CHAPTER 48 – BREAKING POINT
When the door burst open, the air outside hit their faces like a blade after the crushing pressure inside. Mana vibrations were still echoing through their bodies; the disrupted rhythm of the third nexus had left everyone's nerves sharp and strained.
Even in the middle of the collapse, Valeria managed to stand without taking a single step back; the gray dust seemed to part around her without touching her. Her eyes moved first to Rien, then to Lyra, and lastly to the place she had always intended to look — Seryn's chest.
The moment Seryn felt her gaze, the gray current tightened slightly in his chest. Inside, the stone shard felt as if it had grown heavier. Something was wrong. Very wrong. And Valeria needed nothing else to sense it.
"You three," Valeria said with icy composure, "the damage you took from the pressure nodes appears stable. But Seryn—"
Kai stepped forward immediately.
"What did you do to him?! The pressure nodes weren't at standard intensity! The room was destabilized!"
Valeria didn't even look at him.
"Even if the chamber had been stable… certain things were bound to surface."
"Certain things?" Lyra repeated, her voice trembling with fear and anger. "This exam isn't a part of the Academy's normal yearly program. This… is something else."
Valeria finally turned to her.
"You have a sharp mind, Lyra Hale. Yes, this is not an exam. It is a detection chamber disguised as one."
Rien's breath caught.
"For whom?"
Valeria's gaze returned to Seryn.
"For him."
Silence spread through the group like a cold veil. Seryn tried to stabilize the gray tremor in his chest, but he failed. That fissure inside the pressure chamber — the brief break between the gray flow and the stone shard — was still unsealed.
Kai took a step closer.
"Why are you doing this to Seryn?"
Valeria tilted her head slightly.
"Because some students at the Academy… are not ordinary."
Seryn had to speak.
"What are you implying?"
Valeria answered openly, hiding nothing:
"Your internal mana inclination does not match any recorded pattern. And in the third nexus, we detected a 'dual-orientation vibration' from you."
Lyra sucked in a sharp breath.
"Two orientations… a signal reacting to two mana sources at once… That's impossible."
"Impossible," Valeria agreed, "under normal conditions."
Kai asked quietly:
"What did you see in Seryn's chest?"
Valeria didn't answer.
Instead, she raised her hand.
Two gray-white robed observers stepped forward. Their faces were blank, purely professional.
"All four students will come with me," Valeria said. "To the inspection room. None of you will be released until the report is completed."
Rien snapped,
"By what authority? This is an exam zone!"
Valeria gave her first sharp smile.
"This is as much an Academy observation zone as it is an exam zone. And my authority exceeds yours."
Kai clenched his teeth. Lyra touched his arm to stop him.
Seryn closed his eyes for a moment.
There was only one thing left to do: buy time and gain control over the internal fracture.
When Valeria's gaze fixed on him again, Seryn lifted his head with cool steadiness.
"Very well. We're coming."
Kai's eyes widened.
"Seryn, no—"
"I said we're coming," Seryn repeated, firmer. Kai fell silent, though the tension in him was loud enough to feel.
Valeria moved with a single gesture. The observers sealed the door behind them. As they walked through the fallen dust, Seryn tried to regulate his inner rhythm.
He couldn't.
With every step, the gray flow and the stone fragment seemed to open and close a thin, invisible gap. The sensation was new — and dangerous.
Kai leaned in.
"How do you feel?"
"Unsteady," Seryn admitted. "But I can control it."
Lyra whispered, "The vibration Valeria sensed… it's too close to the shard's trace. If she recognizes it—"
"She won't," Seryn said. Despite the turmoil inside him, his voice stayed calm. "I won't let her."
Rien whispered from behind:
"Two observers in front, one behind. This arrangement isn't for a student review. This is… a structured escort line."
Kai exhaled like a muted curse.
"As if we're criminals."
"No," Lyra said. "Not criminals. Dangerous."
Seryn remained silent at their words.
Dangerous?
There was some truth in that.
But there was something they didn't know:
The essence of the gray flow did not tolerate anything unnatural.
That impact, that fracture… the two forces inside Seryn were drawing closer to each other.
Closer than they should.
Observation Corridor
The Academy's rear wing was quieter than the other sections. Footsteps echoed through the corridor, and the mana sensors mounted on the walls flickered in blue-green hues, identifying each person.
Valeria didn't speak while she walked.
Lyra's eyes traced the symbols along the walls.
"This area… it's not like the Academy's normal analysis labs."
Rien nodded.
"I noticed too. This is the sector between the disciplinary unit and the Temple's internal observation line."
Kai raised his brows.
"The Temple? What does the Temple have to do with this?"
"Location," Rien said. "This corridor is right next to the Temple's ritual channels. It has nothing to do with post-exam assessments."
Valeria heard this, but didn't react.
Her silence only unsettled Seryn further.
Something was being hidden.
Inspection Room
The corridor finally opened into a broad chamber. The round floor was paved with smooth white stones… at the center was a four-point array… and beneath the floor, faintly humming blue lines.
This wasn't an evaluation room.
This was a mana resonance chamber.
Kai whispered,
"Why is this place… so strong—"
Valeria turned.
"The three of you, to the outer circle. Seryn to the center."
Kai stepped forward.
"No. We're not leaving him alone. This procedure is not aligned with Academy protocol."
Valeria lifted her brows.
"Kai Feron. I reviewed your class's physical signal logs. Your reaction speed exceeds standard levels, but your mental focus shows sudden spikes. Interesting, but irrelevant for now."
Kai's jaw tightened.
Lyra cut in.
"So this isn't a solo assessment, is it?"
"No," Valeria said. "But your purpose is not to observe. It is to avoid disrupting internal resonance."
Rien lowered his head slightly.
"So you're placing us in the outer ring to isolate Seryn's responses."
"Yes."
Seryn saw the worry in Rien's expression.
Lyra looked at Seryn longer.
"Are you ready?" she whispered.
Seryn inhaled.
He wasn't ready.
But he had no choice.
He nodded.
At Valeria's gesture, Seryn stepped into the center. The stones warmed beneath his feet. The blue lines under the floor adopted a rhythm.
Then—
The shard inside his chest stirred again.
It felt as though Valeria's stare put weight directly on the fracture.
Valeria raised her hand.
The observation sensors activated instantly.
The air around Seryn vibrated.
"The test begins."
Inner Resonance
Seryn's vision darkened.
The first vibration was soft yet deep. The gray flow circulated through him without overflowing its usual pathways. But the stone shard — that sharp point in the left of his chest — was catching the vibration wrongly.
Seryn sensed it:
The shard was responding to the rhythm of the gray flow.
That should not have been possible.
Kai clenched his fists in the outer circle.
"What are they doing? This isn't a test! This is—"
Valeria spoke without turning.
"This is a measurement of internal mana compatibility. If your friend is an ordinary student, the results will show it."
Rien growled.
"And if he's not?"
Valeria's voice was sharp and calm.
"Then the Academy will evaluate."
Seryn could hear them, but he couldn't focus. The internal vibration climbed from his chest toward his head. Gray streaks danced across his vision.
Valeria's voice came from somewhere distant:
"Your internal orientation… is responding in two different rhythms. Interesting."
Kai roared:
"Don't you dare touch him!"
Valeria shot him her first harsh glare.
"Let me give you advice, Kai Feron: If you want to protect him, you should be the one speaking the least right now."
Kai was forced a step back.
Lyra leaned forward.
"Seryn… try to steady your inner flow. We're here. We're watching you."
Rien added,
"And you're never alone."
Their words gave Seryn a brief moment of clarity.
The gray flow tried to fold itself over the shard like a veil, but the shard pushed back.
Seryn's eyes widened.
This was new.
For the first time, the gray flow…
Was defending itself.
Valeria noticed.
"Oh… interesting. Your mana sources are clashing internally."
Lyra cried, "Stop the procedure!"
Valeria raised her hand.
"The test continues until he finishes."
Seryn's mind reeled.
And at that moment—
A CRACK.
An invisible shock burst between the gray flow and the shard in his chest.
His body felt pulled in two directions.
Kai shouted,
"SERYN!"
Lyra screamed,
"
Stop him!"
Rien lunged forward.
Valeria merely watched.
"This… is something far greater," she whispered.
Then the blue lines in the circle flashed white.
The room shook.
Even Valeria stumbled back.
Seryn fell to his knees.
The gray flow slammed into the shard with full force.
And…