For a long heartbeat the tower answered only with the hiss of rain and the slow drip from the fractured ceiling. Lyn's body sagged against the polished floor, a dark stain bleeding outward where her temple had met stone. Her visor lay crooked, a thin smear of rainwater catching the light like a small, stunned moon.Jeffery didn't look at her for more than a second. He felt the shape of the moment more than saw it—the weight of what he'd done settling into him with the cold clarity of a verdict. The sound of his own breath sounded foreign in the sterile corridor, louder than thunder.He crouched, not in mercy but because it was the motion his body knew—check pulse, check airway. Her breath came in shallow, ragged pulls. She wasn't dead. Not yet. That knowledge scraped at him like a blade."Sorry," he whispered, and the word left him small and useless.The Philosopher's Stone in his pocket thrummed, a bird trapped beneath cloth. It sent a warmth through his palm that was more like memor

For a long moment, neither man spoke. The storm outside pressed its face to the glass, thunder rolling like distant applause. Gusts of wind tugged at the building, seeping through whatever cracks they found into it. The atmosphere instantly turned colder, almost becoming freezing.I'm going to end everything tonight, Jeffery thought within himself. This is going to mark the end of you, Daniel...As if reading his thoughts, Daniel's voice broke the silence—low, deliberate, "End it."The command was simple. But it was not for Jeffery. It was for the circle of alchemists who were working under him. And they obeyed instantly as if controlled by a remote.The advanced alchemists moved as one. Their sigils flared beneath their coats, hands lifting in the ritual geometry of combat. Symbols burned in the air—lines of gold and silver weaving tighter into forms that hummed with destructive intent. The chamber dimmed, every lumen of light sucked into their creations.Interesting, Jeffery thought

The world trembled as Daniel's cold voice cut through the smoke."Kill him."Well, this was what the police captain had said a few moments ago—before the master had raised his hand to smack Jeffery across the chamber.It was a thunderous slap which had released shockwaves that destroyed the floor and glasses, leaving Jeffery very battered. It was unknown how the young advanced alchemist had even survived.The master alchemist stepped forward, his aura a silent storm. The air around him folded into strange geometries—lines of heat and light that whispered like a dying language.Jeffery lay broken amid the ruins, his fingers twitching toward the floor slick with his blood. His vision flickered, his breath shallow."You're a very strong person," the master said to him. "I mean, I'm surprised that you're still alive after being hit by me. It has never happened before."Jeffery struggled to get back on his feet, but he couldn't. He just stared at the master through a hazy vision."I greatl

The tower was burning from the inside out. It was been destroyed, consumed gradually so that its grandeur was lost with time.The master's death had left the building humming with unnatural resonance—fragments of Ether still twisting faintly in the air, echoing Jeffery's will. Glass rained down the walls in shimmering fragments, melting into smoke as they hit the ground.Outside, sirens began to scream. Blue and red lights flickered against the storm-soaked windows, reflecting off the wet steel like veins of warning. The city knew. The police knew and now everyone was coming.Inside the hall, only two men remained—Jeffery and Daniel.The captain stood near the shattered balcony, drenched in sweat and rain, his once-starched uniform now torn, the medal on his chest bent and cracked. His eyes darted between the body that was no longer there and the man who had erased it.He took a trembling breath—then laughed.It wasn't the laugh of courage. It was the laugh of a man who could no longe

The Stirling manor slept beneath the veil of mist. Its buildings with gothic towers reached into the dim sky like weary sentinels, their windows glinting faintly with the reflection of distant lightning. The gardens were drenched—flowers heavy with rain, statues dripping as though they too were crying something unseen.The fountain in front of the mansion overflowed, its basin filled ground its brim by the endless storm. The lion statues guarding the gate were crowns of water and shadow. But now the gate had been already broken by Jeffery so they just stood there.And through that soaked silence, a lone car rolled in. Its headlights cut pale wounds through the fog, illuminating the gravel path that led to the main entrance. The black sedan came to a slow, stuttering stop beside the fountain—engine coughing once before dying completely.Inside, Jeffery Flamel sat still for a few seconds, gripping the steering wheel as though it were the only thing tethering him to existence. His knuckl