hotmtlnovel Chapter 72 The Fall of the Awakened
Chapter 72 The Fall of the Awakened
The air in the room was different now.
There was no more impatience, no playful interruptions—just silence.
Ed swallowed, his mind still processing Arianna's last words.
"Even the Awakened ones fell."
He didn't know what to say.
For the first time, it felt like everything he had known about the world had been a fraction of the truth.
He had heard of demons, of course—who hadn't?
But to hear that they had once nearly wiped out even the strongest beings?
That was something else entirely.
Arianna didn't speak immediately.
She let the weight of her words settle.
And then, finally, she continued.
"The Demon Gates were different from the others."
Ed straightened slightly.
Arianna's fingers traced an invisible pattern on the desk. "Most of the other Gates led to chaotic places—monsters, dungeons, unknown ruins. Dangerous, yes. But those places were... natural."
She exhaled. "The Demon Gates were not."
"They weren't just rifts in space," she murmured. "They were something far worse—doors. Doors leading to a world completely unlike our own. A world where the concept of life and death was... twisted."
A shiver crawled down Ed's spine.
Arianna's gaze was distant, lost in the past.
"The demons didn't simply come through the Gates. They... poured through. Like a flood, like an unstoppable tide. There was no warning, no chance to prepare.
One day, they weren't here. The next, the world was drowning in them."
Ed's breath slowed.
"The Awakeners fought," Arianna said, her voice steady. "They had survived the collapse of the moon. They had survived the first monsters. They had survived the chaos of the Awakening. But against the demons... it was different."
She looked at them. "They weren't just outnumbered. They were... outmatched."
A cold, suffocating dread settled over the room.
"Demons didn't fight like beasts. They fought like soldiers. They were intelligent. Merciless. And they understood mana better than we ever could."
Ed clenched his fists. "So they started winning."
Arianna's lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"No," she said softly. "They had already won the moment they arrived."
Ed's chest tightened.
Arianna leaned forward slightly. **"The difference was absolute. A single high-rank demon could annihilate an entire awakened army alone. The strongest human fighters—the warlords, the great clans, the champions of the early era—they were slaughtered like insects."
A chill ran down Ed's spine.
Arianna's voice lowered. "In a single month, ninety percent of the world's remaining forces were wiped out."
Ed's thoughts raced.
That didn't add up.
How could something that powerful, something that changed the course of history itself, just... vanish?
Ed exhaled slowly.
"So that's it?" His voice was quieter now. "The demons were pushed back, the world recovered, and... no one knows how?"
Arianna's lips curled slightly. "That's one version of the story."
Ed stiffened.
"There's another?"
Arianna leaned forward slightly.
"Some say he still exists."
The room felt too quiet.
Arianna's voice was calm, but there was something beneath it.
Something old.
"Some say he watches. That he waits. That he lingers in the shadows of this world, unseen but never gone."
A pause.
"And some believe... he will return."
Ed's heartbeat was slow.
He didn't know why, but for some reason, the air felt heavier.
Arianna studied him carefully.
Then, with a final, lingering look, she tapped the desk once.
"That concludes today's lesson."
Let's do something pratical now
The weight of history still lingered in the air.
Arianna leaned back slightly in her chair. "That concludes how mana came into existence and why we stand where we are today."
Her gaze swept over the three students, lingering slightly on Ed before she continued.
"Now, let's step forward. History is important—but understanding how to use mana is what truly matters."
She straightened, her tone shifting from storytelling to instruction. "Before we begin, let's make sure we're all on the same page."****"
She turned to Vynesaa. "Tell me—what are the two fundamental properties of mana?"
Vynesaa gave a small, almost bored sigh but answered immediately. "Mana consists of both waves and particles."
Arianna gave a sharp nod. "Good. And explain their roles."
"The particle component represents the mass and power of a spell. The stronger the particles, the denser and more powerful the magic."
"And the wave component represents speed and frequency. The higher the frequencythe faster and more fluid the spell."
Ed listened carefully.