Chapter 136: Overload
Director Gareth Sterling, his face pale but his eyes burning with a feverish intensity, was about to override the warning.
The desire to see Daniel’s absolute limit had become a consuming obsession.
But before he could utter the command, a new presence made itself known on the dais.
One moment, the space beside the Director was empty. The next, an old man was simply... there.
He looked pale, thinning hair and a kindly, lined face more fitting for a university library than the command center of an elite Vanguard academy.
He wore plain white robes and leaned on a gnarled wooden staff that seemed more like a keepsake than a weapon.
Yet, the moment he appeared, the low, insistent hum of the overloading power grid seemed to quiet.
The oppressive tension in the plaza lessened, replaced by a profound, almost spiritual calm.
Director Sterling and the four formidable Vice-Principals, whose auras alone could make the ground tremble, snapped to attention and bowed their heads deeply, their movements stiff with a reverence that bordered on fear.
"Principal Finch," Director Sterling managed, his voice now laced with a deep, deferential respect that hushed the entire assembly.
Principal Alistair Finch, the legendary and rarely seen head of Astralis Academy’s Upper House, offered a gentle, grandfatherly smile.