[Jack's POV]
[Months in: .... I don't know.]
I sat on the floor, cross-legged, facing a bare stretch of wooden wall. Wand in hand. Eyes closed.
No windows. No ticking clock. No sense of day or night.
Just me, a room, and the hum of still air soaked with magic.
It was the perfect place to focus.
I breathed in slowly. Focused on the object in front of me.
A steel marble. Perfectly round. A tiny sphere of untapped potential.
Small traces of Lightning began to crackle along its surface, flickering arcs of faint blue-white light dancing like static on glass.
The marble lifted from the floor.
Zzzhhhhh...
It hovered, wobbling slightly. Vibrating. Buzzing.
I cracked one eye open.
It was floating.
It was finally floating!
"HAHAHAHAHA!" I threw my head back and laughed, full-throated and sharp. "I did it! I finally figured it out!"
The marble twitched mid-air, sparks lashing outward—and then plink—fell.
I didn't care.
I was still laughing, hands on my knees, wand dangling loosely from my fingers.
"Electro-freaking-magnetism!" I shouted
I gasped for breath, dragging my palm down my face, trying to calm the shivering thrill racing down my spine.
Then, with a flick of my wand, I lifted the marble again.
This time, no lightning. Just quiet, smooth levitation. Controlled.
I reached out with a finger and tapped it gently.
Boop.
The marble slid sideways with little resistance… and stayed right where I pushed it.
I narrowed my eyes.
'That's… odd.'
I pushed it slightly again. It moved and stopped the moment I did.
'It doesn't return to center. No counter-magnetic force. It just stays suspended. Why?'
I rubbed my chin, deep in thought.
'In theory… if this were true magnetism, there would be a resistance proportional to displacement. Force against force. Polarity correction. But this is just… staying. Like spatial suspension. Like…'
I blinked.
'This isn't normal electromagnetism… it must be because of the mana structuring. This is magical reinforcement of vector balance—no gravity, no kinetic follow-through, no momentum to push it farther.'
My eyes narrowed further.
'It's not anti-gravity… but also ignores the law of momentum. Does mana act as a cancelling layer. Like a pre-physics override that nullifies natural law at point zero. That's…'
PING
I blinked.
My head snapped up. My heart stuttered in my chest as I felt the unmistakable tug through the bond.
My books.
The connection snapped into focus like a live wire biting into my thoughts—sharp, precise, and vibrating with intent.
"Shit, shit, shit— has it been 2 months already!?" I scrambled to my feet, legs instantly betraying me.
Thump
I fell to my knees.
"Gah—legs asleep—why are you like this—!?"
I crawled-slid-stumbled over to the bed like a man possessed.
Three books sat atop the blanket, faintly glowing, pulsing in unison.
The black one.
The leather one.
And the blue one.
My breath caught.
The blue one.
It was glowing.
Faintly, but steadily.
Letting out a pulse—no, a *tug*—across my senses. Like a thread wrapped around my soul and gently reeling me in.
I grinned and reached for it with reverence, my fingers brushing its worn cloth surface.
It thrummed like a living thing under my hand.
I picked it up, opened the cover—
—and watched as the first page flickered from blankness to ink, the writing forming like smoke curling into place.
I smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~
[Terra's POV]
Morning dew clung to the petals like little diamonds.
The air inside the greenhouse was thick with humidity and the quiet perfume of a hundred plants—all whispering, swaying, breathing in the golden morning light.
I hummed softly, watering can in hand, as I walked the rows of herbs.
"Good morning, little ones," I said, sprinkling water across a patch of feverleaf. Their flat green faces perked upward in gratitude, already glowing a little brighter.
It was Saturday.
No classes.
Just me, the plants, and the peaceful stillness of the greenhouse.
'Jack still hasn't sent a message,' I thought with a small frown. 'Hope he's not pushing himself too hard.'
I moved to the next row—colourful flowers, calming mosses, small viney creepers that responded to soft hums. One reached toward my watering can. I smiled and gently patted it.
"Patience."
At the end of the row, Ms. Cottonflower, an elderly woman and the Greenhouse Caretaker and the Herbology teacher, was carefully trimming back a tall, fuzzy-stemmed flower, her movements practiced and calm. Her long gray braid swayed slightly as she moved, and the corners of her eyes creased with a warm smile when she saw me.
"Morning, dear."
"Morning, Ms. Cottonflower," I said brightly, setting my watering can aside.
"Everything behaving today?"
I tilted my head and gestured to a squat, leafy plant with a mouth.
"Trevor's been a little lively," I said.
Ms. Cottonflower chuckled. "Well, he's always been temperamental. As long as he doesn't bite anyone, he can growl all he wants," she said before leaning over to me and whispering, "plus I think we can spoil him a bit. He does handle the rodents that get in here."
Trevor—the Snaproot—twitched. His leafy jaw snapped once, testing the air.
I laughed and I asked, "Has anything changed in here lately?" curiously, watching the soft glow on the petals nearby. "Some of these plants feel… more alive."
Ms. Cottonflower sighed thoughtfully. "You know… I've felt that too. Just the past few days. More glow. A few flowers are blooming ahead of schedule. And I swear I heard giggling."
My eyebrows rose.
"Giggling?"
She nodded with a wry smile. "Could've sworn I imagined it, but it's happened twice now."
Just then, I caught a flicker of motion.
A laugh. Faint. Like wind through leaves.
I looked up.
There, perched on the branch of a vine-wrapped tree… was a small figure. Glowing softly. Barely visible to normal eyes.
I smiled.
"Well," I said, "I think I have your answer."
Ms. Cottonflower turned. "Hmm?"
I pointed to the tree.
Willow, the nature fairy, stuck her tongue out playfully—and vanished in a puff of green light.
I turned back. "You've got a nature fairy visiting."
Ms. Cottonflower blinked. "A what?"
I laughed softly. "Her name's Willow. She's a nature spirit. Been attached to an old friend of mine for years."
Ms. Cottonflower gave me a sideways smile. "Friend, hmm?"
I raised both hands innocently. "It's not like that. He's like a little brother. Or maybe… a terrifyingly smart little brother who needs more supervision than he admits."
Ms. Cottonflower laughed. "Well, I'm just glad someone like her has taken an interest in our little garden."
~~~~~~~~~~
[Willow's POV]
The wind was nice today.
Light. Playful. Carrying the scent of soft pollen and half-baked sunlight.
I zipped past the rooftop moss beds and skidded into a soft roll, wings folding just before impact. A perfect landing.
"Volt!" I chirped.
The Lightning tiger didn't move.
He was lying on his side, watching the group of students in the courtyard below—Ark, Orin, Zek, and Araki—making their way toward town for some quest or another.
I leapt onto his head and flopped onto his ear.
"How's it going?"
He flicked his ear, shaking me off. "They're fine."
I hovered back up with a giggle. "I wasn't asking about them."
His golden eyes narrowed. "I'm fine."
"Mmm… really?" I poked his forehead. "You've been awfully quiet lately."
Volt sighed. "Jack comes back tomorrow. I'll watch them until then. Some of my visions today are… unclear."
I tilted my head. "Unclear?"
He looked out across the rooftops.
"Some things are good. Some… aren't. The threads keep shifting. I can't lock in a proper future."
My smile faded slightly. "That's… not ideal."
He shook his mane. "It's nothing new. Just means something big is about to happen."
I nodded and floated down to perch near his shoulder. "I'll stay here today, just in case."
Volt nodded slowly. "If something happens, I'll call you."
He began to stretch, preparing for a leap.
But then—
We froze.
We turned.
Our eyes locked on the distant edge of the city.
The feeling that swept over us wasn't mana. It wasn't magic, pressure or weight.
It was a Presence.
I dropped to the roof, wings stilled.
Volt's fur crackled with silent sparks.
"Wh-what is that?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Volt didn't blink.
His voice came slowly. Calm. Measured.
"It's Jack."
I turned to him, heart racing.
"Why can we feel him? Is he surging?"
Volt shook his head. "No. This is his natural power. The seal on the books must've broken. Now we can feel the real him."
I looked toward the city again—toward where he was.
And for the first time in a long, long while…
…I felt fear.
Not because he was dangerous.
But because now I understood:
Jack wasn't abnormally strong.
Jack was something else entirely.
A monster beyond comprehension.
A being so strong, I couldn't even guess what they could do.
His claims to being able to destroy a kingdom aren't so far-fetched.
If Jack wanted to, he could kill anything.
And even if he isn't strong enough now.
In a few years, I have no doubt he could become even stronger.
Strong enough to even kill a God.
~~~~~~~~~~
[Ark's POV]
We walked toward the gates in quiet morning light.
Orin had his hands behind his head, Zek sitting on Orin's shoulder, and both were listening to Araki, who was chatting about something from class the other day.
I wasn't listening.
My hand was on the pendant around my neck.
The one Jack gave me.
It pulsed softly. Not with light. With presence.
I felt him.
Not near me—but alive. Whole. *Strong*.
I smiled softly, fingers tightening around the charm.
'He's okay,' I thought.
And then I looked up toward the sky.
"Come back soon," I whispered.