They reached the end of the tunnel
It curved up into an old observatory
Abandoned for years covered in vines and silence
Sera leaned against the railing clutching her arm
Echo paced near the broken telescope checking the echoes in the air
Azel stood at the door
Then he saw it
A sigil burned into the wooden wall
Fresh
Three circles overlapping one spike in the center
The mark of the Marionette Order
Only one person at the academy ever taught about them
Professor Kyren
Azel's mentor
He remembered the man's voice clear and sharp
Teaching about forbidden magic as history not practice
He lied
Sera looked at the sigil then at Azel
You knew
Azel clenched his fist
He taught me how to kill without guilt
How to see threats before they speak
But he never told me why he knew so much about manipulation
Echo stopped pacing
You think he's running the puppets
Azel shook his head
No
He's training the ones who do
Sera stepped back
You're sure
He turned toward her eyes cold
I'm never sure
That's why I live
Echo chuckled low
That's twisted logic
It's survival
Azel walked to the center of the room
There was a desk covered in maps
Circle lines mana channels names of students with color tags
Red meant dead
Blue meant controlled
Green meant potential
Azel's name was marked in gold
Echo's was in black
The center of the map had a date
Tomorrow
What's happening tomorrow Sera asked
Culling
Echo said flatly
They're thinning the ranks under the guise of trials
Only the manipulators know the difference
Azel picked up a broken gear from the desk
It was the same kind used in the academy's clock tower
That tower is the pulse of the whole system
Echo walked over
You thinking what I'm thinking
Azel nodded
We break the clock
Disrupt the ritual
Force Kyren to surface
Sera looked between them
That tower is guarded by house elites
Azel turned to her
Then it's time they see what they created
We're not students anymore
We're weapons learning to choose where to point
Echo smiled wide
Let's crash the show
And let everyone know the system's bleeding
Azel looked out the cracked window
Rain had stopped
The sky was bleeding red
Like it knew what tomorrow would bring
Not silence
But fire