Mystica let the silence stretch for just a second longer after her final words, her violet eyes drifting lazily across the gathered students below.
"…it is time for the rankings to be announced."
The reaction was immediate.
A visible ripple ran through Beacon Hall as the words settled over the first- and second-year sections like a thrown spark landing in dry grass. Students who had been sitting upright in formal restraint just moments earlier shifted in their seats despite themselves. Shoulders tensed. Eyes sharpened. Some exchanged glances. Others stared directly at the stage as though trying to force the rankings out of Mystica by sheer will alone.
