- Twelve kilometers of sustained magis-bolstered movement throughout the proto-city. 26 minutes and 25 seconds.

- 30 minutes of boulder breaking in Atmos.

- Evasion drills, and 30 rounds of shadowboxing.

My body still aches, but it is clear that I am recovering adequately. I should be able to join in my student's training within the week. Surely, I can still serve that purpose at the very least. Passing through door after door around the city with my remaining stamina and magis, I supervise the activity of the student body with discretion. It always made it easier to monitor them unnoticed after some light activity. The less overall magis at my disposal, the less effort was required to keep my presence concealed. That was only still a concern regarding the most advanced students, or ones that had a natural gift for sensory arts.

Curiously enough, it seems as though Alina has taken Tobias under her wing. I could feel their presence surging from the training halls from my office at the academy. I couldn't have made a more beneficial arrangement myself. While Ms. Ferreri is very well advanced in the magic arts thanks to the tutelage of her father and the nigh boundless stores of magis she carries with her. At first, I had feared that the sealing art that had been placed on her would cripple her abilities entirely, but on the contrary, this might be exactly what she needed to find her focus and truly grow as an artist. Now that her pool of power has been bottlenecked, her control and efficiency will have to improve in order to gain any semblance of her former potency. The creativity she was able to exercise when she had the energy to spare greatly increased her understanding of how different affinities react with one another. She's the perfect person for the job of bringing Mr. Kurt up to speed, with his natural gifts for combat, and larger than average pool of stamina he may even close the gap between himself and her current form. Given enough time of course.

I decide to move along before the students notice that I'm observing them, channeling magis into the knob of my office door whilst thinking of an optimal vantage point to check in with young master Thompson. Flurries of cool morning wind greet me at the top of a neighboring building to Wyatt's apartment. I filter my vision with magis and cast out a gentle and almost imperceptible field of magis aura. I extend the field just enough to cover the floor where he resides, and I discover that he has company today. Judging from the amount of magis and affinities displayed by each source, our resident ranger in training Ms. Crane is in the building with her familiars and Lady Couture. They seem to be tinkering with some sort of construct on his work desk. Alice would be livid if she knew that he was alone with two other young ladies at his domicile... Before I give the situation too much thought, I opt to venture back to the manor. With how my contest with Ms. Ferreri ended, I'm no longer sure if I have the fortitude to rein in my own child if needed.

I return to my home office, thinking of the next action to take for the benefit of the youths in my charge. There's a conversation I've been holding off on that needs to take place before I make any further decisions regarding Ms. Ferreri's future. My wracked nerves inflict me with feigned indecision. I'm well aware of what needs to be done, yet I continue to waver. Having to inform the loved ones of a class worth of students in my care about how they were harmed while under my care was a harrowing experience. I thought that if I tightened my grip around those I wished to protect, I could keep them safe. I believed myself worthy of that task, but the results of my efforts have left us in a desperate situation. It's only right that I let him know, as a father I know I have to face my old comrade and advise him of my failure to protect his only daughter.

I focus magis into my fingertip and draw a communication glyph of on the standing mirror in my office. Aldrin having focused the brunt of his study of magic arts in divination, should be able to communicate through almost any reflective surface as long as he is willing to speak to me. I tap the glyph with one more pulse of magis from my finger, initiating the call. As the spell takes its time to connect us, I try to maintain my composure.

After a few moments, the circular glyph expands and the light of it borders the edges of the mirror. Within the frame I see my old friend, Aldrin Tiaga looking as overworked as he always did. His hair was unkempt and frizzy as if he had never been introduced to a comb before, and his eyes were lifeless. The moment of uncomfortable silence between us was reminiscent of having a staring contest with a plated cod. I cleared my throat while adjusting my tie.

"Aldrin. It's been too long since we last spoke."

"Yes Hank, I see you've finally started to check in after almost allowing my daughter to be taken by the Strauss family. How is Alina?" Despite the unusual intensity of his voice, his gaze was focused on something else within his workshop as he spoke.

"All things considered; she's taken everything rather well. Despite the metaphysical shackles that have been placed on her vessel, she has managed to regroup and focus on training her wind-based arts. It's quite impressive. She is still grieving the loss of our asset, however."

Eyebrows now raised; his eyes flitted towards me at the mention of the asset. "The ageless boy? You allowed them to get close to one another after all of your previous failed attempts of raising him into something we can make use of reliably? Depths of the world... Hank, I trusted you with her safety."

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The scar on my chest panged. "He was much different this time, once he made her acquaintance they became fast friends. I believed I could use this to motivate him to improve further."

"You do understand that if he had gone berserk as he has in the past, he could have wiped her from the face of the planet. This is my daughter Hank! I trusted you!"

"Tyson would have never done that." I met his gaze firmly; I made the statement absent of any doubt.

He flashed an expression of doubt before he adjusted his glasses and continued to work without facing me. "It sounds like you put some care into this one. It did last a few years rather than the span of a couple of months. What brought about the change in ethics?"

The blurred image of a tearful Alice standing between myself, and the remaining pulp of the "asset" shot through my mind. I cleared my throat, "Reflection on my methods, and the paths the mindset they encouraged put an end to that."

Never sparing a glance, he took out his focus, a lecturing baton, and extended it. Aldrin then surgically drew a glyph into the air, dismissed his focus, and began writing into a scroll. "I'm sure that willful child of yours had something to do with it as well. Grief be damned, Virgil and Trisha would never have wanted that for the boy."

I remained silent, having no response to that. The Thompsons were my dearest friends and allies since I was a boy in training. While I shudder at the thought, I cannot fool myself into thinking that I did not at least take some sort of sick satisfaction out of punishing what remained of their adopted son after they perished.

"Aldrin, I'm at a loss. These children seek guidance from me as they always have, and I'm failing them. I have no idea what to do or even tell them. The forces of the Strauss house will be on our doorstep any day now and I can't prepare them well enough or defend them on my own. Other academic staff do not have ties to this land as deep as my own and are handing in their resignation day by day. I need help. I need your help."

My colleague closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding it while he took off his glasses and turned to face me. He remained silent after he exhaled and stared, presumably pondering what he had to say to my plea. "Hank, I've never once thought of you as someone that I cared for." His eyes, now brimming with vitriol pierced into me.

"Your nobility has always led you to place yourself in charge of affairs that you were never qualified to be involved with in the first place. It was YOU who encouraged the experiments of Virgil and Trisha, YOU who orphaned their boy and neglected to raise him in their absence while you sequestered yourself in the name of your 'duty'. All the while, you took out your self-inflicted anguish and regret on a shell of something that might have once been a human being. I don't know which I pity more between the both of you."

Shame washed over me as he continued to berate me. I've no intention of interrupting or defending myself. Had I been a better and more considerate leader, an actual teacher and father, we wouldn't be in this mess.

"As far as the safety of my daughter is concerned, your assistance is no longer desired or required. I can't leave her to you agai-"

"Aldrin I will protect her! I swore to Mia!"

"I am Mia's husband! Not you! No matter how much you wanted that, that privilege belonged to me and only me, and you will NEVER speak her name again in my presence."

There was silence between us as we both struggled to regain our composure.

"Alina... will be coming to stay with her brother and I. I've already sent Grey to Arcton from Atmos. He should arrive any day now."

I scoffed at the idea. "What will you two be able to do with her? You should both join us here and support our defenses."

"You aren't getting the point, Hank. I do not want my family anywhere near you or the asset. It's evident that nothing good can come from contact with either of you. This will also avoid any unnecessary casualties from conflict with the Strausses once they realize that Alina is no longer there with you. The rest of the children in your charge will be safer as a result and you can go back to running your school."

I slammed my fist on the table next to me. "Aldrin you don't understand! If Rohan Strauss ascends like he plans to, we lose everything. All of us! I cannot let you take this into your own hands when you clearly stand no chance on your own. What will you do when they come for you?!"

"Grey has already dispatched one of the Strauss heirs single-handedly."

This claim gave me pause. "How is that possible? Grey can't be any older than 14."

Aldrin tapped the glyph he conjured earlier, and it began to hum in response. "That is how a child develops when you actually give them attention and care to raise them. Grey and I will be arriving shortly, and we will be taking Alina home. Do not expect to hear from us again."

Aldrin tapped the glyph one more time, and the humming raised in pitch at an astounding rate, somehow shattering the mirror I was using to communicate with him. I shouted a struck the wall in a rage until I came to my senses. I had to talk to the children. If I could convince Alina to unite us as a force, we could stand a chance against the coming forces. More so, if her brother is as gifted as Aldrin claims he is.

Just I had calmed down and gathered my resolve to assemble my young cohorts, a faint blue glow emanated from behind me. I turn to see Tyson standing beneath the threshold of my home office. The hole in his chest had completely healed and he was finally well enough to move once more. The morsel of relief came and left my heart as I attempted to peer into his eyes and saw nothing but that deep mysterious blue haze. Not once in my years had I laid my eyes on this expression, and it had not followed a fight to the bitter end. Had I been fully recovered, the sweat on my brow wouldn't be profuse as it is now.

My former student's body swayed back and forth as it scanned me, almost as if actually trying to remember who I was. It cocked its head to the side curiously.

I'm in a deadlock here, I can't decide whether I should take the initiative and find a way to incapacitate him now or open a door to gather the others like I had intended to moments ago. The shadow's aura of magis intensified and it gripped the side of the threshold, leaving a man-sized crack in the wall as it began to snarl at me. Gravely, I slipped my gloves on. I have to put an end to this before anyone sees it... him, like this.

I steadied my breath. I've done this dozens of times. Just one... final time. I'll put him down myself.

"I promise I'll make this quick."