The silence following the appeased ghosts was oppressive — heavy, thick, a calm before the storm. Ezra tightened his grip on Felton Harper's journal, its leather cover warm to the touch from the magic that flowed through him. Callista pressed close, trying to ease her shaky breaths. The path forward was clearer now — yet fraught with danger.
"That curse… it's not gone, is it?" Callista whispered. "It's just… delayed. We've opened something we shouldn't have. We must be careful. We must move quickly."
Ezra nodded quietly, reluctantly. "I'm not turning back. Felton chose me for a reason. We have to see this through." His pulse began to calm, his senses growing sharper. The magic flowed in him — a growing pool of power — a manifestation of his fate.
The two made their way back up toward the academy's upper floors, following a path Felton Harper had marked in his notes. According to the margins, there was a hidden chamber deep within the academy, a place where the most prohibited knowledge was kept — knowledge that Felton had stumbled upon, knowledge that many wished to erase.
The moment their feet fell upon the first step upward, a piercing alarm rune fell into place, sending a shimmering barrier upward through the staircase. Callista pressed her back against Ezra's.
"That's a alarm rune. We've been noticed. We have company."
Her magic began to form a shimmering barrier — a protective rune circle — to fend off whatever was closing in.
Across from them, a figure stepped forward from the shadows — a masked intruder, wearing a black mask forged from obsidian and gold, a mask that glimmered faintly with magic. The intruder's form was obscured by a heavy cloak, its edges glimmering with purple-black magic.
"That tome… Felton Harper's notes… I want it." The intruder's voice was a chorus of many — an aura made up of countless stolen voices. "Hand it over, or suffer the fate that Felton Harper met."
Ezra tightened his grip on the tome. "Who are you? What do you want with this knowledge? Felton died trying to keep it away from people like you."
The intruder raised a gloved hand, letting purple-black magic seep upward and form a shimmering blade. "The era of Felton Harper is over. The era of the new order is upon us. All magic will be forged under their control — under our control."
Callista whispered quietly, "Get ready… I'm going to break their rune… But I'll need your magic to do it."
She pressed their two magic streams together, adding their power until the barrier began to warp — a shimmering aura growing less stable with each pulse.
The intruder darted forward — faster than a shadow — striking toward Ezra with a blade forged from pure magic. The two raised their defenses just in time, a barrier of gold and purple magic blooming between them.
Sparks flew. The barrier trembled. The alarm rune glowed a sinister red.
"It's not over yet." Ezra whispered. "Whatever this is… we're just at the start."