Principal Whitmore stood frozen at his office window, staring down at what had once been the Academy's grand arena. The viewing crystal in his hand had gone completely dark the moment the rift collapsed, leaving him with nothing but the horrifying sight below.
Empty. The arena was completely, impossibly empty.
Where two hundred first-year students had been sitting moments before, there was only scarred stone and twisted metal. Where three of his most experienced professors had been trying to maintain order, there was nothing but silence. The protective barriers that had taken decades to construct lay in shattered pieces across the arena floor.
And where the rift had torn reality itself open, there wasn't even a trace of its existence.
"This shouldn't be possible," he whispered, his voice hoarse with shock.
