Lina knew they could not fight the academy alone. The teachers were watching. The False Kai was watching. They needed a way to move through the halls without being seen.
They needed Reyon.
They found him in a quiet, empty corridor near the old library. He looked terrible. His eyes were red and tired. He kept rubbing his temples, as if he had a bad headache that would not go away.
"Reyon," Lina said softly.
He jumped. He looked at them with wide, nervous eyes. "You should not be out here," he whispered. "It is not safe."
"We know," Lina said. She stepped closer. "We need your help. We need to hide. Can you make an illusion to cover our tracks?"
Reyon swallowed hard. He looked down at his shaking hands. "I can try," he said. His voice was full of guilt. "But you need to know something. My magic is broken. The illusions do not fade anymore. They stick to the walls. They stay."
"We do not care," Mira said. Her voice was tight with fear. "Just help us."
Reyon nodded. He took a deep breath and raised his hands. He whispered a few quiet words. The air around them shimmered like heat on a summer road.
Suddenly, the hallway changed. A thick, gray wall appeared in front of them, blocking the path. It looked completely real.
"This will hide you," Reyon said. "Walk through the left side. It is just an image."
Lina stepped forward. She reached out to touch the gray wall. Her hand passed right through it. It felt like cold mist.
"Okay," Lina said. "Let's go."
But as they walked down the hall, the mist did not clear. The hallway stretched out longer than it should.
Then, Lina stopped.
There were three identical wooden doors in front of them. They all had the same brass handle. They all had the same scratch near the bottom.
Lina looked back at Reyon. His face was pale. He was staring at the doors, his hands shaking violently.
"Reyon?" Lina asked. "Which one is the real door to the dorms?"
"I... I do not know," Reyon whispered. A tear slipped down his cheek. "I made one fake door yesterday. But now there are three. I cannot tell which one is real anymore. The magic is mixing with the real walls."
Mira let out a small, terrified sob. She grabbed Lina's arm. "We are trapped," she cried.
Seren closed her eyes, trying to listen. "I hear footsteps," she whispered. "But I do not know if they are real or if the illusion is making fake sounds."
Panic rose in Lina's chest. She looked at the three doors. If they chose the wrong one, they might walk right into the False Kai. Or worse, they might get lost in a hallway that did not exist.
Lina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to think. Illusions could trick the eyes. They could trick the ears. But they could not trick everything.
She stepped up to the middle door. She did not touch the handle. Instead, she leaned close to the crack at the bottom.
A tiny, cold draft of real night air blew against her cheek. The other two doors had no air moving at all.
"This one," Lina said firmly. She grabbed the handle and pushed.
The door opened. The real dorm hallway was on the other side.
Lina pulled her friends through and slammed the door shut behind them. She leaned against the wood, her heart pounding.
Reyon looked at the closed door, his face full of horror. "It is getting worse," he whispered. "Soon, none of the academy will be real."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2026
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Next Chapter Summary for Chapter 104: Lina discovers a hidden, moving room in the academy that holds a terrifying secret about the Founder, while Mira experiences a sudden, painful memory gap.