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**Chapter 4: Shadows of Truth**

Candlelight flickered against the contemplative silence of the Magical Archives Office, where the Chief of Inquiries, Caius Elanon, a figure revered for his skill in solving arcane mysteries, was reading the latest report. The disappearance of Leandro, a promising young man from the XCO School of Magic, had sent waves of unrest throughout the magical realm and both worlds. Investigating the case had been his responsibility from the moment it became obvious that Leandro was no mere fugitive.

At Caius's side was his faithful apprentice and magical tracking expert, Evaline Vexis, whose keen eyes often picked up details that others would overlook. Together, they had reconstructed Leandro's last known days, but a shadow still veiled the crucial clues.

Meanwhile, in the enchanted tavern "The Bubbling Cauldron", a gathering of influential minds moved in whispered conversations. Snowden Dracfire, the master alchemist with the ability to distill truth from lies, contemplated the affair with his sister, Lysorin Dracfire, a skilled clairvoyant whose visions often revealed the unexpected.

Lysorin's eyes suddenly narrowed, almost as if she glimpsed a clue in Zerk's dark nights. "There is a shadow that moves against the wind of truth," she murmured, "a secret that someone desperately wants to keep buried."

It was Marcellan Grane's turn, the skilled master of illusions, to join the discussion, tracing patterns of enchantment in the air with his agile hands. "What if Leandro was just a distraction, a mirrored smoke to overshadow something — or someone — more important?" Marcellan always looked beyond the obvious, searching for intentions hidden beneath the veil of appearances.

Returning to the Magical Archives Office, Caius flipped a page of the file and his eyes fixed on a name that appeared repeatedly in the teachers' notes: Ogram. "Evaline," he said, deepening his voice, "I believe it is time to intensify our look at this student. There's something about him that doesn't seem ordinary to me."

Evaline nodded and together, they began to formulate a plan that would take them from the silent cloisters of the academy to the narrow alleys of a nocturnal Zerk in search of answers. They knew that the intertwining web of magic and intrigue could lead to dangerous discoveries, but they also knew that the truth must be revealed, whether benign or malignant.

Folding between the two worlds, the investigation into Leandro's disappearance was just beginning, and those who once hid would now be hunted, for the truth has a power that not even the darkest spell can suppress for long. Ogram's New Order, whatever its intention, would soon meet the penetrating light of justice.

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In the next chapter, we can explore the adventures of Caius and Evaline as they begin to follow Ogram's magical trails, slowly revealing the pieces of the puzzle that are forming behind the walls of the XCO School of Magic. If you would like to continue the story or add details, please feel free to ask.