"Something that might destroy the very balance we have maintained for three thousand years?" Atlas laughed, a sharp sound that echoed through the Academy's control room. "Maybe that's exactly what's needed. Maybe balance isn't the answer anymore."
The helicopter's rotors were already spinning outside, vibrating through the ancient stone walls of the Academy. Dawn broke across the eastern sky as Atlas and Sarah moved quickly through the compound, golden energy flowing between them in visible currents that no longer caused pain but instead felt like an extension of themselves.
"You realize we're walking into what's almost certainly a trap," Sarah said, keeping pace beside him as they crossed the courtyard. "Either the Academy's trap or the void's trap—possibly both."
"When you're caught b
