The dean just stood there, staring straight ahead. His face twisted with shock, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. The sheer absurdity of the sight hit him like a hammer.
"What kind of absurd joke is this…?" he muttered. His legs gave out, and he slowly sank to his knees on the broken floor.
What he saw was a massive space tear still hanging in the air. Lava dripped from its jagged edges, glowing bright red and orange.
The tear had not closed at all. Heat rolled off it in waves, making the air shimmer and sting his skin.
The ground around it stayed scorched and cracked, as if the force that ripped the space open was too strong for the tower to heal.
He stayed on his knees, heart pounding hard in his chest.
A storm of feelings crashed through him, confusion, fear, and deep awe. He had been so sure the masked figures were Julius and Rosalina.
He had come here ready to kill them. But now everything looked different. Far more terrifying.
