The Extra's Rise

I stared at the red sun symbol on the mayor's wrist.

The Southern Sea Sun Palace.

Like discovering the villain in chapter three of a mystery novel when you've read the entire book before, I knew exactly what this meant—though I had the distinct disadvantage of being the only one present with such foreknowledge.

The Southern Sea Sun Palace occupied its own island in the Luthadel Sea, which stretched between the Eastern and Southern continents like a vast, watery no-man's-land. It was the southern counterpart to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, which had its own island between the Eastern and Northern continents. Geographical symmetry that would have been poetic if it weren't for the troubling implications.

While Mount Hua sect maintained a certain aloofness from worldly affairs, their isolation was practically gregarious compared to the Southern Sea Sun Palace. The Palace had effectively excised itself from the world in the latter part of the nineteenth century, creating a bubble of existence so separate that even mentioning them in most circles would earn you blank stares or dismissive laughs.

They were the geopolitical equivalent of that distant relative no one talks about anymore—except this relative had access to extraordinary power and a legendary artifact.

"Aria," I called out, my voice cutting through the tense silence, "You recognize this, right?"

Aria's eyes widened as they fixed on the symbol, her recognition immediate and visceral. Her usual composure slipped for a moment, and I could feel her fire mana simmering just beneath the surface of her control, threatening to ignite the very air around us.

"The Red Sun," she confirmed, her tone carrying the weight of centuries of familial grievance. If hatred could be distilled into sound, her voice would have been its purest expression.

"What is that?" Cecilia asked, her crimson eyes narrowing with curiosity.

"Just some rats who ran away," Aria scoffed, the deliberate casualness of her words belied by the white-knuckled grip she maintained on her staff. "But they show themselves again? We need to report this."

"Of course," I agreed, summoning Deepdark from the well of shadows within me. The darkness materialized as sleek black chains that wrapped around the mayor with the eager precision of a spider securing its prey. "We'll take him with us."

The mayor, wisely, had decided that unconsciousness was the better part of valor and remained slumped in the chains' embrace.

"Why does she hate that so much?" Cecilia whispered to me as we began our journey back, her voice low enough that only I could hear.

"Bad blood," I replied simply. "The Gu family and the Southern Sea Sun Palace have very bad blood, though a long time has passed since then."

What I didn't add was that in the novel, the Southern Sea Sun Palace had been used by the Red Chalice cult and vampires as a tool—a staging ground for horrors yet to come. By the time the Kagu family emissaries reached the island after the vampires revealed themselves, they found only ruins kept hidden from the world by the Red Sun artifact's power to block all external observation.

Even now, satellites orbiting high above could see nothing of what transpired on that island. The Red Sun's power created a perfect blind spot in humanity's vigilance—a darkness hiding in plain sight.

'In terms of power, the Palace Lord should be Immortal-rank,' I thought, the realization sending a chill down my spine despite the warm night air. The presence of the symbol here, connected to the miasma incidents, could only mean one thing: the corruption had begun.

The mayor's involvement suggested the Palace Lord might already have become a Cardinal of the Red Chalice Cult, with who knew how many other powerful beings gathered on that isolated island.

None of this boded well for... well, anyone, really.

Our return journey to the Academy was mercifully uneventful.

The Academy's night guard looked appropriately startled when we arrived at the gates with an unconscious town mayor wrapped in shadow chains, but to their credit, they maintained their professionalism. One doesn't work security at a place where teenagers routinely bend the laws of physics without developing a certain immunity to surprise.

"We need to see Professor Nero immediately," I said, my tone brooking no argument.

The guards exchanged glances before one nodded and gestured for us to follow. "He's in his office. Late night research again."

Professor Nero, unlike the guards, didn't even look up when we entered his office with our bound captive. He simply marked his place in the book he was reading and sighed with the weariness of someone who had long ago accepted that peace and quiet were luxuries beyond his reach.

"I assume there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for why you're dragging Windmere's mayor into my office at this hour?" he asked, his gaze finally rising to meet ours.

"He's involved with the miasma incidents," Ava stated flatly. "And worse."

"Show him," I prompted.

Aria stepped forward, unceremoniously yanking up the mayor's sleeve to reveal the red sun symbol burned into his skin. "The Southern Sea Sun Palace," she said, practically spitting the words.

For perhaps the first time since I'd known him, Professor Nero looked genuinely shocked. His composure returned quickly, but that momentary crack in his calm facade spoke volumes about the seriousness of our discovery.

"I see," he said, his voice carefully controlled as he stood from his desk. "This... complicates matters."

The next few hours passed in a blur of debriefings, explanations, and increasingly high-ranking Academy officials being summoned from their beds. By dawn, we had repeated our account so many times that the words had lost all meaning, becoming simply sounds strung together in familiar patterns.

The mayor had been taken to a secure holding facility, his unconscious form still bound in my shadows. Whatever information he held would be extracted—hopefully through questioning rather than more invasive means, though I had my doubts.

As the sun rose, casting long shadows across the Academy grounds, Professor Nero gathered us in a quiet conference room, away from the continuing flurry of activity.

"You've done well," he said, his expression grave despite the praise. "What you've uncovered may have far-reaching implications beyond Windmere."

"What happens now?" Rachel asked, voicing the question we were all thinking.

Nero's gaze swept across our faces, lingering on mine for just a moment longer than the others. "The Headmaster is in communication with Starcrest Academy and the various authorities. This situation requires... closer investigation."

"We're going there, aren't we?" I said quietly, the words more statement than question.

Nero nodded slowly. "A joint delegation is being organized. All two hundred exchange students from both Mythos and Starcrest will be dispatched to the Southern Sea Sun Palace for a formal investigation."

A heavy silence fell over the room as the implications sank in. Two hundred students, sent to an isolated stronghold that might already be corrupted by forces beyond our understanding. It sounded less like a mission and more like the setup for a tragedy.

But then, I'd always known this was coming. The pages of this particular story had been written long before I ever arrived on the scene. The only question now was whether I could change the ending before it was too late.

"When do we leave?" Cecilia asked, her voice steady despite the tension in her shoulders.

Nero's reply was simple, definitive, and carried the weight of finality:

"Tomorrow."