The faint hum of residual mana lingered in the air long after the rift had vanished.
A heavy silence followed, filled only by the uneven breathing of seven exhausted students.
The forest, moments ago writhing with twisted life, had gone eerily quiet.
A soft tone chimed from their wristbands, the signal of forced extraction.
A second later, the scenery blurred.
Wind, light, motion, and then stillness.
The entire group rematerialized inside one of the academy's open simulation domes, the sterile brightness of the observation chamber almost painful after the gloom of the forest.
The glass walls around them shimmered with blue runic patterns, dispersing their summoned gear.
Ethan fell back with a groan. "Thank the stars. I thought we were gonna be stuck there forever."
Liliana rubbed her temples, still pale. "That wasn't an exam. That was an execution."
Nathan's gaze stayed fixed on Merlin. "You knew it wasn't part of the simulation field the moment you saw it, didn't you?"
