The moonlight outside Drakemount Academy’s tall arched windows cast jagged shadows across the marble floor as Kagami sat alone in the Tower Library’s upper terrace, staring at the faint glow of a sealed scroll in his p. His fusion spells, elemental control, and hybrid chakra-mana style had all progressed—but so had the stakes.

  He leaned forward, elbows resting on the mahogany table. The silence wasn’t peaceful anymore. It was watchful. A calm before a storm that he could feel down to his bones.

  "Why am I getting stronger?" he thought. "Is it just for myself? Or because I keep dragging others into danger?"

  The echoes of the st mission—Elias bleeding and panting beside him, Minna and Iren colpsed in exhaustion, and Leo’s arm half-burned—haunted him like a fog that wouldn't lift.

  He clenched his fist, whispering, “I won’t let it happen again.”

  “Kagami?” came a familiar voice from the stairs.

  He turned, blinking in surprise.

  A young man with ash grey hair, pale green eyes, and a mechanical monocle covering one eye stepped into the terrace. His coat was lined with enchanted stitching, and a floating crystal apparatus orbited his shoulder like a quiet sentinel.

  “Arven...?” Kagami rose. “Arven Vale?”

  “The one and only,” Arven grinned. “Vice Leader of the Scientific Division now. Looks like we both grew up into something interesting.”

  They embraced briefly, and Arven pulled out a strange metal clipboard covered in glowing runes.

  “I saw your name on the summit list. Couldn’t believe it until I read the mission reports,” he said, tapping the air and flicking up a holographic dossier. “Fusion spells, elemental convergence, chakra-mimicry… You’ve practically rewritten half the magical theory textbooks.”

  Kagami ughed softly. “And you’re still the genius with gadgets.”

  “I lead the tech research club now,” Arven said proudly. “We’re prototyping mana stabilization devices and hybrid-casting enhancers. The summit’s going to be the perfect pce to show them off. Not to mention... get eyes on potential threats.”

  Kagami’s expression darkened slightly. “The threats are already watching us.”

  Before Arven could reply, the tower bell chimed—loud and ceremonial.

  A summoning chime.

  A moment ter, a message flickered into existence in front of Kagami:

  > By decree of High Magistra Maeron Thalore, all participants of the Inter-Academy Summit are to report to the Grand Council Chamber at first light.

  > Host: Drakemount Academy. Guests: Whimwood Preacademy, Celestheign Lyceum, Ironspire College, and the Grand Tower of Runed Fme.

  Arven let out a low whistle. “This summit’s going to be more than a showcase... isn’t it?”

  Kagami nodded.

  “Headmaster Maeron expects trouble,” he said. “She and Headmaster Alric are working on something. War is closer than most of us think.”

  ---

  Scene Shift – Headmaster Maeron’s Office

  In a circur chamber lit by floating motes of condensed mana, Headmaster Maeron Elowen Thalore stood before an elemental map glowing with stormfronts and leyline shifts.

  Across from her stood Headmaster Alric Vaelthorne, arms crossed, face grave.

  “They’re converging near the Wraithshroud Wastes,” Maeron said. “The dark mage group—Triad of Shattered Veils. The Draconic cns, the Alvardein remnant, and something... new.”

  Alric narrowed his eyes. “We don’t have time to raise armies.”

  “No,” Maeron agreed. “But we can raise heroes.”

  ---