The Betrayed Prodigy's Spectacular Magical Comeback

“For five years, I bled to crown Azure Gale House as the champion, enduring brutal combat drills and toxic draughts for my mentor, Dean Alistair Sterling. But at the exact moment of my victory, a poisoned dagger was driven through my spine. When I forced my head around, I was stunned by what I saw. Alistair stood over me with cold, lifeless eyes, casually wiping my blood from his knuckles like spilled tea. Beside him stood Beverly Wynn, a talentless junior who could barely conjure a shield, looking down at me with gloating pity. Alistair slowly raised the ritual blade, revealing the horrifying truth. "Your core will live forever inside Beverly. Be grateful, child. It is the highest honor you could ever achieve." He had never been mentoring me. All those private lectures and isolating training regimens-he had been fattening me like livestock for the slaughter, just to harvest my flawless celestial core for his favorite puppet. I couldn't fight back. The venom turned my magic into a freezing sludge, locking my muscles as they prepared to flay my soul. Until my dying breath, I felt nothing but pure, unadulterated hatred. Out of sheer spite, I reversed the spin of my core, detonating my soul in a blinding flash to ensure they got nothing but ashes. Opening my eyes again, I was back on the day of the Welcoming Ceremony, exactly five years ago. When Alistair confidently offered me his personal seal in front of the entire school, I smiled and walked straight toward the disgraced, sleeping Dean of the worst house in the Keep.”