CHAPTER 99: DATE RUINED [2]

The door slammed open.

Maya burst in, her hair slightly disheveled and her breathing ragged, eyes wide with unease.

Rihana, who had been sipping tea by the window, blinked in surprise.

"Maya? What’s wrong? You look like you just ran a marathon with a dragon chasing you."

Maya tried to speak but stumbled over her own words.

"I-I don’t know how to say this, but something’s happening at the plaza... there was this, this strange pressure in the air, and then everything just,"

Rihana stood up immediately, her calm demeanor fading into seriousness.

"Hold on, slow down. Pressure? As in mana distortion?"

Maya nodded quickly.

"Y-Yeah! The air was shaking, Rihana! It wasn’t normal, even the café glass was vibrating, and then,"

She bit her lip,

"—Lyrium told me to go back to the academy while he stayed behind."

Rihana froze for a second.

"He what?"

Her tone sharpened.

"You left him there? Alone?"

"I didn’t want to!"

Maya’s voice cracked.

"He said it was fine, he said he’d handle it, and then... explosion!"

Before Rihana could press further,

Bang—!

The door flew open again.

Ren, Silas, Lily, and Margaret rushed in together, panting and clearly out of breath.

"Rihana!"

Silas yelled first.

"Something’s going on near the plaza, Maya’s with you, right?"

Ren followed up, scratching his head nervously.

"What the hell’s happening? The mana sensors at the dorm started going crazy like the whole city was about to collapse!"

Rihana’s sharp eyes flicked between all of them, reading their faces, confusion, fear, and most of all, worry.

She exhaled slowly and said,

"It seems Lyrium might be involved... and if he’s out there, then this isn’t just a small disturbance."

Silas Said Again,

"Well Yeah we’ve contact him, he’s still in the cafè."

Margaret, standing by the door, clenched her hands tightly.

"Is he okay?"

She asked softly.

Rihana didn’t answer immediately, her silence said enough.

Silas stepped forward, frustration lacing his tone.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go,"

"No."

Rihana’s voice cut through like a blade.

"You’re not going anywhere near that area."

"What?!"

Ren protested,

"He’s our friend!"

"And he’s also someone who attracts chaos wherever he goes,"

Rihana said firmly.

"If you go there unprepared, you’ll just make things worse."

Then a message came privately by Alicia in Rihana’s watch.

"Rihana, theres an explosion in the plaza, near the cafè, a it’s really dangerous by how far the mana reading is going, the council is trying to investigate more. Oh and they think Darcyroix might be involved in this, he’s missing."

Silas interrupt,

"It’s Alicia isn’t it? What did she said?"

"She said that the Sage Council is already investigating, and Professor Darcyroix is missing, other professors think he is involved,"

Silas interrupted again,

"Wait, that creepy professor? The one who kept staring at Lyrium after the combat test?"

Rihana sighed deeply, rubbing her temples.

"Exactly him. If he’s out there and Lyrium’s in the middle of it... this might not be a coincidence."

A heavy silence filled the room.

Only Maya’s trembling breath broke it.

Then Rihana looked toward the window, her eyes distant.

"Whatever’s happening out there... I can feel it. The mana flow around the academy’s shifting."

Ren muttered under his breath,

"It’s like the calm before a storm."

’Wait?! Did I break the Fourth Wall?’ Ren’s Thought.

And at that moment, the faint sound of an explosion echoed from afar.

The ground trembled.

Everyone froze.

Rihana’s expression hardened instantly.

"...Stay here,"

She said, her tone like cold steel.

"I’ll handle this."

As she stepped out of the room, the others were left staring at each other, the same unspoken question in all their minds:

What the hell is happening out there... and is Lyrium okay?

*****

The air outside the café was thick with smoke and the acrid stench of scorched stone.

Lyrium’s boots hit the cobblestones with measured force, each step echoing in the chaos.

Sparks of residual mana still flickered along his arms, reacting instinctively to the disturbance around him.

His eyes scanned the plaza, narrowing at the surreal sight: a pulse of energy rippled outward, displacing air and making the ground quiver beneath his feet.

"...Impossible,"

He muttered under his breath, voice low, almost lost to the roar of the wind and distant alarms.

A figure emerged from the smoke, a towering mass, humanoid but distorted, its aura fluctuating violently.

Light and shadow twisted across its form like living paint.

Lyrium’s heartbeat remained steady, though his mind raced.

This... isn’t a mage.

Not even close.

This energy, it thinks.

It reacts.

It anticipates.

He drew a slow, deep breath, feeling the static hum along his veins.

Fingers twitched, letting a thin strand of lightning coalesce between them, small arcs crackling softly.

"Focus,"

He whispered to himself.

"Measure first. React second. No heroics, too early."

The pulse shifted, sensing him.

The creature tilted its head in his direction, almost curious.

"Alright,"

Lyrium muttered, tightening his grip on the trench coat’s edge.

"Let’s see what you’re made of."

A sudden vibration ran through the ground, another explosion farther down the plaza, closer now.

The air itself seemed to bend toward the creature, the residual energy thrumming like a drumbeat of impending violence.

’You came to the wrong place at the wrong time,’

He thought, voice calm but deadly.

Lightning coiled along his arms, arcs illuminating the smoke-choked plaza.

Every calculation ran in his head: trajectories, energy flows, potential outcomes.

Each fraction of a second could decide the fate of the area.

’If this spreads... barriers won’t hold. Reinforcements might not arrive in time. The city... the academy... could collapse before anyone understands what hit them

His lips curved into a faint smirk.

"...Then let’s make this quick."

The creature sensed him, energy warping in strange, almost intelligent rhythms.

Lyrium’s gaze sharpened, scanning every pulse, every twitch, every quiver of the air.

’Not human. Not mage. Not elemental. Then what...?’

He took a measured step forward, boots crunching over shattered stone.

Every second counts.

Observe, adapt, strike... survive.

Lightning arced along his forearms, reacting, testing the anomaly, probing for weakness.

"You’ve got power. Impressive. But I’m not here to test your limits. I’m here to survive... and protect what I can."

The air thickened, charged with static, and Lyrium’s calm red eyes glimmered beneath the black hood of his coat.

"Let’s see who learns first."

He inhaled sharply, every sense primed.

Smoke, fire, energy distortions, they all became one rhythm he could read, predict, and act upon.

"Here goes nothing,"

He whispered.

And with that, a surge of lightning flared along his body as he dashed toward the epicenter, coat swaying like liquid shadow, muscles coiled, mind razor-sharp, ready for the unknown.

Boom—!

The ground shattered beneath him.

Light from the explosion carved long, jagged shadows across the plaza.

Lyrium’s figure lunged into the chaos, alone, confronting the anomaly.

Then a streak of energy slammed toward him, a living missile of raw, unstable force.

Lyrium’s chest tightened.

He braced, but something in his hand... something heavy, familiar, and impossibly steady.

"Huh?"

He muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing.

"...Wait a second... this... this isn’t possible."

Even before he fully registered it, his fingers closed around the hilt.

The black steel was cool, humming faintly, veins of mana pulsing along its surface.

"...Oh."

A grin tugged at his lips.

"...Ohhhhhh. Well, isn’t that convenient."

The energy hurtled closer, and instinctively, he twirled the blade once, feeling its weight, its balance, its... everything.

"Wait a minute,"

He murmured, voice low but teasing, almost like speaking to a friend.

"...I didn’t even think I had this on me. Or did I? Or... did it know I’d need it?"

The light struck.

Sparks flew, searing against the edge.

The impact reverberated along the sword’s spine.

"Oooohhhh... hello, old friend,"

He said aloud, almost laughing.

"I thought this baby was erased from the timeline when The entity decided to reset the timeline. The Book of Destiny, Alicia’s warning... nothing remains the same, right? Yeah... well, lucky me. I still have you."

He spun the blade smoothly, letting the tip carve a glittering arc in the smoke-choked air.

"...And I have to admit, it’s been far too long since I felt this in my hand."

The pulse of energy hesitated, or at least it seemed to, something about the way it warped, recoiled slightly, curious.

"Now, now, don’t you back down on me just yet,"

Lyrium said, stepping forward, black coat flaring.

"I didn’t even introduce myself properly. You? Whoever you are? You just swoosh, and throw a tantrum at me. Real polite. Real scary. But rude. Very rude."

The light surged again.

Faster.

Closer.

Almost... intelligent.

"Ohh, I get it,"

He muttered, twirling the sword in his grip, eyes glinting.

"You’re testing me. Seeing if I’m worthy. Seeing if I panic. Cute and Adorable. Admittedly, terrifying, but cute. I like cute. I like strong. I like... well, this."

He gestured slightly at the blade.

"...Old faithful. Never disappoints. Feels like destiny, huh?"

The pulse shifted violently.

Debris swirled around him.

Sparks hissed off the pavement.

"And don’t get me wrong, I love a dramatic entrance. Really, I do. Smoke, fire, chaos. The works. But... trying to hit me? Without a proper introduction? That’s just plain rude,"

He said, leaning slightly on the sword as if it were a casual gesture.

"...And this? This baby? This is my way of saying... nope. Not today. Not while I’m standing. Not while I decide the rules of engagement."

Lightning began coiling along the edge of the blade, arcs of electricity responding instinctively to the incoming pulse.

"Alright, let’s play a game, shall we?"

He murmured, voice low, taunting.

"...I’ll even let you go first. Come on, surprise me. I dare you. But know this... no matter how fast you are, no matter how smart... you don’t know me yet. You don’t know this sword yet. And believe me... neither of us forgets."

The energy surged again, and for a heartbeat, it seemed like the world itself held its breath.

Lyrium’s eyes gleamed, the faintest smirk playing across his lips.

"...Bring it. Show me what you’ve got. I’m ready. And oh, by the way? This baby’s mine."

He tightened his grip, twirling the sword with casual precision, standing in the center of the chaos, already perfectly in sync with it, ready for whatever this unknown force dared throw at him next.