Returning the keycard was a nerve-shredding ordeal that made stealing it feel simple. In the dead of night, Leon quietly slipped back into Professor Draven’s office, the silence a heavy weight. He returned the card to the chest pocket of his black blazer, his every sense screaming that he was being watched.
He was, for sure.
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3t233a76Pz
The next morning, a folded note was pressed into each of their hands. Mr. Henderson's spidery script was unmistakable: Botanical Greenhouse. Noon. Urgent.
They met amidst the humid, alien greenery. Mr. Henderson looked weary, the lines on his face deeper than usual.
“Your gambit was reckless,” he began, his voice low and urgent. “So reckless that you all have Professor Crawford and Professor Draven’s undivided attention now. This academy is a living engine, and you three are creating sparks. It will not tolerate that for long.”
He leaned closer to the trio, the scent of ozone and soil clinging to him. “The ‘Absolved’ are not sent home. They are consumed. Their talents are harvested to maintain the system, to keep what slumbers beneath the stone—”
The greenhouse door hissed open. Professor Crawford and Professor Draven stood there silently, their expressions were two bland masks that failed to conceal the cold calculation in their hollow eyes. Professor Crawford was the first one to break the silence, “Henderson. An unsanctioned tutorial?”
Mr. Henderson straightened, his face morphing into a picture of academic distraction. “A discussion on resonant chlorophyll, Professor Crawford. These students show a very peculiar… interest in botany.”
“Botany you said... I see... a very peculiar interest...” Professor Crawford smirked, apparently not buying his explanation.
Professor Draven’s gaze swept over them, a predator inspecting prey. It was a silent declaration: The game is up. I see you.
Their gaze first lingered on Niles, before their eyes turned to Leon.
“Mr. Collingwood,” Professor Draven said, the name a verdict.
“Your role as a prefect is predicated on unwavering trust and adherence to the academy's protocol. Recent events have demonstrated a profound failure in both.” He paused, letting the words hang in the humid air. “Effective immediately, you are relieved of your duties and all associated privileges.”
The blow was delivered with surgical precision. It was not just a demotion; it was a strategic dismantling. Leon’s access, his authority, his ability to move freely—the very tools that had made him valuable to their trio—were severed in a single sentence.
Leon’s face went stony, but the shock in his eyes was unmistakable.
The blow was delivered calmly, surgically. It was a demotion, but more than that, it was a message directed to them: I am cutting off all of your access. I am isolating you.
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EJUra4Eas
Before the three could react, Professor Crawford's focus returned to Mr. Henderson, his gaze intense. “As for you, Henderson, the Headmaster requires your consultation. Immediately.” His tone brooked no argument. He took Mr. Henderson firmly by the arm, beginning to pull him from the greenhouse.
“Mr. Henderson!” Alice shouted, her heart racing, with a primal fear in her eyes.
“Don't worry about me, Alice. I'll be fine!” Mr. Henderson forced a small smile on his weary face.
As he was manhandled past the trio, Mr. Henderson stumbled. With a deftness that belied his apparent clumsiness, he let a small, folded square of paper fall from his hand, fluttering to the floor at Alice’s feet. Professor Draven, intent on his purpose, didn't notice the paper.
“Do not disappoint the Headmaster any further,” Professor Crawford said with a serious tone, his final words a direct threat aimed at them all as the two men escorted a protesting Mr. Henderson away.
The moment they were gone, Alice immediately snatched up the note. Her hands trembled as she unfolded it. The message was Mr. Henderson’s final, desperate act to save them.
Niles took the paper, his eyes scanning the single, cryptic line:
“The First Headmaster’s folly rests where light fails and order dissolves.”
His mind, reeling from the confrontation and the abduction of their only ally, latched onto the puzzle with a survivor’s instinct.
“The First Headmaster… from the Chronology. ‘Folly’… a mistake? A failed project?” He looked up, his gaze sharpening. “Where light fails… that’s the Restricted Section in the library. No windows. And ‘order dissolves’… the cataloging system breaks down there. The books are stored in a chaotic, non-system.”
Leon, his face still pale from his very public firing, nodded grimly. “He’s pointing us back to the one place we found real answers. Draven and Crawford took everything from us—my position, our ally. He thinks we’re cornered. But Mr. Henderson just gave us our next move.”
The men had tried to isolate and intimidate them. But in taking Mr. Henderson, they had made a terrible mistake. Mr. Henderson's final clue was a spark in the darkness. They had lost their status and their guide, but they had gained a destination. The path was more dangerous than ever, but it was the only one they had left.
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and then Add to home screen.