Mira clapped her hands sharply—once, twice—the sound cutting through the lingering chaos like a bell through fog.
"Students," she called, voice warm but commanding, "that concludes the Mana Measurement trial. I know emotions are running high, but let's take a breath. It's already time for recess. We'll be moving you to the first-year cafeteria now. After you've eaten and rested, we'll continue with the remaining trials."
She smiled—bright, genuine, eyes still sparkling from Aiden's impossible reading—and raised both hands again.
The world shimmered.
A soft ripple passed through the hall, like heat haze over summer stone. Marble floors blurred. Columns stretched and folded. Floating chandeliers spun into streaks of gold. One heartbeat the students stood shoulder-to-shoulder in stunned silence; the next—
—they were somewhere else.
A vast, sunlit atrium opened around them.
The first-year cafeteria was no ordinary dining hall. It was a cathedral of appetite and magic.
