*****
(Some Minutes Before)
Emily Theodeus stood in the center of her office, her posture rigid yet composed, hands clasped neatly behind her back.
Her sharp, discerning gaze swept across the vast expanse beyond the towering arched window, where the academy's grandeur unfolded in immaculate symmetry.
Majestic spires reached skyward, their intricate stonework illuminated by the ethereal glow of suspended mana lamps, casting soft halos of light against the encroaching dusk.
Every structure stood as a testament to centuries of tradition and unyielding discipline, yet beneath this veneer of order, an unsettling discord lingered—an imperceptible shift, a whisper of something out of place.
The stillness.
It was unnatural.
The air, usually vibrant with the pulse of thousands of students honing their magic, was silent.
No chatter, no bursts of spells from the training fields, no distant footsteps echoing through the corridors.