The stones of Aetherstone University hummed with a magic older than kingdoms, it was a stark contrast to the chaotic, unbridled power that had erupted from him just the day before. The memory of the Arcum gauge shattering, a sound like a star cracking, was a fresh wound. Whispers had followed him from the testing chamber, ghosts clinging to his heels.Professor Archum walked beside him, his steps measured and echoing in the grand, vaulted corridor. He was a man of severe lines, from the sharp cut of his grey robes to the granite set of his jaw. He didn’t offer platitudes. He offered purpose.“They will talk,” Archum said, his voice a low rumble. “Let them. Your actions, not their gossip, will define you.”He stopped before a polished oak door and produced a slim, gold-silver bracelet. It looked like a wristwatch from the mortal world, impossibly sleek against the ancient backdrop. “Your schedule, your assignments, your university life. It will all be managed through this.”Tristan too