Chapter 135: A Private Conversation
(Michael POV)
The sterile white of the VR Hall's recovery lounge felt cold and suffocating. A faint medicinal scent clung to the air, a stark contrast to the phantom smell of ozone and terror that still lingered in my mind.
My teammates had been escorted away by medical staff, their faces pale but their eyes holding a new, hard-won respect. Seraphina had even managed a stiff, reluctant nod in my direction before she left a gesture that spoke volumes more than words.
Now, I was alone. Or rather, I was alone with the two most powerful instructors in the first-year curriculum.
Evelyn Whitehound's office was a space of minimalist elegance and barely concealed danger. The walls were a stark, polished obsidian, reflecting the soft glow of floating mana crystals.
One wall was a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Academy grounds, the setting sun painting the sky in hues of blood-orange and violet.
