"So what now? Do we just head back?" I ask.
Julian doesn't answer right away. He continues to fix his eyes on the vacant spot from which Raffkare disappeared while his deep breaths brush against an unseen injury.
Then he nods once, slowly. "Yes. The mission's done."
Mission... right. I'd almost forgotten in the chaos.
Mission: Perimeter Breach Control – Sector D12.
Objective: Investigate the surge of mana distortion. Confirm the source. Neutralize any hostile presence.
They did that. Julian and Chris finished the mission, even though I was off course with the mission and lost two teammates from my original team.
A spinning light pulse emerges under his feet. Ancient symbols form themselves into existence with purposeful precision to create a return sigil which vibrates with various enchantments. It's not just a teleport. This mechanism functions to stabilize travel after someone experiences battle trauma.
Julian presses his palm into the air where the sigil quickly enlarges into a wide circle. The light reaches us one by one while examining our individual signatures.
"After establishing the link we will be drawn to the return gate located near Velmara's eastern tower," he states with a steadier tone.
"Chris, keep watch. Zach, look out for Aoki. Julius, retrieve Jennifer."
Chris silently acknowledges the situation by shifting into a defensive posture with his sword hand poised for action against any potential threat. Aoki moves forward with a limp and clenched jaw but accepts Zach's assistance this time. She's silent—too silent. Her pride must be shattered. She tried. Despite her efforts she was powerless to change the outcome.
And yet, Jennifer is still unconscious.
I glance at Abdul's body. My stomach twists.
Julian follows my gaze. "We're not leaving him," he says.
He bends down to position a small white crystal directly onto Abdul's chest. The crystal merges with his body before disappearing and locks him in stasis. A transport spell. Probably coded only to Julian's mana. This was a precautionary action he took to prepare for potential problems.
Each of us enters the sigil. The glyphs flicker to life. Static surges upward through my boots and travels along my spine. Zach stands beside me with his fists tightly clenched in silent anger.
Julian enters after everyone else reaches the ring.
Then the sigil pulses.
The world bends—
And we're gone.
The next breath I take is clean. Brisk, controlled, sterile.
The eastern return gate shines under our feet as we step onto stone in the strong outer yard of Velmara's estate. The natural tree landscape has vanished and given way to structures such as towers and sky bridges along with guarded archways and walls that shine with runes.
From an adjacent outpost, a gentle alarm sound signals its presence. Several faculty mages look in our direction and start walking toward us. A member of the group calls out for medical assistance.
I glance around. The others are here, many of us made it, but many didn't.
Julian still holds his silence. He doesn't move as the mages approach. He refuses to look away from the sky even when the mages attempt to scan him for injuries. His gaze stays locked on the sky since a part of him remains in that forest. Still chasing Raffkare.
Aoki finally sits. She wipes blood from her collar while her hands shake. Chris rests against the wall with closed eyes showing his exhaustion.
Jennifer is still laying on the ground, unconscious.
Zach doesn't speak. He just stares. His fists are still tight. He hasn't let go.
I feel the need to speak but a tightness blocks my throat. We survived. We emerged victorious—if that's even the correct term.
But I know the truth now.
Raffkare wasn't the end.
He was the beginning.
Julian has evolved past his role as our group leader, he's now a message to everyone.
Jennifer is taken into custody almost immediately.
Two medics approach to assess her condition, but the moment one lays a diagnostic rune over her forehead, something changes. The spell flashes an unusual black-red before snapping apart with a hiss of distorted mana. The medic jerks back.
"She's… she's not unstable. She's contaminated," he mutters.
One of the approaching faculty—an older woman with silver threads braided into her dark robes—steps forward. She wears the emblem of Special Oversight Division, a crescent-eye sigil that only appears in cases involving internal threats to the species.
"Quarantine her," she says without hesitation. "No external healing. No mental probes. Wrap her aura and alert Division VII."
That makes total sense, I'm guessing Julian called them over. Raffkare definitely did something to her, we just don't know what he did exactly.
Two handlers raise a glowing stasis chamber and begin carefully lifting Jennifer into it.
Julian speaks. "Will you keep her safe?"
The woman gives a respectful nod. "We don't destroy the infected, if that's what you're asking. We understand contamination and coercion. If she's still intact, she will return."
We're then directed to the Central Tribunal Annex, located beneath Velmara's eastern spire. A private corridor opens, bordered by mirror steel doors and lined with charm-glyphs that suppress listening enchantments. Inside, four instructors sit at a curved obsidian table—high-ranking arbiters in charge of critical mission oversight.
Aetherlights buzz quietly overhead. The room feels sterile, calculated. There's no warmth here.
"Step forward," one of them says. His voice is flat, like he's done this a thousand times.
Julian leads. Zach, Chris and Aoki follow close behind. I bring up the rear, unsure what I'll even say.
"Report," another arbiter commands. "From the moment you breached the forest perimeter to now."
Julian's voice is even. "The distortion was authentic. Raffkare, formerly listed as dead under the Eastern Exodus Records, was present. He accessed a stabilized shard of unknown origin and anchored it through a sacrificial conduit—Jennifer Lin. We attempted retrieval. We failed."
The room is still.
Julian continues, recounting the exact events, sparing no detail. I then explain to them my hypothesis of the death of Liam and Kevin. The destruction of Abdul and Kiran. Aoki's encounter with the spliced wolves. Zach's interference. My deviation and near loss. Jennifer's initial resistance. Raffkare's intervention. The Codex duel.
No one interrupts this whole time.
When he finishes, one arbiter speaks. "And the shard?"
"Gone. Raffkare took it. He escaped through an unknown method that I could not track."
There's a pause. Then a woman at the table leans forward, fingers interlocked. "You fought a supposed-dead enemy, witnessed a student become a vessel for something incomprehensible. Why didn't you call for extraction?"
"I couldn't," Julian says. "I was trying to find Julius this whole entire time, and right after I found him, Raffkare was right in front of me, and Jennifer was already knocked out by Julius."
"Correct," another arbiter murmurs, checking a glowing script. "The tree ring signature confirms a full collapse-void seal. Your actions were… justifiable."
Zach twitches but doesn't speak.
Aoki finally raises her voice. It's thin, tired. "Why didn't we know he was alive? Why didn't anyone warn us about someone like Raffkare being in proximity?"
The silence shifts. Uncomfortable. Heavy.
The lead arbiter exhales. "Because we didn't know. Raffkare was presumed terminated six years ago during the Night Siege. We believed he'd lost his humanity completely and died."
"He hasn't," I say before I can stop myself.
Everyone looks at me.
I swallow. "He's still in control. Twisted, cruel—but he knew what he was doing. He toyed with us."
The woman nods grimly. "Then it's worse than we thought."
"What happens now?" Zach asks. His voice sounds more like a weapon than a question.
The arbiter looks at each of us.