The room was silent except for the faint hum of lingering magic. Mila(Milly) lay on the floor, her silver hair splayed across the ground, golden eyes wide and unblinking. Her body, restrained by invisible magical bindings, refused to obey her will.
Across from her, Simni disguised as Celeste was similarly bound. Her cyan hair fell over her shoulders, and her amber eyes, normally alert, blinked rapidly as she tried to make sense of her predicament.
Even the Sage, the First of the Seven, was restrained. His golden eyes narrowed, jaw tight, but the bindings held him firmly in place.
Mila's heart pounded. "This… can't be good," she muttered under her breath.
Simni tilted her head slightly. "Miss Mila… are you okay?" she asked quietly, her voice steady despite the mechanical precision underlying it.
"I'm fine," Mila replied, though her body refused to respond to her attempts at movement. "But… why are we all… tied up?"
The Sage let out a strained breath. "This… is… unprecedented," he said. "We are at the mercy of someone… very powerful."
The heavy wooden door creaked open, and a shadow slipped through. The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.
Mila squinted. A tall man, cloaked in darkness, stepped inside. His presence carried an unnatural weight.
The Sage's eyes widened, disbelief etched on his face. "No… it can't be…"
Mila glanced at him. "Sir… what is it?"
"That man…" the Sage said, voice low, tense. "He is my late rival. I thought… I had killed him years ago."
The intruder's gaze swept over them, lingering on Mila and Simni. "Well… well… the tables have turned," he said smoothly, voice like polished steel.
Mila's stomach churned. "Who… are you?" she demanded.
The man smiled thinly. "Names are irrelevant. What matters… is that I've finally found you."
Simni stiffened slightly, her gaze flicking toward Mila. "Stay calm, Miss Mila," she whispered, barely audible.
The Sage's jaw tightened, eyes narrowing. "You'll regret this," he said, voice sharp despite being restrained.
The intruder's smile widened. "Perhaps. But tonight… you'll answer questions I've carried for decades."
Mila's mind raced. Her body couldn't move, her tail restrained alongside her. Simni's silent tension radiated beside her, and the Sage's restrained power pressed heavily in the room. Outside, the rest of the campus was still unconscious, unaware of the drama unfolding.
She swallowed hard. "We… need to figure out a way out of this," she whispered to Simni.
Simni's eyes flickered briefly, calculating. "If possible," she murmured.
The intruder took a deliberate step forward. The Sage's golden eyes burned with determination. "This ends tonight," he said grimly.
Mila flexed her fingers in vain, her mind racing with plans. The bindings were strong but not absolute. Survival, and perhaps escape, depended on her thinking fast.