Skygate Academy had already returned to its usual rhythm, as though the strange and dangerous events within the ruins had never taken place.
Students moved between training halls and lecture rooms in steady streams, their conversations filled with determination and quiet tension. The upcoming examinations had changed the atmosphere in subtle but unmistakable ways. Every discussion carried purpose. Every movement held intent. Even the laughter that occasionally echoed across the grounds felt restrained, as though everyone understood that the days ahead would not be easy.
Instructors walked along the pathways, observing carefully. Some offered guidance, while others simply watched, silently marking those who showed potential worth cultivating.
Everything continued as it always had.
Orderly.
Predictable.
Unchanged.
But beyond the academy—
Far beyond the boundaries of the lower world itself—
Something else had begun to move.
Something that did not belong.
---
