By nightfall, the academy had become a fortress.
Search drones drifted over the courtyards like metal hawks; instructors patrolled in squads, their badges pulsing with Drayke’s emblem. Every screen carried the same countdown the one in my vision showed, but theirs had a different message running beneath it:
> “All ranks will be purified.”
Each tick felt heavier. My body was already changing mana currents running too fast, thoughts splitting into threads that the mark stitched back together. Kira pretended not to notice, though the worry behind her eyes said otherwise.
“We can’t reach the Archives through the upper halls,” she said. “The Spire’s sealed. But there’s an auxiliary lift under the east labs old freight line straight to the sub-basement.”
“Security?”
“Offline since
