"For now, the Crystal Hall examination must continue. Any further disruptions will be considered obstruction of process and subject to penalty."
Because that wasn't a warning.
That was protocol.
Even the students who'd been murmuring in low outrage now fell still, recognizing that the Academy had drawn its line.
A few still looked sour.
But most nodded—if only because challenging the examiners meant inviting trouble.
From the Rune Block platform, Professor Elir Varnen—still standing beside the testing sphere—gave a small nod of agreement, his face unreadable but eyes narrowed in thought.
"I'll oversee the resonance retest personally," he said, voice low but audible. "Whatever this is, it's not a malfunction."
Lucavion's mouth twitched. "Glad to know I'm not defective."
Professor Varnen didn't respond.
But Valeria saw it again—that thin furrow of interest, not confusion. Not judgment.
Study.
The way scholars looked at rare tomes that had survived fires they shouldn't have.
