(POV: Nagi / Ren)
Nagi's violet aura flared violently. A sudden surge of the academy's will struck him, forcing him to stagger. He realized the academy could now target their soul threads directly, threatening to sever them.
"Ren!" Nagi shouted, voice strained. "It's trying to break us! It wants to claim our souls!"
Ren's crimson threads coiled around him like armor. He pressed forward, bow shaking with exhaustion. "Then we don't give it the chance!"
The chamber trembled violently, pieces of shadow detaching from the walls, writhing toward the prodigies. The academy's presence was no longer passive—it had become a predator.