Maximus and Ethan entered Ethan’s dorm quietly, and the door closed behind them with a heavy thud.
The room was familiar to Ethan, but Maximus acted like any visitor would, he walked a bit stiffly.
They settled near the dining table in the center of the living area while Ethan moved, pulling out a chair.
"Sit here, I’ll bring something to eat for you," Ethan said, already half-turned toward the small kitchen corner.
"No need, I am here to talk," Maximus replied, his voice remained steady and serious.
Ethan paused mid-step. He turned back slowly and looked at Maximus properly this time.
The exhaustion, the stiffness in his posture, and the way his eyes avoided wandering all told Ethan that this was not going to be a casual talk.
After a brief moment, Ethan sat down in the chair opposite him.
"Why did you run away?" Ethan asked.
"I wanted to save Lia," Maximus replied without hesitation.
"The elders would have done the same," Ethan said, his tone was firm.
"No," Maximus replied, shaking his head. "They were too engaged in their own things. They moved too slowly, and things might have gotten late if Lia had not been saved."
"So now what?" Ethan asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Did you save Lia?"
"No," Maximus shook his head again. "Someone else did."
"Who?" Ethan asked immediately.
"Eternal Sovereign," Maximus revealed, his expression was serious and unchanging. "I received another letter just like the last one through a mysterious portal."
Ethan’s eyes widened, and he gulped hard. The name Eternal Sovereign was not unfamiliar to him. It was an unresolved mystery, an enigma that even his master could not explain. Hearing it spoken so plainly unsettled him.
Ethan took a sharp breath. "So, what did the letter say?"
Maximus leaned back slightly, then spoke with a calm but heavy tone. "Eternal Sovereign wants me to prove my worth. He has given me a mission to accomplish."
Ethan gulped again, his throat suddenly went dry. "Why are you telling me all this and not someone else?"
"Because you are the strongest person who will listen to me and help me," Maximus replied.
Ethan absorbed the words slowly, then asked, "William is back in the academy. Why not go to him? He is stronger than I."
Maximus’s eyes dulled for a brief moment, as if something painful had surfaced. "I made some choices in the past. If I need someone’s help, I need to tell them about my past. Unfortunately, if I told William, he would kill me."
Ethan gulped for the third time. "What past?"
Maximus looked at him intently. "I want you to take an oath of heavens and swear you will not reveal anything I am about to tell you to anyone, unless I say otherwise."
Ethan stiffened. A bad premonition rose in his chest, pressing down on him. Every instinct told him that what he was about to hear would change things, but curiosity was an emotion even gods could not resist.
After a moment of silence, Ethan nodded and spoke the oath.
Maximus listened carefully, ensuring there was no loophole. Only when he was satisfied did he begin to speak.
He started recounting the past, he spoke about his mother.
He told Ethan how she had lived quietly, how she had endured humiliation and neglect, and how she had eventually been killed by the Sinclair duchess. His voice did not shake, but the weight behind his words was heavy.
He spoke about his thirst for revenge that had lived in him ever since. Then he spoke about Lia, how she had been targeted next, and how even after killing his mother, the duchess had not stopped.
Ethan listened in silence, and his hands clenched tightly on the edge of the table. He had heard fragments from Lia before, but hearing the full truth from Maximus’s perspective sent a sharp wave of anger through him.
"And from that day," Maximus continued, "a thought always bugged me. Maybe Lia had not died but was just missing. I could not find her body alongside her dead mother. I thought maybe she was alive somewhere in the clutches of the duchess, but I was never sure. The only thing I was sure of was that I had to take revenge."
He paused, then added, "I wanted revenge, but I was too weak. I could not go against the entire Sinclair house by myself."
He looked directly at Ethan before continuing.
"Before I arrived at the academy, a few members of demon lord Kylark’s cult came to me secretly. They offered me revenge against the Sinclair house in exchange for joining their ranks. They offered me a black demonic seed to swallow and become a demonic energy user."
"What!" Ethan’s eyes widened, then his expression twisted into fury.
The name Kylark cult struck him like a blade. That cult was responsible for the Bloody Tears incident three years ago. The same incident where his caretaker sister Nancy, who had brought him up, had died.
Ethan slammed his fist onto the table. "What did you do then?" he demanded. "Did you report their presence to any authority?"
Maximus met his burning gaze with cold eyes. "No," he said. "I accepted their offer."
Bam!!
Ethan’s punch landed squarely on Maximus’s face, sending him crashing back against the wall. "You did what!" Ethan shouted, his voice shaking with rage.
"Cough!" Maximus coughed as he slid down slightly, his body became limp for a moment.
He did not resist in anyway, he had anticipated the reaction from the start. He looked up at Ethan and said calmly, "I did not eat the seed, Ethan. I was about to, but news of Lia still being alive stopped me."
Ethan stormed forward and grabbed Maximus by the collar, lifting him up. "But you intended to do it, didn’t you!" he shouted. "You were ready to betray humanity!"
"Yes," Maximus replied evenly. "My circumstances forced me to."
Ethan tightened his grip. "That just means you have a weak mind."
"Yes, I know," Maximus said, his honest voice was coming out unsettling.
The anger in Ethan’s grip loosened slightly. He released Maximus and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. His breathing was heavy, frustration was still boiling even as the fury began to fade.
He walked back to the table, picking up the scattered items with shaky movements. "William would have killed you the moment you told him this," Ethan said quietly.
"Yes," Maximus replied. "That is why I came to you."
"Hahahah!" Ethan laughed suddenly, pressing his palm against his face as if he were losing his sanity. "I don’t know whether you are shameless or just broken by trauma. Why the hell are you even here?"
Maximus straightened himself and faced Ethan directly. "Because our goals of revenge seem to be aligning."