Chapter 25: Power Up?
In an opulent room, several prominent figures gathered around a round table, their presence heavy with authority and tension.
"This makes no sense! Are you telling me a Gate opened right at the doors of our academy?" One of the figures shot to his feet, his voice sharp with disbelief.
He was the head of the academy’s defenses, a Silver 4 Mage. The glowing runes on the walls were his work, designed to stabilize space and prevent attacks from monsters or malicious individuals, a safeguard now seemingly betrayed.
The alarms that had echoed through the city had finally ceased. Elora and Kael stood with bowed heads, under the scrutinizing gazes of the powerful figures. They had recounted what they witnessed, but it was clear both were shaken. Others were present, including Patrick and Sera.
Sera felt a pang of regret, thinking, "And now who will I call froggy?" Her teasing nickname now a hollow echo.
Beside her, Patrick’s expression was grim as he contemplated the boy’s likely death. Guilt gnawed at him—if he hadn’t brought Lian to the academy, perhaps he’d still be alive... A weight of responsibility he couldn’t shake.
But there was no cure for regret.
"And you’re saying a boy, an aspiring Mage with a unique talent, was sucked into it? This is absurd..." the Silver 4 Mage added, a deepening scowl etching his face.
Everyone knew the phases Gates went through, and the first was instability. Such an event was impossible—yet it had happened, a defiance of all known laws.
"What are the boy’s chances of survival?" asked a woman with a calmer tone. She wore military armor adorned with dormant runes, her composed demeanor a stark contrast to the room’s tension.
"Chances of survival?" replied a man with white hair and a long white beard, his age evident in his weathered features. "I’d say none. However... no one has ever experienced anything like this, so there’s no data to consider." He stroked his beard thoughtfully.