Purple symbols appeared on the walls and ceiling. All that was missing was the sound of sirens to make it clear that the building was under attack. Given how calmly the apprentices within had reacted to the destruction outside, Dallion thought they wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. He was wrong.

Panic filled the corridors within seconds of the symbols lighting up. Mages and apprentices alike flooded the corridors, running and flying from one place to the next without a particular plan. Emotions of fear filled the space like soup.

Has this happened before? Dallion asked out of habit.

Only moments later did he realize there was no one to answer him. Looking at the chaos, though, it was safe to assume this was the first time.

“Hurry up!” He grabbed Phoil by the collar, pulling him through the crowd.

The large boy was doing his best to follow, though in reality he was as helpful as a waterskin tied to a horse’s tail. It was through a combination of quick reactions and frequent combat splitting that Dallion managed to pull the two of them through the flow of people on their way to the mage’s building.

Normally, he could be certain that Enroy would be there, but right now Dallion gave himself a fifty-fifty chance at best.

Without a doubt, it was rather convenient that the “alarm” had been triggered just now. Whoever was keeping an eye on him wasn’t slacking.

Reaching Enroy’s building, Dallion stopped at the doorway, pulling Phoil next to him.

“What will happen?” he turned to the larger boy.

“Huh? How Should I—”

“Not you,” Dallion hissed.

“The building has been fully sealed,” Phoil replied, though in a more authoritative voice. “No one can go in or out. Only the Archmage and a few others can remove the protection seal.”

The negative sides were obvious, but there was a positive one as well. At least now Dallion didn’t have to worry about shardflies or enemy reinforcements. Sadly, it also meant there was no way to warn anyone on the outside.

“Raven?”

“The young master is safely outside. Doesn’t look like you’ll be joining him.”

A bit of good news, at least.

“Can Enroy break the seal?”

There was a moment of confusion. Phoin scratched his chin, then his ear.

“He’s the highest-ranking mage in the Learning Hall. He shouldn’t be able to do such a thing, but knowing him, he might know a way out.”

“So, all we have to hope for is that he’s here.”

Dallion took a step towards the door. The air did not let him, solidifying like an invisible wall. Apparently, the alarm had triggered additional defenses around certain buildings. Either that or the mage had put them in place himself. If Dallion had his harpsisword, he could easily slice through the barrier. Sadly, the weapon wasn’t with him. On second thought, maybe it was better this way. Using spark attacks would bring too much attention.

Splitting into five instances, Dallion drew his Nox dagger and struck the air barrier. The blade slid through without resistance, as if it were slicing silk. With one brisk action, Dallion slid the weapon down, then—taking a few moments to look around—took a step forward. The invisible barrier was no longer there.

“Phoil,” Dallion whispered as he opened the door.

The entrance hall was a lot different from what he remembered it. The place appeared barren, almost completely deprived of magic. One might think that the mage had abandoned it months ago.

Illusion, Ruby said.

Dallion nodded. With his perception level, he could see the small indecencies in the corners. Whatever the spell was, it had been cast hastily, probably at the very last minute.

“We’ve come for your help, mage Enroy,” Dallion said. “I know what’s going on.”

Nothing happened.

“Are you sure he’s not here?” Phoil asked in his normal voice. “Maybe he was called to—”

“He’s here.” Dallion replied. Thanks to his layer vision, he could see the shimmering beneath the illusion. “I know the Academy is under attack,” he said. “And the person behind it.”

The shimmering changed location. A ripple went through the entire scene, replacing the current decrepit state of the room to the glorious foyer it was supposed to be. Ten steps away, at the top of the staircase, stood Enroy. He dressed in a rather elaborate blue robe with blue designs. Despite that, Dallion could sense the fear emanating from him.

“I tried to find Katka, but she wasn’t in her room.” Dallion took a step forward, but the moment he did, the mage pointed at him with his left index finger.

“Stop!” he said sharply. “What do you think you know?”

“Someone’s using shadflies to destroy the Learning Hall, maybe even other parts of the Academy. In the meantime, someone inside is covering things up.” Dallion paused. Was it the right thing to throw Adzorg under the bus? There was no actual proof that he was the one that had engineered everything, just suspicions and circumstantial evidence. “I think the person behind it is Adzorg of Nerosal.”

“Adzorg?” A mixture of surprise and relief emanated from the man. “You’re sure?”

“No, but there’s enough evidence to make me believe so. I have an echo of his inside my realm.”

The mage’s fingers danced through the air, drawing dozens of runes at a time.

“I have a blocking ring!” Dallion raised his hand. For all the power that the mage had projected not too long ago, he didn’t expect him to be so pathetic. “It’s okay. No one can hear us.”

“Of course it would be him. He’s come to get me for what I did to him!”

Dallion couldn’t say he was surprised. He still remembered the disapproval Nil had shown back when Alien had appeared in Nerosal. At the time, Dallion believed it to be nothing more than the echo’s general disdain of people who saw themselves as superior. Now, there was little doubt that the two had had issues before. What did Enroy have to do with things, though?

“I think it’s a bit larger than personal vendetta, sir…”

“Oh, it’s not just me. He’ll have the entire Academy burn. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s taken the chance to destroy the empire itself!” The mage lowered his hand. “He wouldn’t dare when things were calm, but that idiot Gassil made things easy for him.”

Normally, this was the point at which Dallion expected to hear a solution to the current problem. Solutions, though, were something that came from leaders. It was becoming more and more clear that Enroy was nothing but a manager, a middle manager.

“Is there a way we could leave the building?” Dallion asked after a few seconds. “You must have the authority.”

It was risky so openly using his music skills to instill a bit of calm and courage into the mage. The man’s paranoia risked him mistaking that as an attack. Thankfully, he was too busy being terrified what Adzorg’s plot might be to notice.

“There’s a way.” He hesitated.

“Show us. If we get out, we can warn the Archmage, the emperor, and everyone else. They’ll believe the children of nobles,” he added. “All you have to do is make sure we get out somehow.”

Presenting Phoil as their best hope was far from ideal. Sadly, in this instance, it wasn’t the boy to blame. Dallion would have much preferred to find a cocky and arrogant mage capable of dealing with the storm of shardflies outside.

“Follow me,” Enroy said, heading to the private area of the building.

Dallion and Phoil quickly followed.

Statuettes and items filled Enroy’s inner sanctum. For a moment, it almost seemed as if this was a teenager’s action figure collection. Only those with the magic trait were able to see the power that was held within the room. Every item had far more magic that it was supposed to, often covered with patterns and symbols Dallion had never seen. Part of them he recognized—restraints.

“I’ve got a key to pass through the seal, but it only works once.” The mage took a jade statue of a frog with a purple gem on top. “I’ll need some of your magic for it to work on all of us.”

“My magic?” Dallion instinctively took a step back.

“Either that or your Moonstone. Don’t worry, you won’t lose it. When Adzorg set up the seals, he made them block anything with magic that tried to go outside. Yet even back then, he was thinking about himself. Any item with divine magic could easily pass when carried. I’ll petrify you two, then trick the seal using your magic.”

A solid plan, without a doubt. It did raise one question, though.

“I didn’t know that Adzorg put on the seals.”

“He was the bloody Archmage, why wouldn’t he?”

Adzorg was the Archmage?! Back when Dallion had seen Gassil’s memory fragment, he had entertained the idea that Adzorg might have held such a position. The notion was quickly discarded, though. There was no way people could keep such a secret, or so he believed. Suddenly, so many things became clear. No doubt Hannah knew the truth. Dallion thought she held the old man in high regard because he was a guild captain. In fact, she knew precisely who he was.

How many secrets do you have, Hannah? Dallion wondered. There was no way to be certain.

Putting the frog statue in the pocket of his robe, Enroy started casting a ten-circle spell. Dallion went up to him, focusing on extending some magic out of his fingers. Just then, the impossible happened.

Phoil, who had been left to his own devices, rushed forward at a speed far greater than Dallion had seen him capable of. Before anyone could react, the tip of a blade emerged from the palm of his hand, thrusting forward.

In Dallion’s head, time froze. His body and reaction traits weren’t in condition to help him do anything. His high perception had allowed him to see the thing he had missed before. Among the rings on the child’s fingers was one he had seen before, one he was supposed to be quite familiar with.

Vermillion’s tears, Dallion thought. The item made it possible to create a portal between realms. In some instances, it even allowed items to be hidden within someone’s personal realm. The items in question had to conform to certain requirements, but a sword made of silver glass did just that. Watching it pierce Enroy’s chest, Dallion remembered the conversation he had had with Nil not too long ago. The old echo had told him that such a sword was no better at killing mages than anything else. That was very much true. However, it was infinitely easier to conceal.

The mage’s face twisted in shock and disappointment as he was pierced. There were rectangles, no warnings, just one quick strike putting an end to his life.

Dallion burst into instances. Half of them attempted to move away from the boy as quickly as possible, while the rest waved the Nox dagger in his direction. Unfortunately, Phoil was already one step ahead. A large crystal sphere had somehow found itself in his left hand, and was not on a trajectory towards Dallion.

Before the tip of the dagger could reach his target, the crystal ball came into contact with one of Dallion’s instances.

ITEM AWAKENING

All but one of Dallion’s instances vanished as he found himself in a small, windowless room. There was no furniture, decorations, or light sources other than a glowing blue rectangle.

You are in the SPHERE prison realm.

Escape the realm to reclaim your destiny.

Other than Dallion, there was one other person in the room. Or, more specifically, there was an echo of a person.

For a long moment echo and person looked at each other without saying a word. Finally, the echo spoke.

“Well, this is a bit awkward, dear boy…”