Chapter 392 The Object in the Principal’s Office

Arthur leaned closer to the glass case on Principal Steven’s desk.

The object inside was no larger than his palm. It resembled a piece of dark stone, polished on one side and broken along the other. Five faint grooves curved across its surface, disappearing beneath the fractured edge.

"Arthur?" Vedas called from beside his chair. "You’ve been staring at that for quite some time."

Arthur blinked. "Have I? Sorry. It just looks familiar."

Star stretched upward from Arthur’s shoulder, forming a small question-mark shape before settling again.

Behind the desk, Steven finally found the document he wanted. "Here we are. Your training assessment."

Arthur turned around immediately. "Oh! Is that the schedule?"

"Not quite." Steven set the folder down. "Before I decide how to train you, I’d like to know what you believe needs improvement. Winning One Above All doesn’t mean you’ve finished learning."

Arthur sat opposite him. "I know. Watching the upper years made that pretty obvious. Ilya won by turning her opponent’s wind against him, and Selene kept changing how she used water. I was cheering so loudly that Sun told me to save some energy for my own training."

Steven raised an eyebrow. "Sun advised you to conserve energy?"

Vedas nodded gravely. "It was a historic occasion."

Arthur laughed. "He was mostly worried I would miss lunch."

Steven smiled. "And what did you notice?"

"Their Beasts could react without waiting for every command. They used the same abilities in different ways, and they didn’t waste energy trying to make every attack impressive." Arthur glanced toward Vedas. "I think we can get better at that."

Vedas folded his arms. "Particularly when an opponent separates us. Darius nearly defeated us by forcing Arthur to direct everything at once."

"And Mithra almost won because she knew what I’d do next," Arthur added. "I want to get better at recognizing when someone is leading me into a trap."

Steven made a note. "Good. You can identify your weaknesses without dismissing your achievements. That’s a promising start."

Arthur grinned. "Does that mean we can start tomorrow?"

"It means," Steven replied, looking amused, "you should finish answering my questions first."

Vedas sighed. "Thank you, Principal."

...

Steven reviewed their recent Academy assessments, asking about Vedas’s independent decisions, Star’s unusual mobility, and Eden’s recovery.

"Eden is improving," Arthur explained. "But I’m not asking her to use Future Manifestation until she’s properly recovered."

"Wise," Steven said. "An ability’s potential doesn’t excuse careless use. Your training will account for her condition."

Arthur nodded, relieved. "Thanks. She’ll be happy to hear that."

Star bounced onto the desk’s edge, peering at the papers without touching them.

Steven watched the little slime with a smile. "And Star appears to have become considerably more confident."

"He caught a falling glass yesterday," Arthur said proudly. "Didn’t spill a drop!"

"An achievement worth recording, I’m sure."

Vedas glanced at Arthur. "Please don’t add it to our combat assessment."

Arthur laughed. "I wasn’t going to!"

Steven closed the folder. "I’ll prepare a program focused on decision-making under pressure, coordination, and control. You won’t spend the entire week fighting. Some of the hardest exercises will require you to do very little."

Arthur’s expression brightened. "That sounds interesting!"

Vedas looked unconvinced. "That sounds suspicious."

Steven chuckled. "A healthy amount of suspicion may help you pass."

As the principal reached for another document, Arthur’s attention drifted back toward the display case.

"Principal, can I ask about that stone?"

Steven followed his gaze. "That? It’s an old fragment kept in the Academy’s collection."

"Where did you find it?"

"It was recovered during an expedition long before you enrolled. The records describe the site as an abandoned structure, but they couldn’t determine who built it."

Arthur studied the grooves. "Has anyone figured out what it does?"

"No. Several researchers examined it without finding any active Mana response. I kept it because the markings were unusual."

"Could I take a closer look?"

Steven considered the request, then lifted the glass cover. "Carefully. It’s fragile, but there’s no indication it’s dangerous."

Vedas stepped closer. "Arthur, perhaps we should let the Principal handle it."

"I will. I just want to see the markings."

Steven placed the fragment on a folded cloth between them.

Arthur leaned forward. The five grooves seemed ordinary at first, yet their arrangement tugged at a memory he couldn’t quite reach.

He extended one finger and touched the polished surface.

The office disappeared.

...

Arthur stood beneath a sky the color of deep violet.

An immense stone passage stretched ahead of him. Its walls rose higher than the Academy’s towers, covered in weathered carvings that vanished into the distance. Wind swept dust across the floor, but Arthur couldn’t feel it against his skin.

"Vedas?" Arthur called. "Principal?"

No one answered.

He looked down. His hands were there, yet the stone beneath his feet seemed faintly transparent, as though he were watching a place from somewhere else.

Far ahead, five enormous upright surfaces stood in a half-circle. One glimmered red like flame. Another shimmered blue. The third carried the muted brown of earth. The fourth was so dark it seemed to swallow the surrounding light. The last shone with a pale radiance.

Arthur’s breath caught.

"The Mirrors?"

He had seen the original Mirrors in the Everglades. These were not identical, but the resemblance was unmistakable.

Beyond them stood a doorway taller than any of the five structures. Its entrance was open, revealing nothing but darkness.

Something moved inside.

Arthur instinctively stepped forward.

Countless tracks crossed the stone beneath the doorway. Some ended abruptly; others curved toward the five surfaces. Arthur couldn’t tell which way they led.

A Beast emerged from the doorway.

Its outline was difficult to hold in his sight. At one moment it appeared to walk on four legs, with a long neck and branching horns. At another, its silhouette seemed to stretch upward, taller than the doorway itself. The shape never settled long enough for him to understand it.

Arthur’s heart hammered. "What are you?"

He focused his Evolution Path Vision on the creature, expecting the familiar sense of possible forms and paths.

Nothing appeared.

He tried again, concentrating harder.

Still nothing. No recognizable species. No evolutionary possibilities. Not even the certainty that he was looking at a form his Talent could understand.

"That’s impossible," Arthur whispered.

The creature stopped.

Slowly, it turned its head toward him.

Arthur knew this was only a vision. He knew he wasn’t physically standing in that strange passage.

Yet the Beast seemed to look directly into his eyes.

The five surfaces behind it flickered at once.

Then the creature took one step toward him, and the entire passage fractured like glass.

...

"Arthur!"

He jerked backward, nearly knocking his chair over.

Vedas caught the chair while Star sprang from the desk and clung to Arthur’s sleeve.

Steven was already standing. "Arthur, can you hear me?"

Arthur stared at the office. Sunlight lay across the floor. The bookshelves were exactly where they had been. The fragment rested motionless on its cloth.

"I... yeah." He took a breath. "I’m here."

Vedas kept a steady hand against his arm. "You stopped responding. Your eyes were open, but you weren’t looking at us."

"How long?"

"Only a few seconds," Steven replied. "Did you feel pain? Dizziness?"

Arthur shook his head. "No. I saw something."

Steven’s expression sharpened. "What did you see?"

Arthur described the passage, the violet sky, and the five enormous surfaces. He spoke quickly at first, afraid the details would vanish before he finished.

"One looked like fire. One was water, then earth, darkness, and light. They reminded me of the five original Mirrors we found in the Everglades."

Steven stopped moving.

"Five?" he asked quietly. "You’re certain there were five?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes. They were standing around a huge doorway."

Steven glanced toward the fragment.

"And beyond the doorway?"

"There was a Beast." Arthur swallowed. "At least, I think it was a Beast. I couldn’t keep its shape straight."

Vedas frowned. "Could your Talent identify it?"

Arthur looked at him. "That’s the strange part. I tried using Evolution Path Vision, but it didn’t show me anything."

Steven’s gaze returned to Arthur. "Nothing at all?"

"Not even a path I couldn’t reach. It was like there was nothing for my Talent to read."

Star pressed against Arthur’s hand, and he gently stroked the slime’s surface.

"Then it turned toward me," Arthur continued. "I think it saw me."

Vedas studied his face. "You’re certain it wasn’t simply looking in your direction?"

"I can’t prove it," Arthur admitted. "But when it moved, everything else seemed to stop. Even the wind. I felt like I was the only thing it could see."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

...

Steven carefully replaced the glass cover over the fragment.

Arthur watched him. "Principal? Do you know what that place was?"

"No," Steven answered. "But there’s something you should understand. The fragment was recovered years before the Academy’s recent investigation into the Everglades Mirrors. Its original report contains no reference to those five elements."

Arthur frowned. "Then why did I see them?"

"That’s what concerns me." Steven opened the old collection register and scanned a page. "Researchers handled this fragment repeatedly. I handled it myself. Nothing like this was ever recorded."

Vedas stepped between Arthur and the case. "Then I suggest no further contact until we know more."

Steven nodded immediately. "Agreed. I’ll have the original expedition records brought here. For now, I want you to rest and tell me if anything else changes."

Arthur looked down at his hand. The sensation of touching the fragment had faded, but the image of the creature remained painfully clear.

"Principal, I can barely remember the carvings or the walls anymore," he admitted. "But I still remember that Beast looking at me."

Steven closed the register.

"Arthur, when you say your Talent couldn’t identify it, do you mean the information was hidden?"

Arthur slowly shook his head.

"No. I’ve seen things I couldn’t fully analyze before. This was different."

He looked toward the covered fragment.

"For the first time, I couldn’t even tell whether that Beast had an evolution path."