The scream tore through the night.
It wasn't just sound it was pressure.
Every rune in the academy flared at once, shimmering with pale light as the ground quaked beneath the city of Berbeign. Birds scattered into the skies, dogs barked, and windows shattered across half the district.
Students woke in terror. Magic alarms triggered all at once.
Student (half-awake): "What was that?! An explosion?"
Another: "It came from the southern ruins!"
Teacher: "Everyone, stay inside your dorms! I repeat do not leave!"
(Scene Headmistress' Tower)
A single teacup fell and shattered on the floor.
The Mistress stood by the window, her white cloak trembling from the vibrations that hadn't yet faded. Her expression was composed, but her eyes betrayed concern.
Mistress (softly): "…That wasn't natural magic."
Moments later, the Sage appeared through a teleportation seal, visibly shaken not by fear, but by disbelief.
Sage: "It felt like a primal surge. For a moment, I thought it was a dragon's roar."
Mistress: "A dragon? There are none within this region's leyline boundaries."
Sage: "Exactly why I'm worried."
The two exchanged a long, uneasy silence.
Mistress: "The origin?"
Sage: "South sector… near the ruins. But the sensors picked up something else it came from… a person. A single soul."
The Mistress turned slowly, her eyes narrowing.
Mistress: "A human caused that?"
Sage: "If you can call them that."
(Scene Southern Ruins)
The night wind howled across the broken stones.
Where ancient pillars once stood, only a crater remained now large enough to swallow an entire building.
At the center of it lay Milly, collapsed on the cold ground.
Her human form silver-white hair, pale skin, blue eyes dimly flickering under half-open lids looked peaceful. But the ground beneath her still pulsed faintly with gold traces, as though the earth remembered what had just happened.
A faint shimmer of violet light glowed beside her the object she had touched. Its color had faded, but its energy hummed like a heartbeat.
Milly's body stirred weakly, lips parting with a faint, broken whisper.
Milly (unconsciously): "Basei…? Luma…? No… don't… leave…"
Her hand twitched toward the glowing object before her strength gave out again.
(Scene Early Dawn, Academy Courtyard)
The next morning, the academy was in chaos.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
Student 1: "Did you hear? A crater appeared south of the city!"
Student 2: "People said it glowed gold last night!"
Student 3: "They think it's some kind of divine phenomenon!"
The Sage walked across the courtyard, eyes focused and grim.
Sage (to guard): "Double the patrols. No one enters or leaves the southern gate."
Guard: "Y–Yes, sir!"
The Mistress appeared beside him, tone quieter this time.
Mistress: "Whoever did this… they held back. The city's still standing."
Sage: "That's what scares me. If that wasn't full power…"
The conversation faded as the camera shifted back to Milly's small villa, where she now lay asleep on her bed, brought home by no one but her own unconscious magic.
The faint fragment rested beside her pillow, its light slowly fading into nothing.
Her breath was steady, but her fingers twitched occasionally as though she were still clutching invisible hands from another life.