Lake never stopped complaining about the cursed suit Naomi forced onto him.
The mask was gone, but the rest remained bound to him by magic.
So he turned that frustration into power.
Lake spent most of the year inside the Chrono Archive, a forbidden section of the library where time magic texts were kept under heavy enchantments.
Dusty clocks lined the walls.
Ancient hourglasses floated slowly in the air.
Every page he read taught him more about time manipulation.
At first, it was small things.
Stopping a falling quill.
Slowing down a swinging pendulum.
Then it grew stronger.
Lake learned to create time pockets where seconds stretched into minutes.
He could rewind small events by a few seconds.
But that wasn't the only thing he studied.
Lake also pursued Divine Power.
Ancient texts about celestial forces, angelic energy, and cosmic authority.
One evening while practicing near the castle's clock tower, Lake raised his hands.
A faint golden light surrounded him.
Time slowed across the courtyard.
Students walking nearby suddenly moved like drifting statues.
Snowflakes froze in the air.
Lake grinned.
"Now we're getting somewhere."