Chapter 527

Evaline:

The words hung in the air long after Marcus finished speaking.

The Great Evil.

For a moment, I did nothing but breathe.

That name sent a cold ripple down my spine, not because it was unfamiliar, but because it wasn’t. I had heard it before. Whispered. Weaponized. Used like a threat sharp enough to make people bleed money and silence.

Marcus had used it.

Against other students of his group.

Back then, we had assumed it was nothing more than a fear tactic. A fabricated monster born from greed and cruelty. A lie meant to extort money and obedience.

But now p>

Now I realized Marcus hadn’t invented the name at all.

He had borrowed it.

Stolen it from a truth far darker than we had imagined.

I tilted my head slightly, schooling my face into neutrality even as my mind raced ahead, weaving threads together at a terrifying speed.

“The Great Evil,” I repeated calmly. “What exactly do you know about it p>

Marcus hesitated.

“Everything Carson told me,” he said finally. “And nothing beyond that p>

“Then start there,” I said. “How did Carson even learn about something like that p>

He exhaled slowly, as if bracing himself.

“Right before the seventh semester exams,” Marcus began, “Carson found something p>

“What kind of something in the library?” I asked.

“A piece of parchment,” he replied. “Old. Torn. Faded around the edges. And it had a secret underground tunnel mapped on it… half of it p>

My fingers twitched.

“Where p>

“Behind the third-year dorms,” Marcus said. “There’s a stone wall there covered in thick ivy. That’s where the map showed the mouth of the secret tunnel p>

I stayed silent, trying to recall if I had ever used that tunnel before with the brothers but there’s no such recollection.

Marcus continued, “However, the map wasn’t complete. There was merely half of it. But it showed at least one end of the tunnel p>

Marcus stopped to grab his breath before he began again. “After finding out such a secret, Carson couldn’t let it go. He became obsessed with figuring out where it led. But the semester was almost over so he didn’t get the chance p>

I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms loosely.

“So once the final semester began,” I said, “he went looking p>

Marcus nodded.

“The first chance he got. He found the wall. Found the hidden opening. And it turned out the tunnel was real p>

Of course it was.

“And it led to the West Tower,” I said.

“Yes,” Marcus confirmed. “Straight into its basement p>

So that’s how he ended up in the West Tower in the first place.

But Carson hadn’t stopped there.

Marcus’s voice lowered. “Once he knew the tunnel was real, curiosity wasn’t enough anymore. He started searching the tower itself. Every inch. Every shadow p>

I waited. Trying to be as patient as I ever could.

A hint of unease flickered across Marcus’ face as he revealed – “And that’s when he found the trapdoor p>

I stilled.

“There was a hidden trapdoor in the basement floor,” he continued. “Concealed so well you’d walk over it a hundred times and never notice. It led even further down p>

“How far?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Carson never said. Just… deep p>

I let the silence stretch, letting the weight of his words settle.

“And Carson went down there,” I said finally.

“Yes,” Marcus replied. “Again and again. A secret place no one else knew about. He used it as his hideaway. Somewhere to be alone. To rest and play p>

“Did you ever go there p>

Marcus let out a sigh. “He never told me all this on his own. I actually followed him one night and saw him entering the tunnel. Then I waited until the night he had to sneak out of the Academy because of the group’s plans and that’s when I entered the tunnel and found the basement. But that’s all. I never found any trapdoor or anything else p>

I stared at him, trying to see just how much truth he’s telling.

“Then how did you learn about the trapdoor and the secret room? He told you?” I asked.

“When I found nothing in the basement, I lost my interest. But then something changed,” Marcus went on. “One night, Carson came back… shaken p>

I straightened slightly.

“He told me he heard a voice,” Marcus said quietly.

The candle flickered violently, as if reacting to the words.

“A voice?” I echoed.

“Yes,” he said. “Faint at first. Barely more than a whisper. He thought he was imagining it. That the place was playing tricks on him p>

“But p>

“It kept calling to him. Every time he went down there. Day after day p>

I felt a familiar dread coil in my chest.

“And the voice,” I said, “told him about the Great Evil p>

Marcus nodded slowly.

“It told him it had been trapped beneath the West Tower for centuries,” he said. “Bound there by ancient magic. Forgotten. Starved p>

My fingers curled into my palms.

“And it needed something,” Marcus whispered. “Blood p>

I closed my eyes for half a heartbeat.

“Alpha blood,” he continued. “Offerings. Rituals. Sacrifices p>

I felt sick.

“And in return?” I asked.

Marcus swallowed.

“It promised him power,” he said. “Unmatched power. Strength beyond any Alpha in the world p>

I opened my eyes and fixed him with a steady gaze.

“It promised to make him the strongest Alpha in existence. And Carson believed it. Completely.” Marcus said. “He was… consumed by it. Obsessed. Every thought, every plan revolved around it p>

“And you?” I asked.

He laughed bitterly.

“I thought he was losing his mind,” Marcus said. “I didn’t believe a word of it p>

He fixed his gaze on mine. “I went there again to find that secret room under basement. And I still found nothing. No chamber. No voice. No Great Evil p>

I studied him carefully. Then leaned back and exhaled slowly.

“So you assumed Carson was delusional,” I said.

“Yes,” Marcus admitted. “Or lying. Or both p>

“But he wasn’t,” I murmured.

Marcus looked away.

“I don’t know,” he said. “All I know is he believed it. With everything he had p>

“And that belief,” I said quietly, “is what got him p>

I didn’t finish. I didn’t need to.

Silence stretched between us again.

Then I stood slowly, my chair scraping softly against the stone floor.

Marcus looked up at me, fear creeping back into his eyes.

“Is that all?” I asked.

He nodded quickly. “That’s all I know. That’s all he ever told me p>

I turned toward the door, my hand hovering over the latch.

Behind me, Marcus’s voice trembled.

“Do you believe him?” he asked. “About the Great Evil p>

I paused.

Then, without turning back, I said, “Thank you for your cooperation p>

Then I opened the door and stepped into the hallway… where River stood waiting, his posture tense, his eyes sharp.

We finally had a new lead – the West Tower.

And it guarded a nightmare that’s either waking up… or already had.