Chapter 3

Silas stood up. His massive frame cast a long, dark shadow over the podium.

"Furthermore," Silas's voice boomed, laced with heavy mana that made Elara's teeth vibrate in her skull. "You will walk the Stairway of Penance."

A wave of genuine horror swept through the spectator stands. Whispers broke out like a sudden fire. The Stairway of Penance was a death sentence. The steps were carved with soul-tearing runes. No human without magic could survive the climb down.

"Before you walk the stairs," Silas continued, his tone flat and cruel, "your remaining physical mana pathways will be manually severed."

Elara's muscles locked up. Manual severing meant they were going to cut her open. It was the physical equivalent of being flayed alive.

"Stop!"

A voice cracked through the tension. Professor Elias Vance, the head of the Alchemy department, shoved his way to the front of the stands.

Vance practically jumped over the railing, landing heavily on the marble floor. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"This is murder, Silas!" Vance shouted, pointing a shaking finger at the podium. "She has no core! The Severing alone will kill her!"

Silas looked down his nose at Vance. He adjusted his gold cuffs. "The Alchemy department has always been plagued by weak stomachs and excessive sentimentality."

Vance spun around, looking up at the other professors seated in the high boxes. "Vote with me! Overturn this! It's barbaric!"

Every single professor looked away. They stared at their laps or the ceiling. No one was going to risk their own comfortable position to save a ruined girl from Silas's wrath.

Seraphina glided over to Vance. She placed a gentle, white hand on his arm.

"Professor Vance, please," Seraphina said, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. "Don't break the Academy rules for her. It hurts me too, but the law is the law."

Vance ripped his arm away from her touch like she burned him. "Save your act for the fools who buy it, girl."

Seraphina stumbled back, her lower lip trembling. Immediately, four senior male students stepped forward, glaring daggers at Vance.

Vance took a deep, ragged breath. He turned back to Silas. "I will take her. Let her serve as a menial laborer in the Alchemy labs. I'll take full responsibility. Waive the sentence."

The entire hall went still. All eyes shifted to Elara. Vance was offering her the only lifeline she had.

Elara looked at the sweat dripping down Vance's face. She felt a sharp pang of gratitude in her chest. But she knew the truth. Staying in the Tower meant Silas would eventually find out about her chaos core. Staying meant death.

Elara straightened her spine. She pulled her shoulders back.

"Thank you, Professor Vance," Elara said, her voice ringing clear and cold. "But I decline."

Vance's jaw dropped. "Elara, are you insane? You will die!"

"I would rather drag my bleeding body down that stairway than breathe the same air as the hypocrites in this Tower for one more second," Elara shouted, her voice echoing violently off the walls.

The crowd erupted. Insults and death threats rained down on her from the stands. The students were furious at her arrogance.

Silas let out a harsh, barking laugh. "Good. Very well."

He slammed the base of his staff into the floor.

The marble beneath Elara's feet began to shake violently. A massive crack formed in the center of the hall. The floor split open, sliding apart to reveal a steep, jagged stone staircase plunging into absolute darkness.

Dark, dried blood stained the edges of the steps. Thick, razor-sharp iron thorns grew from the walls. A freezing wind blasted up from the abyss, carrying the faint, sickening sound of distant screaming.

The wind hit Elara, making her sway on her feet, but she locked her knees and refused to step back.

Silas waved his hand. "Bring out the executioner."

The crowd parted. A tall young man in a pristine, tailored uniform walked onto the floor.

Leander Vale. The Tower's top swordsman. Elara's fiancé.

Leander stopped ten feet away from her. His jaw was clenched so tight the muscles twitched. His eyes were a storm of conflict and deep, cowardly pain.

The moment Elara saw him, her chest constricted. The phantom pain of his sword piercing her back in her past life flared up, making her breath hitch.

"Leander," Silas commanded. "Prove your absolute loyalty to your family and this Academy. Sever her pathways."

Leander's hand trembled as he reached for the hilt of his enchanted broadsword. The metal scraped loudly as he pulled it from the scabbard. He pointed the tip directly at Elara's chest.