The battlefield trembled.
David fell to one knee, clutching his head as if it were about to split apart. Around him, the sounds of war faded into a distant echo.
Ghost soldiers.
Explosions.
Screams.
Everything became muffled.
The whispers were getting louder.
Much louder.
"David!"
Mary rushed to his side.
"David, look at me!"
But he barely heard her.
Inside his mind, hundreds of voices overlapped.
Some were crying.
Some were laughing.
Some sounded ancient.
Then suddenly—
Everything went silent.
A single voice remained.
"The path beneath the prison."
David froze.
The voice continued.
"Three locks. Three keys."
His eyes widened.
"What?"
Daniel stepped closer.
"What are you hearing?"
David looked up slowly.
His face had gone pale.
"I think... I think they're looking for something."
Meanwhile, the battle continued around them.
Felix and the chained warrior clashed once again.
Lightning exploded across the courtyard.
BOOM!
The warrior skidded backward.
Then laughed.
"Good! Fight harder!"
Felix grinned.
"Gladly."
Nearby, Noah raised another stone barrier while Zoya froze an entire wave of ghost soldiers.
Lucy continued healing injured students.
Lily was studying the battlefield.
Watching.
Calculating.
Searching for a pattern.
Then her eyes widened.
The ghost army wasn't attacking randomly.
Again.
They were moving toward specific places.
The same places.
Every time.
Lily immediately began marking locations on a map she had found inside the academy.
One.
Two.
Three.
When she connected them—
Her heart skipped a beat.
"No way..."
She stared at the map.
Then ran toward the others.
"Guys!"
Everyone turned.
"I found something."
Daniel looked at her.
"What?"
Lily spread the map across a broken stone table.
The Great 8 gathered around it.
Even Mr. Stone stepped closer.
Lily pointed at several marked locations.
"These are every major attack point."
Then she connected the marks.
A strange symbol appeared.
Mr. Stone's face changed instantly.
"No..."
Mary frowned.
"What is it?"
The hidden boy suddenly looked terrified.
"I know that symbol."
Silence.
Everyone stared at him.
The boy pointed toward the center of the drawing.
His hands were shaking.
"That's the Seal Path."
Nobody spoke.
The hidden boy swallowed.
"There were stories among the failed subjects."
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
"Stories?"
The boy nodded.
"Long ago, when the Great Master sealed the Queen, he didn't create only one seal."
The battlefield suddenly felt colder.
"There were three."
David's eyes widened.
The whispers.
Three locks.
Three keys.
Three seals.
Everything connected.
Mr. Stone looked troubled.
"I hoped those stories were myths."
The hidden boy shook his head.
"They aren't."
Then he pointed toward the academy.
"The first lock is beneath us."
Everyone fell silent.
Far away, another explosion shook the ground.
The seal beneath the academy.
The prison.
The chamber.
That was only the beginning.
Felix stared at the map.
"So you're saying there are two more?"
The hidden boy nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Lucy looked worried.
"If the Ghost Court finds them..."
Nobody finished the sentence.
They didn't need to.
Everyone understood.
The Queen would wake.
Then suddenly—
McLone appeared.
The shadows around the battlefield twisted.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Students nearby backed away in fear.
The Great 8 immediately prepared themselves.
McLone's pale eyes settled on David.
For a moment—
She smiled.
"Interesting."
David stiffened.
McLone tilted her head.
"The whispers finally found you."
Daniel stepped forward.
"What do you want?"
McLone ignored him.
She kept looking at David.
Then she laughed softly.
"So that's why."
Mary frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
McLone's smile widened.
"Nothing."
But her eyes said otherwise.
She knew something.
Something important.
Something about David.
Before anyone could question her further—
The ground exploded.
BOOOOOOOM!
A pillar of black energy erupted from somewhere beneath the academy.
The entire battlefield froze.
Even the ghost soldiers stopped moving.
Everyone looked toward the source.
Deep below.
Far below.
The chamber.
David grabbed his head again.
This time the whispers returned stronger than ever.
Then—
A vision appeared.
A ruined temple.
Broken statues.
Three giant doors.
And on the central door—
The exact same symbol from Lily's map.
David gasped.
The vision disappeared instantly.
Daniel grabbed his shoulder.
"What happened?"
David stared at him.
Breathing heavily.
"I saw it."
"What?"
David looked toward the academy beneath their feet.
Then toward the dark horizon.
And finally whispered:
"The second lock."
Silence.
Even McLone's smile faded.
For the first time—
She looked surprised.
The hidden boy stepped backward.
"No..."
Mr. Stone stared at David.
"You know where it is?"
David swallowed.
"I don't know."
Then he looked at his trembling hands.
"But I think the whispers do."
Far beneath the academy, something struck the seal once more.
BOOM.
The Queen was still sleeping.
But for the first time—
Someone had discovered the path leading to her prison.
And the race for the three locks had begun.