The teacher's hall was unusually quiet for a break period. Sunlight streamed through the high-arched windows, casting a warm glow over the long dining table where a few professors sat. A soft clink of silverware echoed through the vast chamber as plates of food remained half-touched.
Professor Lysandra stirred her tea absentmindedly, her usual sharp gaze unfocused. Across from her, Professor Edden sat with his arms crossed, staring at his barely eaten meal with a furrowed brow. Both of them, along with a few other morning shift professors, had just received a full briefing on what had transpired the night before.
The students had only seen the aftermath—a surge of mana so intense it sent ripples across the academy. Whispers of theories and speculation had flooded the morning lessons, with students pestering their professors for answers. But the faculty knew the truth.
And that truth left them in silence.
Lysandra finally let out a slow breath, placing her spoon down with a soft clink. "So... Kaelan," she murmured, testing the name on her tongue as if speaking it aloud would make the situation feel more real.
Edden exhaled through his nose, his usual composed demeanor strained. "Kaelan," he echoed, running a hand through his hair. "It's ridiculous. If I didn't know better, I'd say the boy was a walking calamity."
Lysandra hummed in agreement, tapping her fingers lightly against the porcelain rim of her cup. "And yet, we are to act as though nothing happened."
"That's the worst part." Edden finally picked up his fork, only to push his food around rather than eat. "The students are desperate for an explanation, and we can't give them one. Instead, they're treating this as some grand mystery. Some of them think it's the work of a rogue mage, others believe an artifact malfunctioned."
Lysandra leaned back in her chair. "If only it were that simple."
Edden's jaw tightened. "An event like this should not—cannot—be ignored. But here we are, sitting in silence, eating our breakfasts as if the very foundation of the academy didn't just shift beneath us."
Lysandra watched the steam rise from her tea, her thoughts tangled. The principal's absence, the hidden maneuvers happening behind the scenes, and now this? It was no coincidence.
She turned her gaze toward Edden. "Do you trust the decision to keep quiet?"
Edden didn't answer right away. Instead, he let out a slow exhale before muttering, "I don't know."
And that uncertainty settled over the room like a heavy fog.
The doors to the teacher's hall swung open, and the sound of measured footsteps echoed against the polished marble floor. Professor Malek strode in, his sharp amber eyes scanning the room, missing nothing. His posture was rigid, the tension in his jaw betraying the weight of his thoughts.
He stopped beside the table, looking down at Edden and Lysandra, who still appeared lost in contemplation. Malek arched a brow.
"Are you two still dazed?"
Lysandra blinked, momentarily pulled from her thoughts. She glanced at Edden, who exhaled sharply and sat up straighter, as if only now realizing how lost in his own head he'd been.
"You received the briefing, didn't you?" Malek continued, his tone unreadable.
Edden scoffed, rubbing his temple. "Oh, we did. Doesn't make it any easier to process."
Malek's gaze lingered on them before he pulled out a chair and took a seat, his movements crisp and precise. "I suppose it wouldn't." He picked up a cup, pouring himself tea with steady hands. "A mana surge of that magnitude, one that left even senior faculty questioning their senses… We would be fools to brush it off."
Lysandra sighed, folding her arms. "And yet, we are expected to do exactly that."
Malek took a slow sip of his tea before setting the cup down with a quiet clink. "Expected, yes. But whether we actually do… is another matter entirely."
The weight of his words lingered, unspoken thoughts hanging in the air.
Edden studied him, then let out a dry chuckle. "You always did have a way with ominous phrasing, Malek."
Malek offered the faintest of smirks before his expression sobered. "Tell me, what do you truly think about this Kaelan?"
The table fell silent again.
Lysandra tapped a finger against her cup, her voice quieter this time. "I think we may have underestimated what—or who—we're dealing with."
Malek nodded, his amber eyes glinting with thought. "Then let's make sure we don't continue to."
And with that, breakfast resumed—though none of them truly had the appetite for it.
As the silence stretched between them, the weight of unspoken thoughts pressing down, Edden finally leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His voice was low, careful, yet edged with something unreadable.
"Do you believe it?"
Malek glanced up from his tea, his amber eyes narrowing slightly. "Believe what?"
Edden exhaled, his fingers drumming against the tabletop. "That he's here to investigate the disappearance of the principal."
Lysandra shifted in her seat, her expression unreadable, but the subtle tension in her posture betrayed her thoughts.
Malek set his cup down deliberately, his gaze sweeping across the table. "If that were true, then it would mean someone believes there's a connection between that person and the principal's absence." His voice was measured, but there was an unmistakable sharpness behind it.
Edden scoffed, rubbing his chin. "You say that as if it isn't obvious."
Lysandra's eyes darkened slightly. "It's too convenient. First, the principal vanishes without a trace. Then, a student—one who isn't even supposed to be here—just so happens to trigger a mana surge unlike anything we've seen? If Kaelan really is involved in this…" She trailed off, but the implication was clear.
Malek steepled his fingers together, deep in thought. "No one should be able to command someone as strong as that person… not easily."
Edden narrowed his eyes. "Then what are you suggesting?"
Malek's gaze sharpened. "Kaelan. What's his relationship with the principal?"
Lysandra's fingers curled slightly around her cup, tension settling between them like an unspoken truth.
Edden exhaled. "You're implying there's more to this than just a missing principal and a rogue Teacher."
Malek's expression remained unreadable. "I'm saying we've been looking at this the wrong way. If Kaelan isn't just some anomaly but a piece of something bigger… then we need to ask ourselves—why was he even here in the first place?"
The words lingered, heavy with implications none of them were ready to face.