For a moment, nobody moved. Kelvin stared at the ceiling speaker,his pendant was burning against his chest. “What the hell does that mean?” Rylan asked. Kelvin didn't answer. The metal doors along the corridor continued sliding shut,One was already halfway closed. “Move!” Raze shouted. Kelvin, Rylan, and Raze rushed toward their rooms. Rylan reached the doorway first and grabbed the handle “It won't open!” Kelvin pushed beside him “Move.”He pulled hard but nothing happened. The door had locked automatically. Rylan looked around nervously “We're trapped.” Raze glanced toward the other end of the corridor “Not yet.” Kelvin looked at him “What do you mean?” Raze pointed toward the emergency exit “That door isn't closed.” Kelvin looked,He was right,a heavy metal door stood open at the far end “Then what are we waiting for?” Rylan asked. The three of them ran. Kelvin could hear doors locking behind them. Students shouted from inside their rooms. Someone began pounding a

The floor cracked open with a slow, grinding shudder.Kelvin took a single, cautious step back, his boots crunching against concrete dust. "What is that?"The Principal remained silent, her posture rigid, her eyes fixed entirely on the crack ground."You know," Raze said, facing her."I know enough to tell you that none of you should be standing this close," she replied smoothly, though the sudden tension in her jaw betrayed her calm tone.Rylan immediately scrambled backward. "Finally, someone making a sensible suggestion."The floor trembled again, a deeper vibration that rattled the overhead ironwork. Thin veins of blue light bled through the fissure, spider-webbing across the gray concrete. Kelvin stared down at them as a sudden, sharp heat flared against his chest; beneath his tunic, his pendant ignited with a matching, rhythmic glow."It's reacting to me," Kelvin muttered.The Principal snapped her head toward him. "Step away, Kelvin. Now.""I... I don't think I can." Kelvin bra

The concrete platform split wide open beneath Kelvin’s boots. “Kelvin!” Raze’s voice cut through the rising roar. Kelvin dropped to one knee, gasping for air as another violent shockwave rolled out from his chest, tearing across the training hall. Students stumbled, flung backward by the pressure; several slammed hard against the reinforced walls. The instructor threw up both hands, shouting over the chaos. “Clear the room! Everyone, move to the exits now!” A stampede of feet surged toward the heavy doors. Kelvin forced his weight upward, but his legs shook violently, refusing to lock. “I... I can't control it!” he yelled, clutching at his chest. The instructor’s eyes locked onto him, sharp with tension. “Stop fighting the discharge! You're feeding it!” “What am I supposed to do?!” “Clear your mind! Focus on containment!” A bitter, breathy laugh tore from Kelvin’s throat. “How?!” Before the instructor could answer, a second, larger wave of energy detonated from the platform.

“We’re not supposed to be down here, Kelvin,” Rylan whispered, his voice hushed against the cold stone walls.Kelvin kept moving, his eyes fixed on the dim hallway ahead. “I know.”“Then why are we still going?”“ just keep following me.”Rylan let out a long, quiet sigh. “this is precisely the core of my life choices right now.”Raze walked a pace ahead of them, his posture tense, his gaze sweeping the passage. This restricted sector of Antherion Tower felt entirely detached from the grand arches of the upper levels. Here, the stone was ancient and unvarnished, the ambient light flickering weakly from recessed wall sconces. There were no directional signs, no notice boards, no windows—only a row of reinforced iron doors set deep into the granite.Kelvin glanced at one of the heavy latches as they passed. “What do you think is behind these?”Raze didn't turn around. “Things they didn't want on the campus tour.”“Incredibly specific. Thanks.”“I aim to inform.”Rylan suddenly stopped d

The corridor lights detonated in a shower of white-hot sparks, plunging the hallway into pitch blackness.Kelvin froze, his breath hitching in his chest. For several long seconds, the absolute dark pressed against them, heavy and suffocating."Rylan?" Kelvin whispered into the gloom."I'm here," Rylan’s voice answered nervously from a few feet back."Raze?""Right beside you." Kelvin felt a firm hand brace against his shoulder as Raze closed the distance between them. "Stay together. Don't separate."The darkness felt fundamentally different this time. It wasn't simply the absence of light; it was an unnatural, sensory-depriving void. The ambient hum of the Tower’s ventilation, the distant echoes of footsteps, the subtle vibration of the stone—all of it had been snuffed out.Kelvin reached beneath his tunic, his fingers brushing against his chest. The obsidian pendant was scorching hot against his skin, a steady, rhythmic pulse radiating through his ribs.A pale, azure glow bled throu