[Imperial City — Temple Central Plaza — 10:00 AM]
The plaza filled before dawn.
Not because anyone had summoned them — because the rumors of what had happened at the Celestial Academy had been circulating through Imperial City for eighteen hours.
Two level‑200 creatures. A third constructed from both. The administrative wing destroyed. Students evacuated. Two with permanent energy trauma.
And the Harvester — twelve minutes at one hundred percent corruption inside the building.
The images had arrived before the official reports.
The Academy's magical detection systems recorded in real time, and Magnus had had no reason to turn off the cameras because no one had anticipated there would be anything to turn off.
The people in the plaza had seen the images.
And now they were here.
