Mia's scream still echoed.
Even from far away.
Even muffled by chaos.
Even separated by kilometers and dimensions of distance.
Moriyama-sensei felt it.
The brush slowly slipped from her fingers.
Black ink spread across the documents on her desk as she remained motionless inside the empty room of the Magic Academy of Dirfázia.
The night wind partially crossed through the open windows, gently moving the sensei's long white hair.
But that was not ordinary wind.
Something was wrong.
Ever since the beginning of that expedition.
Ever since the moment the students departed.
A heavy sensation had remained inside her.
A constant unease.
As if something were slowly tightening around her chest.
She closed her eyes.
Tried to ignore it.
Tried to return to work.
She couldn't.
Images surfaced involuntarily inside her mind.
Arthur.
Mia.
Kidero.
Ayame.
Shirō.
Kazuko.
Alexius.
The students smiling before departure.
The complaints.
The teasing.
The stupid hallway conversations.
And now…
Silence.
A silence far too wrong.
Moriyama slowly tightened her fingers against the desk.
— This isn't normal…
Her voice came out low.
Almost a whisper.
She stood immediately.
The chair slid backward as her expression hardened.
She needed confirmation.
She needed to know.
The corridors of the Magic Academy of Dirfázia were strangely silent that night.
Bluish magical lights illuminated the white marble structures while soft shadows stretched across the enormous pillars of the main hallway.
Moriyama's footsteps echoed slowly.
Steady.
But hurried.
The students were asleep.
The senseis had already ended their activities.
Even so…
The bad feeling only grew stronger.
As if something invisible were watching the entire academy.
She stopped before the enormous golden door of the director's office.
Paused for a moment.
Took a deep breath.
And knocked.
TOC.
TOC.
TOC.
— Enter.
The calm voice crossed through the door immediately.
Moriyama opened it.
The director sat near the enormous circular window of the office, observing the night.
Gray hair mixed with white strands reflected the bluish glow of the artifacts spread throughout the room.
Ancient books floated slowly around her.
Organized papers moved on their own.
And dozens of small magic circles rotated silently near the walls.
She didn't even need to look back.
— You felt it too, didn't you?
Moriyama remained silent for a moment.
Then closed the door.
— Yes.
The director slowly sighed.
— I figured.
Moriyama walked toward the desk.
Her green eyes were tense.
Worried.
— I know you possess artifacts not even the kingdom knows about.
The director remained silent.
— And I know there are things hidden within this academy far beyond what the other senseis imagine.
The books around the room slowly reduced their speed.
— What exactly do you want, Moriyama?
The sensei took a deep breath.
— I want to see my students.
The silence that followed felt heavy.
The director finally turned her face toward her.
Her blue-green eyes carried something strange that night.
Something ancient.
Very ancient.
— You know that won't be simple.
— I know.
— And you know there are consequences.
— I know that too.
Moriyama clenched her fists.
— But something happened.
— I've felt it since they left.
— And now… it's worse.
The director observed her silently.
For long seconds.
Then finally stood up.
— You become attached to your students far too quickly.
Moriyama briefly looked away.
— Maybe.
The director slowly began walking toward the back of the office.
— Come with me.
The walls of the office began to move.
Magical symbols emerged across the floor.
Golden lines crossed through the structures as a hidden passage slowly opened behind a gigantic bookshelf.
Moriyama narrowed her eyes.
Even after years inside the academy…
She had never seen that passage before.
The two walked downward.
The deeper they descended…
The heavier the mana in the environment became.
The walls changed.
The white marble disappeared.
Now everything was made of black stone covered in ancient inscriptions.
Runes.
Symbols.
Forgotten languages.
The corridor ended in a relatively small circular chamber.
Several artifacts were spread across the walls.
Some sealed.
Others broken.
Others slowly pulsing mana inside crystal containers.
At the center of the room existed only a simple structure.
A smooth black surface.
Rectangular.
Like an obsidian mirror laid flat atop an ancient metallic base.
Extremely small runes ran along the entire border of the artifact.
Moriyama felt the magical pressure immediately.
It was absurd.
But silent.
Controlled.
The director slowly approached it.
— There are very few artifacts capable of crossing dimensional distances without destroying the observer's mind.
Moriyama observed the object silently.
— Who created something like this…?
The director slowly placed her hand over the black surface.
— Inheritance.
The answer came calmly.
Moriyama slightly frowned.
— You always say that.
— About inheritance.
— About blood.
— About things you never properly explain.
The director looked at her for a few seconds.
— Because you still aren't ready to understand everything.
The mana in the room changed.
The black surface began emitting small bluish ripples.
Then the director looked directly at Moriyama.
— But this power…
— Is yours by right.
Moriyama narrowed her eyes.
— Mine…?
— Inherited from your father.
— And your mother.
The silence immediately grew heavy.
Moriyama felt her heart accelerate.
Before she could ask anything—
The director spoke:
— Place your hand on the artifact.
Moriyama hesitated for only a moment.
Then obeyed.
The instant her fingers touched the black surface—
The pressure exploded.
The runes lit up violently.
Blue energy instantly rushed through her arm.
Moriyama widened her eyes.
An intense pain crossed through her forehead.
And then—
The third eye emerged.
Real.
Vertical.
Slowly opening above her normal eyes.
Blue mana escaped from it in small luminous currents while the air inside the chamber began vibrating violently.
At the same time, above the left side of her forehead, a small protrusion began forming beneath the skin.
Like something trying to be born.
Moriyama struggled to breathe.
— What… is this…?
The director observed silently.
Without surprise.
As if she had already expected it.
The black surface glowed intensely.
And then the images appeared.
Shadows.
Explosions.
The underground chamber.
Alexius fighting.
Arthur.
Mia.
Ayame.
Kazuko.
The Zaraqnil.
Chaos.
Moriyama held her breath.
— They're… in this condition…?
The director continued observing.
Her eyes narrowed.
Attentive.
The images advanced rapidly.
The shadows.
The golden fire of the primordial sword.
The shattered chains.
The liberation of the Zaraqnil.
And then—
Arthur.
The third-eye symbol glowing intensely on his forehead.
Moriyama completely widened her eyes.
— Arthur…?
The image began distorting violently.
As if something were directly interfering with the connection itself.
The runes around the artifact went berserk.
The black surface began cracking.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOM.
An explosion of energy tore through the entire chamber.
Moriyama was violently thrown backward.
The impact destroyed part of the wall inscriptions while blue waves surged throughout the underground room.
The director stepped back for the first time.
Her eyes immediately narrowed.
The black surface continued vibrating.
Unstable.
As if something from the other side had directly struck the dimensional connection.
Moriyama fell to the ground, struggling to breathe.
Her third eye still remained partially open.
Trembling.
— W… what was that…?
The director remained staring fixedly at the frozen image of Arthur.
The blue symbol still glowed on his forehead.
Even from that distance.
Even through the connection.
And then—
OOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNN.
A colossal sound crossed through the entire academy.
The alarm.
Moriyama immediately lifted her head.
Another sound answered in the distance.
Then another.
And another.
Magical sirens.
The entire city.
The director's eyes immediately narrowed.
She opened a magic circle above her hand.
An image appeared in the air.
And then they saw it.
Outside the walls of Dirfázia.
Shadows.
Thousands of them.
They completely covered the horizon.