The Essence Flow

Chapter 175: When The Sky Broke

Towan and Len took the stairs two at a time, their footsteps echoing in the narrow stairwell. The distant boom still rang in their ears, leaving their nerves frayed and senses sharp.

"So you're telling me the Academy barrier was being weakened?" Towan asked, his voice low but urgent as they descended.

Len kept close behind, her eyes scanning the shadows. "Exactly. That's what Sylra told us before she left."

They hit the first floor—freedom just beyond the doors—when a familiar figure stepped into view.

Alira.

"Hey, guys." She leaned casually against the wall, her grin bright against the dim hallway. "Glad to see you in one piece."

Towan gave a curt nod. "Nice to see you well too." His gaze flicked to the massive axe strapped to her back, its blade still faintly smoldering. "...Why do you have an axe?"

Alira patted the weapon affectionately. "I'm taking this as a souvenir."

Len barked a laugh, the tension in her shoulders easing just a fraction.

Without another word, the three of them pushed through the doors and stepped into the open air—just as another explosion shook the ground beneath them.

Elliot sprinted up the library stairs, his breaths sharp and controlled. The rooftop access was mercifully close—just as Sera had said.

"Check the rooftop…"

His pulse hammered in his ears. "Hope Lyris is okay—"

Then he burst onto the roof, the wind whipping at his clothes—

And froze.

Haeren stood like a specter, his longsword glinting under the pale moonlight. Before him, Lyris knelt, one hand clutching her shoulder—fabric torn, skin beneath stained dark with blood.

"Lyris!" Elliot’s shout tore from his throat.

Her head snapped toward him, eyes wide with alarm. "Elliot! Stay back! He’s using—" A gasp. "Corruption!"

Haeren’s gaze slid to Elliot, cold and dismissive.

"Huh. You’re not important to me."

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Then—he stepped off the edge.

Elliot lunged forward, skidding to the rooftop’s ledge just in time to see Haeren land effortlessly on the courtyard below, his form unshaken by the drop. Without a glance back, he melted into the shadows, leaving only the echo of his contempt.

Elliot turned, his chest tight.

Lyris swayed, her breath ragged.

"Are you okay?" He was at her side in an instant, gripping her arm to steady her, his fingers brushing the warm stickiness of blood.

Lyris winced as she straightened, her fingers still pressed to her wounded shoulder. "I thought I could talk some sense into him... since I'm Second Class too." Her voice was tight, frustration bleeding through the pain.

Elliot's jaw clenched. "Tsk. That idiot. He's using Corruption to cheat his way to power."

Lyris's gaze sharpened. "There was someone else," she said, scanning the shadows around them. "A woman—standing with him. But the moment I got close, she... vanished. Like smoke."

(Someone from the Circle?)

Elliot's mind raced—images of masked figures and whispered rumors flashing like lightning. But before he could speak—

The sky shattered.

A violet haze erupted above the Academy, swirling like a living storm. The moon drowned in its glow, casting the rooftops in an eerie, pulsating light.

"What the hell—?!" Elliot spun, instincts screaming.

Then—

CRACK.

A sound like splintering glass tore through the air—the Academy's barrier fracturing under an invisible blow. The very ground trembled, stones shifting underfoot.

Lyris's breath caught. "This... this isn't good."

Above them, the purple cloud thickened, its edges writhing like tendrils.

Something was coming.

Sylra’s boots pounded against the cobblestones as she raced toward the professors’ quarters—a world apart from the student dorms, isolated by design.

(Gotta tell them what’s going on—)

Then—the sky split.

A violent purple surge

erupted overhead, followed by a deafening CRACK as the Academy’s barrier shattered like glass. The shockwave rattled the ground beneath her."Damn it—!" Sylra skidded to a halt, her silver hair whipping in the sudden wind. The professors’ dorm loomed ahead—and they were already spilling out, robes billowing, faces grim.

"Professors!" Her voice cut through the chaos.

Kaelin turned, her usual calm replaced by sharp urgency. "Sylra—" She gripped her shoulders, fingers tight. "Don’t worry. We know about the dorms."

Behind her, dozens of professors—not just Kaen and Khalvar, but Second and Third-Year instructors too—formed a tight circle, their hands already alight with swirling Essentia.

Kaelin’s gaze snapped back to Sylra. "Listen. Go back. Tell your classmates to stay together." Her eyes flicked toward the forest, where shadows twisted unnaturally. "Monsters may come."

A beat. Then—"We’ll restore the barrier. You keep them safe." Her grip tightened. "I trust you."

And then she was gone, vanishing into the circle of professors as their combined power flared like a beacon.

Sylra stood alone, the weight of the moment pressing down.

"…This is worse than I thought."

She wasn’t used to being trusted with others’ lives. She wasn’t even sure if she trusted herself.

But Kaelin had. The professors had.

That was enough

A gust of wind coiled around her ankles, her Essentia humming in response.

Time to move.