Late that night, the four friends sat in a dim classroom with Professor Kieran.
The room smelled faintly of old parchment and tobacco smoke.
Kieran leaned against the desk, pipe glowing softly as he stared toward the floor.
"You deserve the truth," he said quietly.
No one interrupted.
The professor inhaled slowly before continuing.
"Years ago, I was a prisoner inside Naomi's Mansion."
Julian stiffened.
Kieran's eyes darkened.
"Naomi wasn't simply studying magic… she was experimenting on students."
Oliver frowned.
"Experimenting how?"
"Testing limits. Breaking them. Rebuilding them."
Kieran's pipe crackled.
"All for one purpose."
He looked at them.
"The Gate."
He explained how beneath Naomi's mansion stood an ancient sealed structure older than any wizard record.
At first, Naomi studied it.
Then the whispers began.
A voice from beyond the seal.
Something vast.
Something hungry.
"The Cosmic Devourer," Kieran said quietly.
The creature promised Naomi power.
Knowledge.
Control over cosmic magic itself.
But the price was opening the Gate.
Julian crossed his arms.
"So how did you escape?"
For the first time that night, Kieran hesitated.
"Someone unlocked my chains."
The room fell silent.
"Another prisoner?"
Kieran nodded slowly.
"They stayed behind to create a distraction."
He stared toward the window.
"I never even learned their name."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Because if that person was still alive…
They might still be trapped in the mansion.