A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the altar.
Mirela, standing a few feet away, gasped. "Master! You can't go up there! If it is a trap designed to kill you, we should just leave! We can find another way to awaken your class!"
Klaus looked at Mirela, and then he looked down at Anya. He didn't look scared. He just let out a tired, cynical sigh.
"We can't leave, Mirela," Klaus stated bluntly, stating the obvious reality of their situation.
He gestured toward the massive dark iron doors leading back outside.
"The purple spatial barrier surrounding this tower slammed shut the exact second we crossed the threshold," Klaus explained, his tactical mind having already analyzed their escape routes. "It's a permanent lock. There is no control mechanism outside, and there is no magical lever down here. We are soft-locked in this zone."
Klaus pulled his wrist gently out of Anya's grip.
