[Principal Camila's Office—]
The corridors of Monster Academy slept in silence, their usual chatter drowned by the hum of the night lamps and the faint whisper of wind brushing against the tall glass windows. Every creak and echo of the floorboards was amplified in the stillness.
A hooded figure emerged from the dark end of the corridor— tall, cloaked in ash-gray fabric that shimmered faintly like smoke. Their boots made no sound on the polished floor. The hood shadowed their face completely, but a faint glow pulsed beneath the folds of their sleeve.
They paused at the end of the hallway— before the brass-plated door that read:
> PRINCIPAL CAMILA V. ASTOR <
The figure tested the handle.
Click.
It was locked.
"Damn it," a low voice muttered beneath the hood.
They raised their hand and whispered something under their breath.
"Solven ath'rel, disarmara loci."
A faint hum filled the air. The lock trembled slightly— but didn't yield. A second, sharper whisper followed:
