rlin threw a furtive glance at the unconscious girl in his arms then looked straight ahead. The grey-haired man moving in front of him exuded an aura of power and confidence but from the subtle tension in his body, rlin could tell he was a bit disgruntled.
"Perhaps I went too far this ti..."
They were currently headed to the Headmaster’s office and if his intuition served him right, they’d soon be joined by a few unforeseen guests.
Not that any of them posed a significant threat to him.
"What a pain..."
Letting out a sigh, rlin straightened taking asured steps forward.
Staring at the ancient portraits adorning the walls, his lips curled into a small smile.
"Look at all these old fossils, they must be turning in their faces right about now."
Gregory suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.
"Look who’s talking..."
Walking through the ancient hall, rlin couldn’t help but reflect on the wars that the Talented had fought with the assassins—all the bloodshed, all the lives that had been lost.
Looking at the result, things could have gone considerably worse.
Just then around them, he felt the change in the space.
After all, one of his innate abilities dealt solely with space and ti. It was quite difficult to surprise him with such petty tricks.
A mont t later, Gregory felt it too, coming to a stop.
In front of them, the space shuddered, vibrating erratically then cracked.
A ĺong jagged rift slowly forced its way in the middle of the long corridor, blooming akin to a flower of calamity.
Waves of raw unfamiliar power poured out of the rift washing over the corridor in tyrannical fashion. The flood abruptly halted, seeping back into the crack in an eerie fashion as though sucked into a vortex.
A mont later an elegant black cane with an owl headpiece erged from the rift, followed by the man who wielded it.
His steely gray eyes coldly scrutinized the two n with a chilling clarity that was in stark contrast to the easy-going smile that was playing on his lips.
"Lord Snow."
The smile on Marcus’s lips widened slightly.
"Headmaster Whizen. "
His eyes turned to rlin, dipping briefly to the unconscious girl in his arms.
The mask he wore cracked for a split second before slipping back almost imdiately into place.
" And you must be rlin Halecrest. Your reputation precedes you, Black ridian."
Gregory’s poker face remained in place but inwardly his mind churned.
"Well, that was certainly fast."
From the ti rlin had appeared, only a few minutes had passed the information about his arrival had already reached the upper echelons of the Council.
And they had, then a representative from the Videntis was most probably en route as well.
rlin laughed at the ntion of his alias.
The na certainly stirred several mories to mind, both good and bad.
"Please, those days are far behind . After all, the world has changed considerably, there’s no need for such children’s tales to co back to life. At least for the ti being."
rlin smiled.
" That said, I must apologize for my dramatic entrance but I deed I needed to accomplish my goal."
The easy-going smile on Marcus’s face never faltered for even a mont.
’And pray tell, what would this goal be?"
rlin stared at him for a few monts in silence.
"I plan to take on this girl as an apprentice of mine. It’s almost reminiscent of what you assassins do. But yes, I intend to take her in as my apprentice."
Marcus remained silent for a few monts then quietly nodded.
"Well, if the Headmaster is with you on this, I cannot raise any objections.
The group of three proceeded to the headmaster’s office.
The amount of power gathered in that one place was mind-boggling not to ntion the number of incredibly powerful individuals that had once road the ancient corridors before them.
In fact, rlin could vaguely feel the lingering traces of dormant power residing in the air.
Assassins whose nas the world once shuddered at.
So of them had quietly slipped away into the shadows and others were dead.
It was both frightening and strangely humbling to see that even such old monsters could be bested.
On the other hand, it was also a lesson to both the young and the old.
One couldn’t grow too confident or arrogant for that matter simply because of the power that they wielded.
Just then the shadows stirred, the bright daylight outside the massive building abruptly dimming.
The shadows beca longer, darker, and stretched out with a life-like eeriness.
A cold frigid wind swept over the world
A fierce tenebrous figure erged from the shadows pooled on the ground rising from the darkness with an uncanny yet unsettling grace.
Cocking his head, the intricately curved dark mask that adorned his face shifted slightly, and the darkness pooled where his eyes should have been seething beneath the mask.
His dark gaze swept over the building with chilling intensity as though he could peer through the layers of security that had been concealed within it.
Moving with unnatural fluidity, he moved forward, his feet seemingly gliding a few centitres above the ground
He calmly made his way into the building, stopping briefly to introduce himself.
Of course, the dark mask he wore and the signature attire of the Videntis spoke for themselves, and a few monts later, the receptionist calmly led him to the headmaster’s office.
A few monts after that, a redhead with striking violet eyes elegantly descended from the sky, her luscious crimson hair fluttering slightly in the wind. Her alluring eyes swept over the academy from above, noting the intact buildings and structures.
"Well at least, there isn’t any visible aftermath."
Her decision to keep rlin’s arrival to herself had allowed him much more flexibility than she’d originally anticipated.
Not that there was much they could have done considering who the man was.
But looking at the result, things could have transpired considerably worse so this outco was acceptable.
Letting out a sigh, Victoria shook her head.
" How troubleso."
****
rlin felt them before he saw them.
Two of the Videntis had arrived.
First, he felt the unnatural shift in the darkness within the room. Despite appearances, the young assassin, Marcus, could tell as well, which was also quite an impressive feat.
"Thrain is here. Normally he’d just barge in here but instead, he’s decided to do this the old-fashioned way.
And then a few monts after, a single pulse of psionic energy washed over the building, the painstaking effort lingering for a few seconds before sputtering and vanishing completely.
rlin’s lips curled into a small devilish smile.
" That must be Victoria. The little brat has grown significantly more powerful since I last saw her."
"As suspected, there’s interference that tampers with the way Talented powers work in this place. It must have been a safety asure put in place in the latter days."
Across the room, Emily lay on one of the luxurious beds, breathing gently but still unconscious. The girl had no visible injuries or blood marring her skin.
Glancing at her, rlin frowned slightly.
"I can only surmise that she’s still in shock.
Looking back at the battle just before the young lady had lost consciousness she’d seed to tap into a reserve of energy of a different source.
rlin smiled in quiet amusent, rembering the small display of raw power she’d exhibited. It has in fact made him more keen to take her under his wing.
After all, it wasn’t every day that one t such a unique talent.
He’d pushed the young Talented to her limits and then beyond.
And just when it seed like she’d reached her limit, sothing had changed.
****
rlin had felt it in the way she wielded her powers and the clarity in her eyes.
The energy emanating around her had shifted instantly.
Her gaze had beco strangely distant and empty, almost as though she’d beco entirely hollow but her eyes were fixed almost entirely.
The very air around her shimred turning several degrees colder.
rlin stared at that cold gaze with mild amusent in the silver flas dancing in the eyes.
"How interesting, let’s try this again..."
Strangely enough, her power completely ignored the charged air around her, producing ice on its own.
The layer of forest slowly spread through the undergrowth creeping up the remaining stumps.
rlin’s eyes widened slightly, his lips curling slightly in amusent.
" That’s certainly unexpected..."
The air around her froze entirely the chilling layer of air spreading towards him at an alarming pace.
"This is quite impressive but unfortunately it won’t be enough if you truly want to win."
His eyes narrowed.
"How is she doing?"
No matter how much he analyzed, he couldn’t understand it.
Her power simply ignored the rising temperature of the air, the ice maintaining its integrity despite the absurd amount of heat radiating through the air.
A split second later, an indomitable wave of ice surged towards him ripping through the air with alarming speed.
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