The morning of the mountain picnic dawned bright and clear, with the kind of perfect spring weather that made outdoor adventures seem like the best idea in the world. Miko stood at his window watching students load supplies into carriages, their excited chatter echoing across the courtyard."Everyone ready?" Anna asked from the doorway. She carried a pack filled with medical supplies and the purification compounds Miss Rose had provided. To anyone watching, she looked like a responsible healer preparing for a school outing."As ready as we can be," Miko replied, checking his own pack. Along with normal camping gear, he carried corruption detection crystals and emergency flares Miss Rose had insisted upon. "Akiya and Liam?""Already downstairs, charming the first-years," Anna said with a smile. "Though I think Liam is getting tired of being asked to demonstrate his wind techniques."They joined the gathering crowd in the main courtyard, where Headmaster Thorne was giving final instruct

The Awakened Wraith's first attack split the meadow in half. Corruption energy lanced from its claws in a beam that carved through earth and stone like they were paper. Miko dove left, Miss Rose rolled right, both barely avoiding the devastating strike that left a smoking trench where they'd been standing."Spread out!" Miss Rose shouted, already moving to flank the massive creature. "Don't let it focus on one target!"Miko circled in the opposite direction, dual elements weaving complex patterns around his hands. The Awakened Wraith was larger than any he'd faced before, but size wasn't everything. In the deep Abyss, he'd learned that precision mattered more than raw power.Fire lashed out from his right hand, striking the creature's corruption patterns where they seemed weakest. Ash followed from his left, eating away at the energy that held its form together. The attacks were pinpricks against something so massive, but they got its attention."Annoying insects," the wraith rumbled,

The portal collapsed with a sound like thunder, taking Hayes and his corrupted coordinators with it. But not before they'd left their mark on everything Miko thought he understood about the world."Is everyone alive?" Anna called, her voice hoarse from shouting healing instructions during the chaotic battle.Around the devastated meadow, survivors slowly emerged from hiding places among the trees and rocks. Students with torn robes and haunted expressions. Faculty members who'd fought corruption beasts with training techniques never meant for real combat. All of them changed by what they'd witnessed."Forty-one students accounted for," reported one of the instructors, his usually neat appearance disheveled and singed. "Five faculty members. Plus your group and Miss Rose.""Injuries?""Fifteen students with corruption exposure. Three faculty with serious wounds. Could have been much worse."Could have been much worse.Join us or die."The carriages?" Liam asked, helping a shaken first-