Then Elizabeth’s entire body went rigid.

Her eyes rolled back, whites showing completely, her pupils disappearing as purple Aura erupted around her.

A vision!

Everyone turned to stare, recognizing the signs, holding their breath.

Several seconds passed.

Then Elizabeth’s eyes returned to normal, purple irises showing shock mixed with something approaching disbelief.

"Portal is opening," she whispered.

"What?!"

Adrian shot to his feet despite his broken arm.

Fiona’s voice emerged skeptical.

"So fast? It’s only been a day–"

"There haven’t been any reports of spatial fluctuations stabilizing," Adrian cut in, his mind rejecting the possibility. "The SFD has been monitoring constantly. We would have heard if–"

Ariana’s whisper cut through their denials.

"It wasn’t a normal portal."

Her hands clenched, her Aura trying to activate instinctively as she tried to teleport using her innate skill.

Thud

Pain exploded through her skull and she collapsed, hitting the floor hard, her mind rejecting any attempt to use her ability.

"Ariana!"

Elizabeth knelt beside her immediately, helping her sit up.

"Don’t use your innate skill. You already overused it while saving us and your mind and body are not stable – using them now could cause permanent harm."

Ariana nodded weakly, tears of frustration mixing with the pain.

Elizabeth stood, her voice becoming commanding.

"Let’s go to the stadium."

****

[ACC Stadium - Spatial Anomaly Site]

The stadium still lay in ruins.

Entire sections remained collapsed with the devastation visible from kilometers away.

But the center – where President Eleanor had stood, where the artifact cube had activated, where the portal had swallowed two hundred fifty students – that area had been sealed off completely.

Tens of SFD officers formed a perimeter, their weapons drawn, their faces showing the tension of people waiting for an enemy that might arrive at any moment.

Hundreds of police officers supported them, maintaining outer barriers, keeping civilians and media away from the site.

The spatial fluctuations remained visible – reality rippling like water, dimension bleeding into dimension, the kind of instability that made awakeners’ skin crawl.

But there were no signs of it stabilizing and no indication that an entrance would form.

Not yet, anyway.

Among the officers stood others – men and women wearing the insignia of Imperial and Noble families.

Not the family members themselves, but their subordinates and guards, people sent to represent family interests when the portal eventually opened.

Various Noble family guards clustered in groups based on allegiances and regional politics, old tensions visible even now.

Currently, not many powerful awakeners were present.

Mostly A rank and some B rank, the kind of strength appropriate for guard duty when nothing was expected to happen immediately.

The truly powerful – S rank and above – were dealing with the aftermath across the Capitol, securing locations, hunting for other potential threats and preparing for the emergency Council session.

The area was sealed, media prohibited from entering, only authorized personnel were allowed within the perimeter.

A Vance guard spoke quietly to an Eckhart representative.

"Any word regarding your young master?"

The Eckhart man shook his head, his expression grim.

"Nothing... The portal took them completely and no communication is possible between dimensions. We won’t know anything until it opens again."

A Verratoux attendant nearby added her thoughts.

"If it opens... Some portals never form stable exits. The victims just... stay trapped until they die."

"Don’t say that," a Kingsley archer snapped. "Young Master Raymond is too talented to die in some random portal. He’ll find a way out."

"All our masters will," an Evergreen healer stated firmly. "They’re the best of their generation. They’ll survive."

But the words rang hollow, spoken more for comfort than conviction.

Then the spatial fluctuations changed.

****

RUMBLE

The ground shook violently, reality rippling outward in waves that made everyone stumble.

The SFD officer in charge, a grizzled A-rank veteran with scars covering visible skin, immediately began shouting orders.

"WEAPONS UP! DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS! SOMEONE CONTACT COMMAND AND TELL THEM IT’S HAPPENING NOW!"

His subordinates scrambled to comply with their communication devices activating and Auras flaring as combat readiness replaced bored vigilance.

"All personnel be ready! Whatever comes through that portal, we engage immediately if hostile! Do not hesitate! Do not wait for confirmation! If it’s a Monster, you kill it!"

The Imperial and Noble guards drew their weapons as well, their own combat instincts overriding any hesitation about following SFD commands.

The spatial fluctuations intensified as reality itself seemed to tear.

Then... an entrance formed.

Not gradually and not with the slow stabilization that natural portals showed.

The entrance just... appeared!

A massive tear in reality, showing darkness beyond, the kind of wrong that made looking at it uncomfortable.

Everyone tensed, their weapons raised and Auras ready to unleash devastating attacks.

The entrance rippled.

Then figures began emerging.

****

The first student stumbled through and immediately fell to his knees, gasping, his body rejecting the sudden environmental change.

Then more came.

One after another, students emerging from the portal and collapsing, their bodies too exhausted to maintain balance.

They were covered in blood and mud and things that looked wrong, their combat uniforms torn, their faces showing trauma that went beyond physical injury.

Thud Thud Thud

The sound of bodies hitting ground echoed across the sealed area, nearly forty students emerging over several seconds, each one looking like they’d survived a war.

The SFD officers stared in shock.

The family guards rushed forward, searching desperately for their masters.

"Young Master Cassius!"

An Eckhart representative reached Cassius as he stumbled through, his black hair matted with dried blood, his grey eyes showing exhaustion that made him look decades older.

"Young Miss Sophia!"

The Verratoux attendant caught Sophia before she collapsed completely, her pink hair darkened with grime.

One by one, the Imperial heirs emerged, their subordinates rushing to support them.

Then the commoners came.

Two Republic Academy students stumbling through, their president William Greene... nowhere to be seen.

Stormhold students emerging one by one, faces showing exhaustion and worry in equal measure.

Other Academy teams appearing, their numbers decimated.

And finally...

Ronan stumbled through, his massive frame barely upright, with someone following behind him...

Damian.