The bitter steam of freshly brewed coffee curled into the air, mixing with the faint hum of glowing screens.
Golden light flickered against the polished glass walls of the observation room, glowing across Vice Principal Seris's sharp features.
She raised her cup slowly, the reflection of the main display reflecting in her golden eyes.
Her focus didn't shift. Not once.
The largest screen, bigger than the rest, zoomed in for clarity, showed a canyon battlefield consumed by dust and chaos.
Beside her, Principal Lucian leaned back lazily in his chair, his legs crossed, his eyes narrowed in interest rather than concern.
Professors filled the background, each hunched over their own screens, monitoring the survival of other students scattered across the Veil.
But here, every pair of eyes was inevitably pulled toward the same image.
Anemosidon.
The nightmarish monster writhed on the feed, its massive form entangled in roots as thick as ancient tree trunks.
