Maerin hesitated. "It's not just affinity count. His control, it's beyond the scale. We had to shut down the dome's secondary ward when it began to destabilize from interference."
Morgana's eyes narrowed faintly. "And yet he walked out unharmed."
"Yes," Maerin said. "Almost serene."
A pause. Then, softer: "Headmistress… what is he?"
Morgana didn't answer immediately.
Her gaze drifted toward the distant dome, the runes still faintly glowing from the overload earlier that day.
"I've asked myself that same question since the first day he enrolled," she said finally. "Merlin Everhart appeared from nowhere. No records from any academy. No family listed in the census. His mana signature doesn't match any known bloodline pattern. He exists here, yet his origin is… blank."
Maerin's brows furrowed. "You mean he's undocumented?"
