IMPERIAL ACADEMY

The visitation

"Klaus!" Alex exclaimed and clenched his fist. With his eyes dazzling with anger, Alex stood his ground, not willing to let fear dictate his moves. Klaus noticed this while he gazed at Alex with an intrigued look on his face.

"Stay back! How did you get free?" Alex yelled at Klaus while Klaus took a step closer to him.

"Is this how you welcome family?" He asked Alex.

"You are not my family!" Alex yelled at him, but Klaus laughed out loud. His voice metamorphosed into a ghostly cackle as he suddenly appeared behind Alex.

"But my blood runs through your veins," Klaus said to Alex, and Alex jumped back. "Regardless, you have not behaved like my blood since your arrival at this school. You have been a bloody disgrace to my legacy," Klaus said to Alex.

"Oh, you mean the legacy of death and suffering? I told you that I would not follow your path. That is not who I am," Alex told Klaus out loud.

"You do not have a choice, Alex. It is your destiny. It is who you are. You can run, but you'll never leave behind who you are. The Dark Knight dwells within you and every day he is getting stronger. You can feel it. I know you can," Klaus said to him. Alex chuckled.

"And yet, I cannot get the basics of elemental magic. Does that sound powerful to you? You have the wrong person, Klaus. I'm not who you think I am," Alex replied to him. Klaus chuckled again and then waved his hands.

"Do you think that this academy can help you run away from your destiny? Do you think that you can possibly shrink yourself into some make-believe reality that you are not The Dark Knight? It will not work, Alex. It is bound to fail," Klaus told Alex, and Alex laughed.

"That's where you're wrong. I have people here. Good people. Master Orion can help me. He will teach me what I need to know," Alex told him, and Klaus laughed out loud. Alex frowned while Klaus wheezed.

"Orion? That hypocrite has gotten to you, hasn't he? Alex, I know you are a smart kid. Did you ever ask yourself why Orion didn't kill me?" He asked Alex, who swallowed hard.

"W-what are you talking about?" Alex asked Klaus. Klaus sighed.

"A long time ago, Orion was in love. She was his everything. And at the time, Orion was my friend. He had been so lonely for so long, so when I came here, I made him my friend. And then, like magic, a woman came to the academy. She was beautiful and smart. Orion fell for her and I couldn't blame him. They got married. Everything was perfect. Until The Dark Knight came to school…" Klaus stopped speaking while Alex's face lit up with shock.

"You, Alex, came to the academy in your past life. Orion saw the display of your power, and he thought he could control you. But you were uncontrollable. You unleashed your magic, killed so many mages, including Orion's wife. Then, Orion killed you, or so he thought-"

"You're lying!" Alex yelled as he cut in. But Klaus shaked his head.

"No, Alex. I'm telling you the truth. Orion learned everything about you. He knew that you would reincarnate and perhaps find your way back to the academy. So, he performed an ancient dark ritual to extend his lifespan, so that when you returned, he would be waiting to kill you again," Klaus added.

"That's a lie! Master Orion offered to keep me here. He has been kind to me. If he wanted me dead, he would have killed me when I first came to this school!" Alex argued.

"He wanted to keep a closer eye on you, Alex. Wake up! He doesn't care about you. He just wants to attack you when you least suspect. And Orion couldn't kill me when I turned to dark magic because he, too, had once turned to it for longevity. I did the same thing and that is why he had to lock me in a painting. Orion is a liar, Alex. And a fraud. And he wants you dead," Klaus concluded. Alex shaked his head.

"No. I don't believe you," Alex said to him.

"Ask him about the Victorian wand. That will tell you everything you need to know. And remember, Alex. I will not wait for you to change your mind for so long. You can either hurry up, or you perish yet again with this school. The choice is yours," Klaus said to Alex and suddenly vanished, while Bruno opened the door to the room.

Alex let out a shaky breath as Bruno gazed at him. "Alex? Are you alright?" Bruno asked Alex while Alex wiped a year off his face. He sniffled and forced a smile.

"Yes. Sure. I am," Alex lied to Bruno. Of course, he had to lie. How could he tell Bruno that Klaus was back and that a terrible allegation had been made against Master Orion? At that point, Alex didn't know if his troubles would ever end. He thought those days were behind him now. Why was this still happening?

"Alex, you know you can trust me, right?" Bruno said to him and Alex nodded.

"Yes. Sure. I just- I have to go, Bruno," Alex said, grabbed his book and walked out of the room. While in the corridor, students sent Alex sweet smiles of respect, but he didn't return them. He just kept walking like a ghost, as if his very existence had been stripped from him. There were so many questions. Too many of them.

"Perhaps I should just leave? Would that be better for everyone?" Alex questioned himself while he walked. The corridor unfolded like a celestial dream, its ethereal vaulted ceiling adorned with glittering stardust mosaics that refracted shimmering rays of light across walls of polished silverwood. Crystal colonnades, infused with a soft, otherworldly glow, stood sentinel along the corridor's length, casting no shadows, only an aura of timeless serenity.

As Alex stepped out of the corridor, he could see some sentries running up and down.

"What's going on?" Alex muttered. Other students were just as confused as he was, and they all watched together. Then, Master Orion led a unit of sentries toward the fire wing. Alex stood aside as Master Orion approached him with a stern look on his face.

"Alex. I am looking for a Sentry named Mark. Have you seen him?" Master Orion asked Alex, but Alex shaked his head.

"No, Master Orion. I haven't. Perhaps you can locate him through magic?" Alex suggested.

"I can't get a hold of him. Anyway, return to your room. All of you!" Master Orion said, and proceeded to walk away. Alex contemplated the question inside his head. He didn't want to ask, but he just couldn't stop himself.

"What is the Victorian wand?" Alex called out to Master Orion, who stopped. He slowly turned around and raised his brow.

"Where did you hear about that?" Master Orion questioned Alex.

"Klaus Hodgkin told me," Alex replied to Master Orion.