Without resistance, the key card slid into its corresponding groove. In response, the glyphs around the door began to whir as I waited for the gate to open.

Still, I understood that this path would lead me towards the last, deepest secrets of the city. To my right, a single guard stood at attention. Our break-in had caused far more chaos than I had first thought. Among other things, the guards stationed at the doors had been halved as everyone ran around the backstage in small teams, engaged in the search for the intruders.

They still didn't know what had happened, so my red-robed disguise opened all the doors for me. Relieved, I realized that Sophie would make it out okay. I myself had reached the final sealed door at the end of the second year hallway, the one which housed the intensive training facilities.

While I had seen it when we had followed the fake teacher, our unwitting guide had picked another path, so I couldn’t enter before. Beyond here would lie the third-year students, or so the writing on the door claimed.

This was the end, the final station of my journey. If big sis wasn't in there, she would have to be even further along, and I wasn't sure if I could make it past whatever came after this. After all, in this rudimentary disguise, I would never make it past an actual mage.

While I was deep into thought, the door opened into another large, clean hallway. Unlike the pods of the second years, the walls consisted of large, white panels, with no students to be found. Even with my enhanced vision, I had almost overlooked the seams in the walls. To my right, I found another red guard sitting behind a short desk. Although I wasn't sure how the guardians talked to one another, at this point I would have to gamble.

“I'm looking for one Eileen Rovis.” To resemble the mellow baritones of the beasts, I had modulated my voice with another sound shape. Strange how much talent can be born out of desperation.

“Now? Hasn't there been a general mobilization?” The guard looked up from his monitor.

“Look. All I know is that I was asked to check up on the student,” I answered, as cold sweat formed along my spine.

The faceless mask stayed on me for a few endless seconds, but finally the beast looked back to the terminal in front of him. After a short search, his head came back up, willing to share his findings.

“Ah, no wonder you're checking up on that one. That's the same number that caused all the chaos a year ago. Damn, of all days it's always on selection day. We're understaffed as is.”

He pointed down the hallway and left.

“The vault number is 1744, hallway D. Just down there.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

His head shot up in response. Maybe the polite answer had been a mistake, but I had no more time to care. I would meet Eileen, even if it was the last thing I did. With my goals reaffirmed once again, I left the guard behind. Hallway D wasn't hard to find. Upon closer inspection, all the shelves had unique serial numbers engraved on their front. 1738, 1740, 1742, 1744. Soon I reached my goal, but once again, I was stuck.

There were no handles on these things. How was I supposed to open one? A closer look revealed the answer. A small indentation, so strange and so familiar, as if from a former life. This was the exact same shape as the indentation on the cab I had shared with Nate. Again I took out the guard's key card to unlock the shelf. With bated breath, I looked on as the panel slid out.

Finally, I found what I had been looking for, the answer to my questions, the absolute terror.

In front of me lay the remains of a human. The muscles had rotted away long ago and the dried up skin flaked off the bones in large chunks, to reveal what was left of the dark red meat. Countless tubes and cables had been inserted into the body and formed rivers under the skin, though the husk had no blood left to press through its holes and open sores. And yet, the nightmare creature's chest still heaved. Somehow, it was still alive.

As all blood drained from my face to match the creature, I looked back at the panel. The number was correct, but I still refused to admit it. This couldn't be my sister. To further my horror, the corpse opened its eyes, heavy and slow, like a giant awakened from eternal slumber. Deep anguish had been carved within them, and the sight almost broke my heart. Even when our parents had died, Eileen's eyes had never looked this pained, and yet I recognized her without fault.

“Big Sis!” As I shouted in disbelief, I ripped the mask off my face. I had to make sure my sister could see me for who I was. “What happened to you!?”

Her eyes opened wide in understanding, as she recognized my face. With all the cables and tubes wedged under her skin, she couldn't move her body at all, and yet she still tried to force what was left of her lips to mouth her final words.

“Don't talk. I'll get you out of here.”

Her head shook in an almost imperceptible motion, but to me it was like a command, reinforced by her urgent eyes. Whatever sis had to say was important, and it couldn't wait. Once again I shaped the mana for sound and created a funnel from Eileen's mouth to my ears. Finally, I could hear my sister's words, after three years of absence. The throaty, guttural noise drove tears to my eyes.

“slaughter...house. Where... leftovers... go. Mages... only... fuel. Run.”

Her words spoken, she got up from her deathbed one final time. The sudden jolt ripped out the lines between her and the machines and opened her frail skin further, like scissors through wet paper. Until this day I don't know why big sis decided to end her life at that moment. Maybe she didn't want to be a burden to me. Maybe she had had enough of the pain and simply wanted to end it all.

“No!”

I screamed in panic and pain, horrified as I held up Eileen's collapsed body. I tried to create a shell, to stabilize her mangled form, but I soon saw that she was gone already. Still I tried, tried my hardest to make the impossible come true. I didn't know how long I stood there, as I held my sister's corpse to my heart and mumbled words of peace into her ears, but in that time, something snapped inside of me.

Now, all I wanted to do was burn it down, all of it. The guards, the council, the city, none of them deserved to live. Not to me at least. The old man had been right again: I had seen the truth and made my decision. Though I didn't even consider the meaning behind Eileen's word's, the starved corpse in my arms, as light as a feather, was reason enough to end whatever had caused her torment.

“Freeze!”

A familiar, sonorous voice came from my back, this time tinged in sharpness. I let go of my sister's body and turned around to face her killers. At some point, someone must have realized my suspicious actions, so I found myself opposite two guards. Two beasts.

“Hands up and don't make another move!” one beast shouted at me.

How could I follow their wishes? Without raising my arm, I shaped my mana into a fist. This time I wouldn't skimp on power. By now, I didn't have to preserve mana anyways. The titanic gust of force rammed into the guards like an avalanche and crushed them against the opposite wall.

On my way, I had spent my time well and studied up. After studying the disk I had taken, I knew how to force my way past the red guard barriers. As the beasts smashed against the wall, the shelves behind them shared their fate. I could sense the blood within them stop its flow, yet I felt no remorse. If the people inside these caskets had suffered only half as much as Eileen, they deserved all the horror I could offer.

After the idea had lodged itself in my head, I aimed to destroy the entire facility, an outlet for my rage. However, more guards came around the corner to present a better target.

Gotta destroy them first.

Mana coiled behind me like an ancient beast ready to pounce. There was no reason to retain anything. Even if I were to die here, at least I would ruin whatever this place was. I would make them suffer, just like big sis had suffered.

“Halt!”

A droning voice ran down the corridor and stopped the beasts in their tracks. They were still vigilant, holding their muzzles up to me, but no one attempted to fire. After a few moments, sharp steps on the floor turned into a figure who moved through the rows of beasts like he owned them. Soon I was faced with an old man. His beard was shaved neat, while the wrinkles around his glasses gave his face a friendly quality.

Not what I expected from a monster.

“There's no reason for violence. No reason to start a war. No reason to waste our strengths when our prospects are so dire already.”

The newcomer first addressed the guards, who lowered their weapons in response to his speech. I however found no cause to release my tension. As far as I was concerned, the bearded man was the same as the beasts, no matter how well-spoken he was.

“If I may introduce myself,” the stranger said, “my name is Titus Dawne, a Grand Mage of the tower and head of the City Council of Astralis.”

There he was, the chief criminal. I didn't need to hear any more. Behind me, the mass of mana shaped itself into a spear to pierce the heart of this city.

“You better stop, young mage!” the culprit shouted. “Amy's life depends on it!”

My eyes dilated for a fraction of a second, but I soon controlled my emotions.

Don't let him know anything. Don't give yourself away. Don't show weakness.

“No idea what you're talking about,” I replied in a cold and callous voice, one which would have shocked my normal self.

“That's Eileen Rovis there behind you, isn't it? You came all the way here in search of one specific person, so you must be her brother Brayden, the young man who disappeared several months ago.”

My palms began to sweat. This was bad.

“It's quite remarkable how much you've learned in a single year, and without proper training. It was our mistake to let you slip past our tests, but it's time to stop now. Your other sister is Amelia Rovis, isn't that right? It appears she entered our academy today. I am not a man of violence, but I will have to insist that you do not destroy the facilities which keep Astralis alive.”

“If you dare touch my sister I will burn your entire goddamn city to the ground!” To defend against my roar, the old man just held up his hands.

“That is only fair. I don't want a fight. All I want is to find an amicable solution for both of us. I know that right now, you might believe that there is no way for us to reach common ground, that the only choice is to continue your destruction, but that would be a grave mistake. All the council wants from you is an honest talk. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to leave Amy at risk until you hear us out.”

I weighed my options for a few seconds, but in the end it came down to one thing: They had Amy, and I had no choice. With a beast-like growl, I retreated my half-shaped mana back into my body. Some had already been wasted, but I had a feeling that soon, I would need as much as I could spare. For now though, I would have to go along with Dawne's wishes.

“Very good.” The man clapped his hands together in satisfaction. “Please follow me.”

Without a word, I followed the Grand Mage through multiple corridors, my tensed body always two steps behind him. The guards however seemed unconcerned about the tower lord's safety and had stayed behind in the destroyed hallway. Not long and we arrived at a place so familiar from the other towers: The elevator. Once inside, Dawne used a card key and formed a complex magic shape to set us in motion. I looked up at the expected floor: 525. The very top. Up there, the council members would hold their meetings and look down on the ant-like mortals of the city. Why would they let someone like me, who was so openly hostile towards them, into their most vulnerable core?

“What are-”

Just as I turned around, about to seek answers from my guide, I saw that the old man had disappeared into an alcove in the wall, covered by glass. Just like the fake teacher before him, Titus Dawne began to disappear as well. This was impossible!

How had I not sensed that he had been nothing but a husk? I went on alert right away. By now, I had no Idea what to expect. Once the elevator had reached the top floor, a meeting with the council was just as likely as a drop back to the bottom.

Although the thought of a break-out crossed my mind, forcing magic into the elevator wouldn't end any better for me than doing nothing. Even in the worst case, I could still attempt my final struggle. For now, I would widen my senses and wait for my inevitable fate. After my uncertainty had stretched seconds into hours, the elevator reached its top. The silent doors slid open, accompanied by a quiet ding, and revealed the endpoint of my journey, the central core of the city's truth: The Astralis Council of Seven.