The chatter died instantly.

Adrian let out a low whistle. "Damn. Straight to the final boss, huh?"

Ethan nodded solemnly. "RIP Merlin."

Liliana smacked him. "Don't joke!"

Seraphina crossed her arms. "It was only a matter of time. You were at the epicenter of the anomaly."

Nathan's gaze sharpened. "I'm going with you."

"No, you're not," Merlin said immediately.

"But—"

"I'm going alone." Merlin met Nathan's eyes, voice steady. "This isn't something you can interfere with. Morgana called me. Not us."

Nathan didn't argue further… but his jaw tightened.

Dorian spoke next, tone colder than usual. "If something happens, we'll know. We'll trace the mana pulse."

"That's not how Morgana works," Merlin muttered.

Seraphina nodded. "He's right. If she wants a conversation unobserved, she can block half the continent."

The group fell silent. They all knew it was true.

But there was an unspoken agreement there too:

They'd still be waiting. Watching from whatever distance Morgana allowed.

Merlin sighed softly. "Look, it's fine. I'm not in trouble."

"You don't know that," Elara said.

He glanced at her. "I do."

She didn't look convinced.

And it made something warm flicker in his chest.

Nathan clapped his hands, breaking the tension. "Okay! Then we'll all just stalk Merlin from a respectful distance."

Ethan groaned. "Nathan, that isn't a thing."

"It is now."

Adrian nodded. "Brotherhood watches brotherhood."

Liliana giggled. "I guess that makes sense?"

Seraphina spoke up. "It doesn't."

Dorian said next. "It really doesn't."

Merlin rubbed his temples. "Guys—no. Just… go to sleep tomorrow. I'll be fine."

Elara stepped closer. "At least let me walk you there."

He opened his mouth to argue.

But seeing her face—serious, stubborn, and quietly worried—he stopped.

"…Fine," he said softly.

Elara's expression eased, but only slightly.

The group disbanded for the night, slowly peeling away toward their individual dorms. The stone halls were dim, lit only by floating mana lanterns. As they reached the turn toward his room, Elara lingered.

"You really think something is coming," she whispered.

"Yes."

"And you're scared."

He didn't answer.

He didn't have to.

Elara's voice softened, barely above a breath. "Whatever happens in that office… don't shoulder it alone."

Merlin's throat tightened.

He reached up, almost on instinct, and brushed a strand of silver-blonde hair behind her ear.

Elara froze. Her cheeks tinted pink. Her eyes flicked away.

Merlin stepped back with a small, warm smile.

"…I won't," he promised.

She nodded quickly—too quickly—and walked away before he could say anything else.

Merlin didn't sleep much.

Not because he was afraid of Morgana—if she wanted him dead, he'd already be dead—but because every time the world diverged from the book, even a little, he felt the timeline twisting beneath his feet.

This was a twist.

One he didn't see coming.

He dressed simply, grabbed his academy coat, and slipped into the hall. The corridors were quiet at this hour, only the sound of his boots and the faint hum of waking mana crystals filling the air.

As he stepped outside, he found Elara waiting at the courtyard entrance.

Arms crossed.

Eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

Hair slightly messy from not fully brushing it yet.

"Morning," she muttered.

"You didn't have to—"

"I said I would."

And that was that.

They walked together across the grounds as the sun began to rise—not touching, not speaking, but completely synchronized.

When they reached the main building, Elara stopped at the base of the stairs leading to the Headmistress' tower.

Her voice was soft. "I'll wait here."

Merlin nodded slowly. "I'll be back."

He stepped toward the stairs.

Then paused.

Turned halfway back.

"…Thanks. For being here."

Elara's cheeks warmed faintly. "Just go before you make me worry more."

He laughed under his breath.

Then he climbed the stairs and entered the tower, the door closing behind him with a quiet finality.

Ahead, Morgana was waiting.

And the day—

the new arc—

was finally beginning in earnest.

The door to Morgana's office didn't creak.

It didn't groan.

It didn't echo.

It simply opened, as if the very wood bent to her will. Merlin stepped inside, and the world behind him shut out in one smooth, silent sweep.

The room was nothing like a typical office.

Floor-to-ceiling windows framed a panorama of the sun rising over the academy grounds, bathing everything in warm gold. Crystal spheres floated lazily in the air, orbiting around a central obsidian desk like miniature planets. Bookshelves lined the walls, some filled with ancient tomes, others holding objects Merlin had no name for.

And behind the desk stood the Headmistress herself.

Morgana.

Black hair cascading like ink. Eyes silver and cold enough to freeze time. Her presence filled the room, not with pressure, but absolute, unnervingly calm power.

She didn't sit.

She didn't gesture for him to sit.

She simply watched him enter, her gaze faintly narrowed, as if she were reading every thought passing through his skull.

"Merlin Everhart."

Her voice was quiet, but it carried effortlessly. It always did.

He bowed slightly. "You called for me."

"Mm." She motioned with a single hand. The air shimmered. A chair materialized behind him, pushing him gently to sit.

He didn't resist. Refusing Morgana's mana was like trying to argue with gravity.

She finally took her seat behind the desk.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

She simply looked at him.

Studied him.

Measured him the same way a master blacksmith examines an unfinished blade.

Merlin didn't look away.

Eventually, Morgana broke the silence.

"You handled yourself well during the incident."

"Thank you," he replied.

"That was not a compliment."

He blinked.

"I was not thanking you for your strength," she clarified. "I was observing your restraint. You held back—even when others stronger than you would have lashed out. Even when fear could have driven rash action."

She leaned back slightly.

"That is rare."

A small, dry laugh escaped Merlin. "Wasn't aware I was being graded."

"You are always being graded." Morgana's eyes flashed. "Especially when the boundaries of this world begin to shift."

Merlin's heart skipped.

She didn't know about the transmigration. There was no way she did.

But she sensed it.

She sensed the changes.