Silence.
The battlefield disappeared from Daniel's mind.
The screams.
The fighting.
The war.
Everything faded away.
His eyes were locked on the photograph.
The man in the picture looked exactly like him.
Not similar.
Not close.
Exactly.
The same eyes.
The same face.
The same expression.
At the bottom of the page was a single name.
CADEN WILLIAMS.
Daniel's hands trembled.
"What is this?"
Nobody answered.
The Great 8 stared over his shoulder.
Mary looked confused.
Felix frowned.
Noah blinked twice.
"Okay..."
He pointed at the picture.
"Why does he look exactly like Daniel?"
Nobody had an answer.
Or at least nobody wanted to give one.
Daniel looked up.
His eyes found Bill.
Then Mr. Stone.
"Tell me."
Bill looked exhausted.
Mr. Stone looked defeated.
For years they had hidden the truth.
Now it was beginning to surface.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Mr. Stone finally spoke.
"Caden Williams lived centuries ago."
Daniel remained silent.
The old Ghost Killer continued.
"He was one of the strongest humans who ever lived."
David suddenly looked up.
The whispers inside his head had gone completely silent.
As if they were listening.
Mr. Stone noticed.
His expression darkened.
Then he continued.
"Caden fought in the First Ghost War."
"The war that nearly destroyed humanity."
The battlefield suddenly felt much colder.
Everyone knew the First Ghost War.
Every child had heard stories about it.
But those stories were ancient.
Almost mythical.
Mr. Stone pointed toward the photograph.
"Caden wasn't just a warrior."
"He was something else."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
Silence.
Mr. Stone hesitated.
Then finally answered.
"A Vessel."
The courtyard froze.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Daniel's heart nearly stopped.
"A what?"
Mr. Stone closed his eyes.
"The first known Vessel."
The words hit like a hammer.
Daniel couldn't process them.
A Vessel.
Like him.
No.
Before him.
Long before him.
Suddenly dozens of questions exploded inside his head.
"What does that mean?"
"How?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Mr. Stone looked away.
"Because we hoped it would never happen again."
Daniel stared.
The old Ghost Killer's voice became quieter.
"But we were wrong."
David suddenly grabbed his head.
The whispers returned.
Not screaming.
Whispering.
Ancient voices.
Ancient memories.
Then a vision appeared.
He saw Caden.
Not a photograph.
Not a drawing.
The real man.
Standing atop a mountain of ghosts.
A black sword in his hand.
The sky burning behind him.
And inside his eyes—
The same darkness Daniel carried.
David stumbled backward.
Mary caught him.
"What happened?"
David pointed toward the file.
"He was real."
Everyone looked at him.
"I saw him."
The whispers had never shown him something so clearly before.
Never.
Meanwhile Daniel continued turning pages.
Old reports.
Old maps.
Ancient sketches.
Then he found something strange.
A family tree.
The Williams family tree.
His eyes widened.
The line stretched from Caden.
Generation after generation.
Century after century.
Until finally—
It reached his own name.
Daniel Williams.
His breathing became uneven.
"No."
Bill stepped forward.
"Daniel."
"No."
Daniel looked up.
His voice was shaking.
"You're telling me that all this..."
He pointed toward himself.
"The Vessel."
"The Queen."
"The whispers."
"The attacks."
"It's because of my family?"
Nobody answered.
That answer was enough.
Then Daniel noticed another name.
A name lower on the tree.
Ava Williams.
His eyes narrowed.
Immediately.
Instantly.
Bill's face changed.
Daniel saw it.
The reaction lasted less than a second.
But he saw it.
Ava.
The moment he looked at her name—
Bill became nervous.
Very nervous.
Daniel slowly pointed.
"Why is Ava here?"
Silence.
Mr. Stone looked away.
Bill remained frozen.
The Great 8 immediately noticed.
Mary's eyes widened.
David stared.
Even Felix looked serious.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Answer me."
Bill didn't move.
"Why is Ava's name marked in red?"
The courtyard became silent.
Bill looked trapped.
Mr. Stone looked miserable.
Daniel's heart began pounding.
Ava.
His sister.
The sister who died.
The sister he buried.
The sister he had mourned for years.
Why was her name marked differently?
Daniel took another step.
"What does this mean?"
Bill's voice finally emerged.
Barely above a whisper.
"Daniel..."
The words felt heavy.
Painful.
Like something he had carried for years.
Then Bill looked directly into Daniel's eyes.
And said the sentence that changed everything.
"Because Ava was never supposed to die."
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Daniel's mind went blank.
The battlefield disappeared.
The war disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
Only those words remained.
Ava was never supposed to die.
Then the academy alarm suddenly screamed.
A warning.
A terrible warning.
The eastern wall had fallen.
And a second Ghost Army was approaching.