Far from the academy, deep beneath an abandoned fortress, a chamber of black stone lay hidden.
Its walls had no torches, yet the entire room glowed faintly with swirling runes carved into the rock.
Several hooded figures stood around a circular table made of dark crystal.
Each cloak carried symbols from different factions. Then, a distorted projection flickered above the table. showing Ardeon's last moments.
When the recording ended, the chamber fell into a sharp, tense quiet.
One of the hooded figures finally exhaled and murmured:
"…Ardeon failed."
"Failed? He didn't just fail, he practically got erased. Vaporized. Turned into soup." Another figure scoffed quietly.
"That's enough," a deeper voice said.
The speaker's hood was darker than the others, like it swallowed light itself.
"Ardeon might have been reckless, but he was still our most informed agent inside the academy."
"And even with all the information we fed him," another added, "he couldn't defeat Lunara."
