The silence that followed the departure of the national recruiters was heavy, a physical weight that pressed against the scorched mahogany of the Headmaster’s desk. Outside the arched windows of the Spirit Martial Academy, the sky over Forest City had begun to bleed into a deep, bruised purple as the sunset gave way to the first flickers of the city’s Energy Screen.
Inside the office, the air was still thick with the scent of ozone and the lingering heat of Susan’s Vermilion Bird Fire. Leo Shaw leaned back into the plush leather sofa, his Spirit-Forged Body pulsing with a quiet, predatory confidence. He watched Susan, the Headmaster of the Phoenix Academy, as she paced the room. Her fire-red Cheongsam, woven with Blazing Divine Feather threads, shimmered with every movement, catching the
