The west sector lay beyond a maze of fractured hallways and torn courtyards. Alarms screamed overhead, their echoes swallowed by distant detonations that rattled the ground beneath their feet.

  Halfway there, the sky burned.

  High above, two figures tore through the clouds—Franklin with radiant wings of blinding light unfurled like a divine executioner, and facing him was Reito encased in jagged ice armor, every clash sending shockwaves rippling through the air. Beams of light and frozen lances shot off wildly, carving craters into buildings far below.

  Jonathan: What the hell is that… an angel?

  Hiruzen: I don’t know—but the other one has to be—

  Emma: REITO!

  Another explosion thundered overhead, a beam spiraling downward toward the campus.

  Hiruzen: What’s he doing up there…?

  Jonathan: Doesn’t matter. We can’t just stand here.

  Emma: But the west sector—if we ignore it...

  Before anyone could finish, the beam changed trajectory—straight toward them.

  They immediately try and defend themselves but moments before the impact wood erupted from the ground, twisting together as sand compacted into a reinforced barrier. The blast slammed into it, light and heat washing over them in a blinding flash before dispersing harmlessly upward.

  Owen: …That was close. Is everyone okay?

  Willow: Yeah. No one’s hurt… right?

  Hiruzen: You guys showed up fast.

  Owen: When the explosions started, we figured sneaking off was better than waiting around. Didn’t expect to run into you.

  Before the tension could settle, the wall beside them detonated outward in a burst of flame and debris.

  Randall: Okay—maybe a little less dramatic next time.

  Kai: Oh come on, it was efficient—

  Kai pauses, eyes widening.

  Kai: …Wait. You guys are here too?

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Hiruzen: Kai!

  Emma: Looks like no one felt like staying put.

  Kai: Can you blame us? Mai, Daniel, and Elric split off to help some of the staff and students in the other sectors. We came here. So—what’s going on?

  Jonathan: Reito’s fighting someone in the sky. And something’s wrong in the west sector.

  Before anyone could respond, the speakers crackled to life across the campus.

  Caitlyn: Hello—if anyone can hear this—stay away from the west sector—

  Static shrieks violently.

  Caitlyn: There’s—Skadi—she’s—

  Another burst of static.

  Caitlyn: …Primordial—

  The speakers cut out.

  Silence followed.

  Emma: …That was Caitlyn.

  Kai: She sounded hurt.

  Willow: Yeah and she told everyone to stay away but why?

  Owen: Skadi…

  He turns to Hiruzen.

  Owen: That’s the one you fought before, right?

  Hiruzen doesn’t answer.

  The world stops.

  Sound vanishes. Dust hangs motionless in the air. Light freezes mid-flicker.

  Iskarth stands behind him, arms crossed, eyes cold and endless.

  Iskarth: Don’t even think about it. I warned you before.

  Hiruzen: And what? You want me to walk away while someone dies?

  Iskarth: If that keeps you alive—yes.

  Hiruzen: You said she’s a Primordial. That means this only gets worse.

  Iskarth: Nulthira is already involved—

  Hiruzen: I DON’T CARE.

  The words echo in the frozen void.

  Hiruzen: I won’t stand by if I can do something.

  Iskarth: Then leave it. This situation will resolve itself.

  Hiruzen: At what cost? The lives of people I could’ve saved

  Iskarth: Yes. If that’s what keeps you away from the other vessels… then so be it.

  Hiruzen clenches his fists.

  Hiruzen: …You really are heartless.

  Iskarth: After centuries drifting through existence as a shattered soul, you stop pretending… otherwise… all hope you have of a better world shatters and you’re left with nothing but a frozen heart.

  Hiruzen: Maybe. But I’m not you.

  He turns away.

  Hiruzen: I’m going to fight Skadi.

  Iskarth: If you do, don’t ask me for power. I won’t be your safety net this time. I will not intervene.

  Hiruzen: I wasn’t planning on it.

  He pauses, then adds quietly:

  Hiruzen: And I won’t be alone.

  He walks forward.

  Behind him, Iskarth watches in silence.

  Iskarth: Foolish boy…

  A pause.

  Iskarth: He is nowhere near ready to face my siblings.

  Time resumes.

  The chaos crashes back in—sirens, wind, distant explosions. Hiruzen turns to his friends, resolve etched into his expression, something heavier beneath it.

  Hiruzen: I’m heading to the west sector to deal with Skadi.

  Emma: Hiruzen…Caitlyn said—

  Hiruzen: I know. And I won’t let her die.

  Kai: Then I’m coming. Last time you fought Skadi, you nearly got killed—but you still won. With backup, we’ve got this.

  Emma: You always push yourself too far without me. I’m not letting you do that again.

  Randall: I’m in too. Losing to Aaron forced me to rethink how I fight. I won’t be dead weight.

  Hiruzen nods once.

  Hiruzen: Alright.

  He turns to the others.

  Hiruzen: Jonathan, Willow, Owen—go help Reito.

  Jonathan: Understood.

  Willow: …Okay. Be careful.

  Owen: Roger that.

  Sand surges upward, forming a massive cloud beneath them. Jonathan, Willow, and Owen leap aboard as it lifts them skyward, racing toward the clash in the sky.

  Hiruzen watches them go—then turns west.

  Hiruzen: Let’s move.

  Emma, Kai, and Randall fall in beside him as they sprint toward the heart of the disaster—toward Skadi, toward Caitlyn, toward a battle no midterm was meant to prepare them for.

  End Chapter