Elara's room was too quiet.
Nathan had never noticed before. Not really.
But now, standing in the doorway with his hands shoved in his pockets, he realized just how silent it was inside.
No music. No ventilation hum. No clutter. Just stillness. Neatly folded sheets. A desk with papers stacked in perfect symmetry.
Her spear, leaned against the wall like a permanent shadow.
He stepped in and said, "Okay, this is definitely where people go to die emotionally."
Elara didn't answer right away. She sat on the edge of her bed, arms crossed, back straight. Hair silver like frost and eyes even colder.
The crack beneath the ice.
"You said Liliana and Adrian are in," he said, keeping his tone light as he sat across from her. "That makes four."
Elara nodded once. "I didn't ask Ethan or Seraphina."
"Yeah," he muttered, "I can't decide if they'd join us or turn us in."
"Elara," he said after a pause, "are we really doing this?"
That alone gave him his answer.
Still—he needed to say it out loud. "We're planning to sneak out of one of the most secure magical academies in the city, use a bunch of first-year level gear, and track down a guy who jumped into a dimensional rift that no one can even see anymore."
Nathan exhaled. "Great. Perfect. I'm on board. Just wanted to confirm the level of insanity before we started."
He leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. "I don't know where to start."
"You don't have to," Elara said. "We will."
Nathan let that sit for a moment.
"I keep thinking about that last moment," he murmured. "He didn't look back."
Elara didn't respond.
"He always looked ahead. Even when it pissed everyone off. Even when the rest of us were still figuring out which way to hold our weapons, he already knew what came after the fight."
Elara lowered her gaze. "He didn't trust us to follow."
"Yeah," Nathan said quietly. "But he also didn't want us to die."
He looked at her. "Do you think he planned to survive?"
But her silence said everything.
They regrouped that night.
The common room was quiet—curfew hour drawing close, the dorms dimmed.
Liliana sat cross-legged on the floor, fingers tracing invisible patterns in the carpet. Adrian leaned against the wall, arms crossed but visibly fidgeting. Seraphina sat in the corner, book closed on her lap, gaze unreadable.
"I figured we were doing this," she said without preamble. "You wouldn't have dragged me here otherwise."
Nathan gave her a half-smile. "Didn't even need to blackmail you."
"I considered getting you arrested for this," she replied dryly. "Still might."
"Wouldn't be our worst first-year memory," Adrian muttered.
"Okay," Nathan said, straightening, "so here's what we know. The rift is closed. The professors won't say a thing. No funeral, no announcement. Which means either they don't know where he is…"
"Or they do," Liliana whispered, "and they're hiding it."
Nathan's throat tightened.
He glanced around. "I'm not pretending I have a map. I don't. But we have to assume he's alive. Because if he wasn't…" he stopped.
No one said anything.
Nathan looked down at his hands.
"I don't want to just move on."
The words were soft. Softer than he meant them to be. But honest.
"I know he was cold. And difficult. And sometimes made me want to throw him out a window."
"But he still saved all of us."
Elara's arms were folded across her chest, her back straight, but her eyes never left Nathan's.
Liliana wiped her cheek quickly. "He didn't even say goodbye."
"He didn't think he'd need to," Adrian said, voice low. "He thought he'd be back."
Nathan nodded slowly. "Then we'll bring him back."
That night, he couldn't sleep.
He lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, one hand behind his head, the other resting on his chest like he was trying to keep his heart from cracking open.
'He didn't look back.'
'He always hated dramatics. Hated speeches. Hated attention.'
'But he still jumped.'
Nathan had spent his whole life trying not to be the center of things.
He was background noise. Comic relief. The support character with a one-liner for every crisis.
He wasn't supposed to lead anything.
Now there was a hole in the group where Merlin used to stand. And it wasn't shrinking.
Nathan sat up in bed.
Outside, the city glowed in soft blues and yellows—lunar signs blinking across the skyline. Traffic. Haze. Magical rails gliding by in the distance like veins of light.
Not that he'd say it out loud.
And he was going to find him.
Even if it meant tearing through every restricted archive in Star Power Academy.
Even if it meant breaking rules.
Even if it meant finding a way through a broken portal that wasn't supposed to exist anymore.
Even if it meant becoming the kind of person who could lead others there.
He rubbed his eyes, then grabbed his jacket and left the room.
He wasn't sure what tomorrow would look like.
But it wasn't going to be quiet.
And it wasn't going to be a world without Merlin.
Not if Nathan had anything to say about it.
The common room was dimly lit, the soft hum of the academy's energy systems providing a constant background noise.
Nathan sat at the center table, surrounded by Elara, Liliana, Adrian, and Seraphina. Maps, notes, and magical artifacts were spread out before them.
"We need to be smart about this," Nathan began, his voice steady.
"The professors won't help us, and the rift is closed. But Merlin is out there, and we're going to find him."
Elara nodded, her eyes scanning the materials on the table.
"We should start by researching any records of similar rifts. There might be clues in the restricted section of the library."
Liliana leaned forward, her fingers tracing a path on the map.
"I can try to access the library's archives. I have a few connections that might help us get in unnoticed."
Adrian crossed his arms, his brow furrowed.
"We'll need supplies. If we're going to venture into unknown territory, we have to be prepared for anything."
Seraphina, silent until now, spoke up. "I can help with that. I have some contacts who can provide us with what we need, no questions asked."
Nathan looked around at his friends, their determination evident.
"Alright, let's divide the tasks. Elara and Liliana, focus on the research. Adrian and Seraphina, handle the supplies. I'll coordinate and keep an eye out for any changes in the academy's routines that could affect our plans."
The group nodded in agreement, each member understanding their role. They knew the risks, but their resolve was unwavering.
As they began to gather their materials and prepare for the tasks ahead, Nathan felt a renewed sense of purpose. They were no longer just students; they were a team, united by a common goal.
"Let's bring Merlin back," Nathan said, his voice firm.
The others echoed his sentiment, their voices blending into a chorus of determination.
With their plan set, the group dispersed to begin their preparations, each step bringing them closer to their goal.
The academy didn't slow down.
Even after everything.
Classes resumed. Assignments were handed out. Students gossiped about the breach like it had already passed into history.
Merlin's name wasn't spoken.
Not in lectures. Not in halls.
Not even in the official report.
As if he'd never existed.
But the group remembered.
Elara and Liliana were aiming for something.
The restricted section of the library wasn't locked, well, not exactly.
With enough subtlety to make most students think twice.
Runes scrawled across doorframes. Enchantments that flared when unauthorized access was attempted.
Librarians that moved like ghosts, appearing exactly when you didn't want them to.
Elara and Liliana didn't speak as they approached the double doors.
Elara tapped the runic overlay with her knuckle.
Liliana leaned closer, breath fogging against the glass. "We'll need two layers. One to mask our presence. One to scramble the runes."
Elara pulled a thin charm from her coat—woven silver threads looped around an opal bead. "Give me ten seconds."
She pressed it to the ward.
A low hum filled the corridor.
The lock shimmered—once—then faded.
The door clicked open.
Liliana gave a small, proud smile. "Nice."
The archive air was dry and heavy, filled with the scent of dust and mana-soaked parchment. Rows of tomes stretched into the shadows, far too many for even an advanced curriculum.
Elara scanned the spines.
"Rift studies. Leyline distortions. Sealing arts."
Liliana added, "Dimensional bleed. Riftwalkers. Transplanar anomalies."
Neither spoke for almost twenty minutes.
"Found something," Elara called, voice low.
Liliana crossed the aisle.
The book was ancient. Frayed. The cover read: Containment Protocols: East Wing Archive – Internal Use Only.
It had been stamped with a date nearly two decades old.
Liliana's smile faltered.
Elara met her gaze. "This isn't about normal rifts."
"No," Liliana agreed softly. "This is about what happens after."
They opened the book.
Seraphina wasn't used to sneaking.
She followed rules. Protocols. Order.
So the fact that she was actively forging instructor clearance to access the alchemical vault made her want to grind her teeth.
Adrian, on the other hand, seemed way too comfortable.
"I'm not saying I've done this before," he said as he pried open the storage unit's second lock, "but hypothetically, if someone had, they'd say the explosives are usually kept under the frost runes."
Seraphina raised a brow. "We're not taking explosives."
"Right, right," Adrian muttered. "Just, you know. Medium-level alchemical force multipliers. In tiny vials."
She sighed and set the portable storage sigil on the table, expanding it with a flick of her wrist. Inside, rations, minor-grade healing salves, a signal flare, rope, enchanted thread, two smoke grenades, and a flask of anti-possession ward water.
"Everything packed," she said.
Adrian leaned on the edge of the table. "You ever think we're in over our heads?"
"No," Seraphina said without hesitation.
"I think we were always in over our heads," she added. "We're just admitting it now."
"…That's surprisingly inspiring."
"I wasn't trying to be."
Adrian chuckled and clapped her on the shoulder. "Let's get this to Nathan."
Nathan wasn't used to waiting.
He talked. He moved. He deflected. His whole personality revolved around keeping things in motion.
He sat on the rooftop of the East Dorm building, legs dangling over the edge, wind whipping his hair across his eyes.
Below, the academy looked normal.
'They forgot you already, Merlin.'
He frowned. Picked at the edge of his sleeve.
He still hadn't deleted Merlin's number from his phone.
Nathan smiled faintly.
"I know you're alive."
He pulled his hood tighter.
And waited for the others.
The common room was empty when they reconvened.
Elara laid out the book on the central table. Liliana added a second she'd swiped from a nearby shelf. Seraphina passed out supplies in careful stacks, and Adrian tossed everyone a ration bar with a grin.
Nathan leaned over the documents.
"Anything on Merlin?"
Elara shook her head. "No. But this…"
She tapped a specific diagram.
"…This is the structure of the portal that appeared."
The shape wasn't smooth or circular like most spellgates.
It was anchored to something.
"A stabilizer," Seraphina said. "Built into somewhere near the Academy itself. If we can track its signature, we might find something out."
"And we might find some information about where Merlin is," Elara added.
Nathan's throat went dry.
But it was something.
He looked around at the others.
Liliana, fidgeting with her braid. Elara, arms folded. Seraphina, sitting perfectly still. Adrian, bouncing his knee without realizing it.
"Alright," he said. "Let's save a guy who didn't ask to be saved."
But no one disagreed.