And somewhere in the space between one breath and the next, the weight of the last several minutes settled fully onto his shoulders.Old Man Kael walked up beside him at a pace that could only be described as a stroll. His hands were clasped behind his back. He looked down at Ragnar's motionless form, tilted his head slightly, and made a quiet sound in the back of his throat."Mm."The Emperor Dragon looked at him sideways.Kael gestured mildly at the scorched, cracked, partially molten disaster area that had, not long ago, been a training arena."Quite the campfire." He said.The Emperor Dragon stared at him."That.” The Dragon said, slowly and deliberately."Was a technique capable of vaporizing solid stone at a molecular level.""Mhm.""It would have destroyed half the academy.""Probably more than half, if we're being precise.""And you are calling it a “campfire.’"Kael considered this. "A large.campfire." He amended, entirely unbothered. "I'm giving the boy credit."Somethi

Meanwhile, somewhere very far away from the crimson Academy, in a realm filled with darkness.The darkness there was not like ordinary darkness.Ordinary darkness was just the absence of light, something your eyes adjusted to eventually, something that softened at the edges when you gave it time. This darkness was different. It was the kind that didn't soften. The kind that pressed back when you looked into it, heavy and deliberate, like it had been carefully constructed and maintained by someone who understood exactly what darkness was supposed to feel like when it wanted to make a point.The realm had no name that anyone still living knew.It had no ceiling that could be seen, no walls that could be touched, no floor that reflected anything. Just endless black that stretched in every direction without apology, broken only by a single source of light and calling it light was perhaps too generous a word for what it actually was.It pulsed.There on a flat stone table at the center o

Meanwhile, back in the Crimson Academy building, in the laborer's hospital wing...Asta's eyes moved beneath his closed lids.Small twitches at first,rapid eye movement suggesting dreams, or the slow return of consciousness.Then his eyelids fluttered.Once. Twice.Slowly,agonizingly slowly,they began to open.The world came into focus gradually, like looking through frosted glass that was slowly clearing.Everything was blurry. Indistinct. Shapes and colors bleeding into each other without clear boundaries.A blob of color,brownish, maybe?,was hovering very close to his face. Too close.Way too close."HE'S WAKING UP!"The sound hit him like a physical force,too loud, too sudden, making his head throb with a spike of pain that made him wince.The blob jerked backward slightly, resolving into something more recognizable.A face.Mira's face, specifically, her eyes wide with relief and excitement, her expression practically pressed against his as she leaned over the bed."Flora! Jabber!

In his mind, Ragnar's voice whispered,faint, distant, not in control but still present.‘’That boy. The one standing there. There's something about him. Something familiar. Something that feels like…’’"Kaito."His teacher's voice cut through whatever thought Ragnar was pursuing."Come. We need to get going. The portal won't stay open forever."Kaito blinked, the moment breaking."Right."He walked past Jabber, their shoulders almost brushing.As he passed, he murmured,so quietly only Jabber could hear…"See you later."Then he was moving toward the door, following his teacher.The teacher raised his hand, orange flames gathering, forming a swirling portal,yellow-tinged, leading somewhere far from the academy.Kaito stopped at the threshold, turned back."Thank you." He said to the room at large. "All of you. For understanding. For not…"He didn't finish. Just nodded and stepped through the portal.His squadmates,Akari, Clarks and Daichi,followed.As they walked through, Kaito spoke

Asta opened his mouth, to deny, to deflect, to say something,but no words came out.Jabber still hadn't moved. Hadn't spoken. Was barely even breathing, his mind racing frantically.“‘’High official Roderick knows. He figured it out. What should I say? What should I do? If he knows about me, if they know about Asta, what happens next?”’’‘’"Stay calm."’’Loki's voice in his mind was tight but controlled.‘’"Don't confirm. Don't deny. Let Old Man Kael handle this. He's been protecting vessels for decades. He knows how to navigate this."’’Mira was looking between Asta and Jabber with an expression that was hard to read,surprise, yes, but also... something else. Like she was processing information, fitting pieces together.Flora looked lost, her eyes moving between everyone's faces, trying to understand what was happening.Old Man Kael finally moved.He walked slowly to the window, his hands clasped behind his back, looking out at the academy grounds.When he spoke, his voice was quiet.