บท 1457: Chapter 1457: The Darkening Path

The days following the council's decision passed in a flurry of activity. The academy was a hive of frantic preparation, its halls echoing with the sound of hurried footsteps, hushed conversations, and the rustling of parchment. Kael could feel the weight of the world pressing down on him as he walked through the corridors. The future of the Academy—and perhaps the world—rested on the shoulders of those few who were still willing to stand and fight.

Though they had the Foci in their possession, the burden of that power was not as liberating as Kael had hoped. It was not the key to victory that they had believed it to be. Instead, it seemed to be a harbinger of something darker, something that Kael could not yet fully understand. The feeling of unease that had plagued him since they retrieved it only grew stronger, like an oppressive storm cloud gathering on the horizon.