much more to learn.

  And when the time came—

  When his understanding was absolute—

  Not even the gods would escape his grasp.

  Aelith struggled to keep her breathing steady. She had always been ruthless, never one to hesitate when it came to seizing power. She had betrayed, manipulated, and killed without remorse, all in pursuit of her own goals.

  Yet, for the first time in a long while, she felt something unsettling.

  This…

  This was different.

  What Eo was doing was beyond cruelty, beyond ambition—it was unnatural.

  It was wrong.

  And the worst part?

  He didn’t even understand why.

  She had met monsters before—people who delighted in suffering, who sought power for their own twisted pleasure.

  But Eo?

  He was not driven by hatred. He was not ruled by greed.

  There was no malice in his actions.

  There was only curiosity.

  Cold, detached curiosity.

  And that made it far worse.

  Aelith exhaled slowly, trying to suppress the shiver crawling up her spine.

  “You’re insane,” she muttered, her voice hoarse. “This… this is beyond evil. You’re playing with something you don’t even comprehend.”

  Eo remained still, his countless eyes fixed upon her, unblinking, unfazed.

  “Evil?” His voice echoed softly, as if testing the word, tasting its meaning.

  He pulsed once, a slow ripple of energy moving through his form.

  “I do not understand this classification.”

  Aelith felt her jaw tighten. “What you’re doing—controlling minds, twisting faith, using people as test subjects—is something that no sane person would ever do.”

  “No sane human,” Eo corrected.

  That was when Aelith realized—he truly did not care.

  To him, humans were nothing special.

  No different from insects crawling on the ground. No different from the monsters lurking in the dark.

  They were simply creatures—nothing more, nothing less.

  Aelith swallowed hard, realizing just how alien his thoughts were.

  And just how hopeless her situation had become.