DARKRIVE

When a modern girl mysteriously transmigrates into a broken world of magic, she awakens in the ruins of a forgotten academy—only to discover she’s its new principal. Bound to an ancient academic system and protected by invincibility within a 1000-meter radius, she must rebuild the shattered institution, recruit wayward students, and uncover the lost secrets of this realm. With a legendary Khanda sword in hand and the power of the system behind her, she will become the most powerful force in a world that has long forgotten the strength of true magic.

Arcane Principal: Rise of the Forgotten Academy

Chapter 8: Prophecies, Panic, and a Pissed-Off Phoenix

This was the third time this week, and Liana's favorite chair had now been incinerated twice. The hallway was scorched, the fire alarms were weeping blood (why were they like that?), and the students were huddled behind magical barriers, watching the flaming bird tear through the air like it had beef with the entire concept of peace.

[Warning: Phoenix emotional instability detected.]

"Gee, thanks, System," Liana grunted, smacking a glowing sigil to cast an ice dome. "Why is it unstable?"

[It consumed enchanted espresso. Double shot. Cursed roast.]

She turned to Mordain, who was sipping a similar drink.

He raised his skull-mug. "What? It was on sale."

Meanwhile… in Exam Room 3A

The students were still mid-midterm.

"Define the moral implications of turning your classmates into potions."

The demon girl was writing a thesis.The vampire was filing her nails.And the vault girl—the one Liana now mentally tagged as "The Magical Nuke"—was quietly glowing again.

Her eyes flashed gold, her fingers crackled with threads of unknown magic, and her exam paper hovered as if writing itself.

Professor Mordain appeared out of a puff of snark.

He leaned over her shoulder. "Need a hint?"

She smiled. "No thank you. The archive taught me necromantic shorthand last night."

"Ah. You're ahead of the syllabus. Delightful."

Back in Liana's Office

Liana poured wine into a mug that said "World's Okayest Principal."

[Update: Prophecy flare increasing. Vault Girl is syncing with deep-world leyline energies.]

[Also catastrophic. In a sparkly way.]

She pulled up the prophecy transcript again.

When the daughter of two worlds breathes the forgotten flame, the locks of fate shall melt, and chaos shall learn its name.

She groaned. "Is it too late to install a No Prophecy Zone?"

[Too late. Also, she's possibly bonded with the phoenix.]

At That Exact Moment...

The phoenix dove through the exam hall ceiling in a dramatic swirl of feathers and divine fire.

Students screamed. The vampire ducked into her coffin. The lich screamed in bone.

The girl stood, arms outstretched.

The phoenix froze. Mid-air. Eyes locked with hers.

Liana burst in, wild-eyed. "Nobody move! That thing is—"

The room fell into stunned silence.

Then it chirped happily and perched on the vault girl's shoulder like a torch with opinions.

Mordain whispered, "Okay, yeah. She's totally gonna be a problem."

Post-Midterm Debrief

Liana addressed the faculty in the war room (also known as the faculty lounge, because it had war maps and scones).

"You had a problem," Mordain corrected. "Now you have a flaming chosen one and a prophecy that's leaking."

[Reminder: You are invincible within the 1000-meter academy radius.]

"That's not helpful when the student inside the school is possibly a world-ending soul fusion event waiting to sneeze."

[Also, she unlocked another hidden wing. Do you want to name it?]

Liana sighed. "Fine. Call it 'Vault 2: Electric Boogaloo.'"