The next day, the closing ceremony of the All Souls Festival Maze Trial was held in a dead silence.
The location remained the snowy plateau where the trial had started, yet the atmosphere was entirely different, resembling a funeral rather than a celebration.
The Magic Banners, once symbols of joy and glory, drooped weakly under the leaden sky. The biting wind slapped snowflakes onto every young and confused face, making it difficult to grasp the taste of the moment.
Professor Hector Rain stood in for the still-investigative Master Merk to host this hastily wrapped-up ceremony.
He wore a flawlessly neat Master robe, his expression more solemn than usual. His sharp eyes swept over the nearly three thousand Apprentices below the stage, his gaze carrying complex emotions—disappointment, heartache, but most heavily restrained sorrow and exhaustion.
"This year's All Souls Festival trial… has ended."
