The reform has begun, but the rot goes deeper than they ever imagined.
Six months after exposing Velmoor Academy’s dark bargain, Seraphine Vale and Caelum Ashvere are co-headmasters fighting a losing battle. Power fills absence, and the corrupt Alumni Restoration Council has returned to strip them of their authority through the very rules they are trying to rewrite.
But the political crisis is just the surface layer. Deep within the shadow archives, Seraphine uncovers a hidden Register: the sinister Mechanism wasn't invented here—it was transplanted from a dark sister institution. Even worse, a locked chamber in the east wing unseals to reveal ancient names tied to the original bargain, including one on Caelum’s own family crest.
To save the school, Seraphine must decide whether to chase the academy's origins in secret, or trust the former rival whose bloodline is etched into the very system she must destroy.
The Yield is rising. And this time, everyone will pay the price.
