««Just after Dean Veyra vanished»»
Dean Veyra vanished in a quiet flicker of spatial energy, a trail of silver threads marking the place where her teleportation had ruptured the magical bindings around the central core.
Dean Godsthorn stood unmoving, gaze narrowed as the afterimage of Dean Veyra lingered in the air.
Snap.
He'd noticed it.
The subtle gesture she'd made just before leaving. Most would've dismissed it as dramatic flair, but Godsthorn had studied enough rituals, incantations, and curses to know better. That wasn't flair—it was a trigger.
But he didn't follow. Not yet.
The heavy, resonant hum of the central core behind him demanded more immediate attention. Dozens of runes etched into the vault's circular gate shimmered in a chaotic haze—some fading, others fracturing. The seals were failing.
And if the seals failed, the central core's power would ripple uncontrolled through the academy grounds, leaving it vulnerable to dimensional fractures—or worse.
