Hostor stopped by to visit Magnus, as usual, and to his surprise, the archmage's chambers were guarded by steel golems (this had not been practiced before). Even knowing eight languages did not affect the guards—they remained as steadfast as ever; a frustrated Hostor had to turn around and leave.
It was a day off at the Academy, as it was everywhere else—the annual masquerade would take place tonight, so no one was working; everyone was preparing for the upcoming event.
Magnus was still in his chambers. The silence of the sleepless night is broken by the crash of lightning outside the window—it seems perfect peace will never come. The archmage meditated, trying to organize all past events, as well as the guest who had visited his mind: tonight Magnus slept an unhealthy sleep—he saw nightmares, a voice in his mind saying, "You are playing a game that you cannot win. You are weak, you are pathetic... insignificant, just like all your students. You cannot even accept the truth; you will resist until the very end, but you will not admit your failure, your collapse. Just as your student does, who is now plunging a dagger into your heart..." Magnus suddenly left the state of sleep and then just as abruptly pushed the man with the knife away with a magical thrust. When the archmage approached the body, he recognized one of the students; the absence of eyeballs in the sockets was simultaneously terrifying and repulsive...
After these events, he had to station guards at his doors, while he himself began to meditate. Ultimately, he decided that he needed to become more acquainted with black magic in order to better understand his enemy. Leaving his chambers, he headed to the closed archive, where he found the book he was looking for. These were the diaries of Revan, the same dark mage who died two years ago.
The archmage notified everyone that he was temporarily leaving the Academy and headed to a remote part of the city where no one would disturb him.
Werwolka walked slowly through the night—and at the same time insanely bright—streets of HeroesWorld City, heading toward HeroesPlaza, where the masquerade would be held. In essence, this event had preserved only the name and anonymity from the original—in other words, masks. The party was already in full swing; the girl had intentionally lingered. The old part of the building, where one of the exits was located, could not help but cause bewilderment—exposed brick walls, trash on broken asphalt, and it's 2016...
Entering the building, Werwolka went to change her clothes.
Members of the Academy also attended the masquerade: Arandor, Hostor, Drakkoshka, Nebo, and others.
"Don't you think it's a bit strange to be having fun while Neyra is missing? Maybe she's wounded? Maybe she's scared?" Lizard kept muttering, negatively affecting the mood of the others; Arandor mentally supported him.
When Werwolka entered the main hall, her eyes immediately found her cavalier—a man dressed all in black, about 185-190 centimeters tall. Despite the fact that no other distinguishing features could be identified, something drew her to him, as if she were hypnotized...
Lizard and Arandor's depressing phrases continued to build tension; Drakkoshka was the first to snap.
"Listen, guys, maybe enough?"
"What are you talking about?" Arandor asked.
"If you're in a bad mood, there's no need to ruin it for others!"
"But Neyra! What if Lizard is right, and she..."
"And she what? Instead of whining here, you could go and find her yourself."
"But..."
"But what? Oh right, because Arandor is such a nonentity that he can't handle anything on his own!" The girl realized she had said too much—Arandor...
Arandor simply snapped and ran out of there. Doubts began to torment him—after all, in reality, if he were stronger, he could have helped his friend himself...
Magnus had been in relative peace for some time now, in his small house on the shore of a lake. Deciding to pay attention only to important entries, he made himself comfortable and opened the first page of the diary.
14.01.2011.
I:Scintilla. An extraordinary feeling when you feel energy pulsing inside yourself. For the first time in my life, I am not interested in the nature of this phenomenon; I am simply glad it exists. And when your life is saved by so-called "magic" after falling from the roof of a high-rise building, you begin to see life differently. No, I didn't start believing in God; I only became more convinced of my beliefs, and besides... how can one believe in the existence of a deity if you can become one yourself?
23.03.2011.
The first academy of magic was opened in HeroesWorld City. I continue to develop my abilities; I hope the academy will help me with this.
30.03.2011.
A little less than a week ago, I was enrolled in the academy. The training is terrible. Our teachers are failures who know nothing of magic, whose lessons are based only on raw theory. Magnus agrees with me; he says that someday he will take his place here and everything will be different... Ah, dreams.
23.03.2012.
Together with Magnus, we received distinctions as the most talented students. A bluff! We are standing still, practically not progressing. This insignificant, worthless piece of gold with a vile diamond in the center means nothing.
02.06.2012.
Probably, if it weren't for my self-study, I would have stopped developing long ago, just like Arandor, Lizard, and the others. Fools understand nothing and blindly follow their "teachers"—raw theorists!
11.08.2012.
And this is what they call a protected archive? A couple of special forces officers? How ridiculous! It was no trouble for me to penetrate the archive and obtain the necessary papers and books from there. Among much junk, there happened to be a considerable amount of interesting material, including some "dark" magic.
17.08.2012.
I concluded that black magic is divided into several main types: necromancy, chaos, and destruction (and why do only fools include blood magic here?). The first proved boring to me, but the other two... I decided to engage in a more detailed study of them.
02.06.2013.
Magnus became the first archmage of the academy. Happy for him. Moreover, he dismissed the previous teaching staff; now their places are taken by talented people—former students. I declined the job offered to me.
18.07.2013.
I realized one very important thing about dark sorcery—it can enslave your mind, and then... then you will be its slave, not the other way around. But with a strong will, a goal, and more importantly, an understanding of the essence of mental decay, it can be turned into a powerful ally.
An April day. 2014.
Today another annual masquerade was held, which I could not miss.
When I arrived there, I immediately saw her: shining green eyes set the girl apart from all the crowd around her, and her gaze incinerated and fascinated. A straight nose, pale skin, and long black hair gave her face nobility and aloofness. Then, I approached her, we began to dance, and afterwards, without waiting for the end of the masquerade, we went to her room. We spent the whole night together. It was exquisite; however, in the morning, when I woke up alone and without my wallet, I became somewhat... angry. I didn't care about its contents; I couldn't believe that girl was an ordinary whore. Concentrating during meditation on searching, I discovered her location. Bursting into the apartment, I saw her in bed with another man. It took me no effort to turn him into a bloody mess in a second—from the shock, the girl lost consciousness. By the time she came to, her body was already tied to a wooden bed located in a gloomy torture chamber of an ancient stone castle. Upon waking, she immediately began to scream. I realized this because when I returned, her voice was hoarse, and seeing me, she cried even harder and began to beg for forgiveness—a hoarse, disgusting voice uttered false apologies; however, I no longer cared. By force of thought, I cut off one finger, then a second, a third... She could not lose consciousness—I did not allow her body to do so. After five minutes of my torture, she... this piece of meat did not look like a human. I held in my hands that very eye which had previously seemed fascinating to me... Time to kill her.
Two days later.
I realized what mistake I made—I gave in to foolish passions. Fortunately, now I have cleansed my karma, my mind is clear, and I feel excellent.One page remained. Magnus stopped and remembered that it was exactly this month he discovered that Revan used dark magic, and then that... April slaughter began.
Turning the page, he saw a blank page. "Strange," he thought. Letters began to appear on the paper, turning into words:
"Idiot, while you read these pages, your students and friends are dying one by one".
"Ah, listen, why are you so quiet?" Werwolka asked, leading the stranger into a cozy room.
The stranger remained silent. Werwolka turned her back to him. The room became stifling; dark smoke began to rise...
The last few days had exhausted Magnus, and reading this diary made him feel some weakness, and it was for this reason that he returned to the Academy by the time the party at HeroesPlaza had ended and everyone had dispersed. The academy itself was on fire: students were dead, everything around was burning, and the archive was looted. Magnus fell to his knees and clutched his head. After a while, Hostor, Kosha, Lizard, and others who had been relaxing at the masquerade approached. Almost all of them stood behind the archmage, watching their home burn. Only Arandor dashed away...
He walked through the city, reflecting and reflecting: would Neyra have been kidnapped if he were a bit stronger? Would all the students of the academy have been killed if he were a bit stronger? In many ways, he blamed himself for not being able to protect them.
Soon he discovered that he had come to some ancient stone castle. Only the full moon illuminated this terrible place. But something compelled Arandor to go inside...
Arandor
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