The beads welcomed me, the tips of my fingers reaching out towards them. Five points of power that beckoned to me like old friends. The heat pressing against my body was overwhelming, and a headache formed at the back of my mind.

It didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered except the power in front of me.

A cool sensation brushed against my fingers as they made contact, my skin pushing back as it pressed into a shimmering and firm orange surface.

Orange?

I blinked in confusion and my palm pressed against an orange shield that surrounded me. Magic shifted around me, and I traced the source back to my other hand.

My texting regent had dropped to the floor, and in its place sat a rock, intricately inscribed lines glowing gently across its surface.

Gold’s regent.

I had taken it out on instinct, the earth mana swirling around my hand as I poured it into the regent.

“You’re hesitating.” Alexis’ voice floated into my ears. “Don’t worry. It’s natural to have doubts.”

He was staring at me, crimson eyes ablaze and flames caressing his body. A picture of confidence and serenity.

“Guards.” The whisper escaped my lips instantly. “Something’s wrong.”

The words entered the air and were snatched away, not reaching my ears. I frowned and tried again.

It didn’t work. My voice wasn’t audible.

The shield blocked my hand, and it also blocked something else. Something outside of it. The earth mana spoke to me, whispering soft promises of protection.

Protection from what?

My connection to the mana was clouded, I needed to see them clearer.

I inhaled and activated my mana sen-

It would be a waste of time to-

The earth mana within the shield blazed as a stray thought entered my mind, and I dismissed it. I needed to use my skill.

There was a pinch in my hand, and I saw that the glowing rock had begun to crack. Gold had improved the regent, but it wouldn’t hold for long before it exploded.

I needed to figure out what was wrong before the regent was destroyed.

I inhaled and activated my mana sense. My eyes closed shut, aware of the cracking rock in my hand. The study disappeared, my body ceased to exist, and the beads were shut out of my vision.

This world was an illusion.

I needed to see the reality underneath it.

The veil of darkness peeled back, and the world exploded into colour as the clashing forces revealed themselves to me.

Red. Orange. Green. The space around me was in turmoil.

My mind saw an outline of my body as fire mana sheltered me in its embrace. It had gathered around me as Alexis spoke, but it wasn’t acting on his command. It was trying to reach me, and I could feel emotions stemming from it.

Worry, fear, and anger. It felt helpless that it couldn’t help me more, our connection wasn’t strong enough for me to hear their voices without my skill activated.

Then I looked beyond them.

A firm layer of earth mana gathered where the shield existed in the physical world. Gold had weaved protection and defense arrays together into a tapestry that cleared and calmed my thoughts and shielded my physical body.

Its magic shifted in response to attacks coming from a wave of mana emanating from the five beads. The beads shone sickly green in my vision, the mirage of temptation dispelled.

I recognised the enemy now for what it was.

The mana from the dome.

“That means I’m trapped in an illusion.” The thought vocalised.

My words once again disappeared into a void, but this time I could see the green mana reacting to them, weaving a magic that prevented my words from materialising.

No. They still existed, but something covered them.

An auditory illusion.

Faint memories of talking with Roxxy and hearing other partygoers entered my mind, then disappeared. They felt distant, as though someone else was experiencing them.

I knew what was happening. I’d forgotten about the memories the moment I’d left the illusion. Now I remembered them, but they were still vague.

A snap resounded through the air, breaking through my thoughts.

The rock was close to shattering, and I could see the earth mana struggling as it fought against the sickly green forces trying to pry it open.

I needed time to recover my memories properly.

But more time wasn’t an option

My hand shot towards the ground where I had seen my texting regent fall.

It found nothing.

The texting regent was gone.

In its place was a pool of green mana.

My heart sank. There was no regent. It was another illusion, one that was still ongoing.

None of my messages to Gerial had been real. Another crack appeared in the earth mana, green mana spewing forth into the air around me and the rock in my hand trembled.

There wouldn’t be time to send a message. Not unless I stopped Alexis first.

“Earth creat-” I raised my hand.

The green mana that had slipped past the shield blazed with light.

I don’t need it.

I don’t need it.

The earth mana blazed around me, and I shook my head.

Why had I stopped?

My fingers pointed in front of me, dirt flowing from my inventory. Earth mani-

The shield is enough.

The dirt scattered to the ground, lifeless. No. Something was wrong. My decisions weren’t making sense.

I was smarter than this.

How had I escaped last time?

The green mana had accosted me in the Koshima dome. It had called to me. It had tempted me. It had failed.

My eyes opened and my lips curled into a smile.

I knew what I had to do.

The rough surface of the rock regent pressed into my skin as my fingers curled around it. My mana flooded into it, given purpose by the arrays within the regent, and for a moment I felt the power within the shield grow as I fed it with mana.

Then the rock exploded in my hand.

The shield shattered around me, sickly green transforming into red flames that swept around me beckoningly as the illusion took hold again. For a single moment I maintained my state of awareness, examining the changes around me and the influence on my mind…

And then I reached for the beads.

Shards of rock dropped from my hand, making way for the flaming beads, and I felt a wave of triumph emanating from them.

The moment my fingers brushed their surface, the beads burst in a flash of power and light. The mana within them rushed towards me and embraced me. The flames wove through my fingers, leaving trails across my skin as their power flooded into me.

A shadow crossed over me.

“You’re really taking it all in. Weeks of gathered mana. Just like it said.” Alexis’ voice came from above me. “How deep is your mana pool?”

He was standing now, a smile stretched across his features. His eyes gazed down at me as I accepted the power he offered.

He raised his arm and placed his palm onto my shoulder, and there was a flash of bright green light as his hand gripped my clothes. I felt the flow of his mana increase, power dripping into my body like a tidal wave.

It sunk into my pores and drifted through my veins. Drops of mana threaded into a stream that made its way into my heart.

The most eager motes wriggled into the deepest parts of my being, reaching out for total control.

The stream connected to my mana pool, drops floating down gleefully as the mana surveyed its new territory. Each element of mana had their own feel, and these green motes were confident, and cocky. Each drop laid roots, building layers for their brethren to join them.

The mana had found an empty room to roost in, and was making it into a new home.

A smile touched my lips.

The green mana was trapped.

My fingers clamped onto Alexis’ wrist, pressing his hand down and forcing his body closer to mine. He frowned, and tried to jerk out of my grip, but it was too late.

I reached deep within me, sending out a single command that resonated throughout my body.

‘Destroy.’

It echoed out into the depths of my being, and into the mana pool that was being invaded.

Seconds passed, a swirl of illusionary flames roiling around me.

Then… there was a tremor.

The source began as a single note of anger, reverberating within my mana pool. An emotion resonating from so deep within me that it was impossible to tell where it began.

The invading mana froze as the feeling washed over it.

Then from the depths of my body there was a glint of gold. I could feel as the drop became a river, and the river a torrent.

Dozens of them appeared from within me, chaining together and transforming into an ocean.

The five beads that gripped my skin shuddered, their flames spewing forth quicker and stronger than before. It didn’t matter. I felt confident resonating through my heart and mind as I connected with my divine mana.

A presence deeper and stronger than I could comprehend shattering the hold the illusions had over my mind.

In an instant it consumed the mana that had invaded my body.

The beads twisted and changed, revealing wriggling green tumors that clung to my skin like leeches. I shuddered as their tendrils clung to me, pumping sickly green mana into my veins.

I didn’t hold back, pouring the entirety of the ocean inside me out into the open, golden light shining over the study.

My mana spewed forth, an unstoppable force that cradled the tumors, the two sources of mana clashing against each other.

Green light spewed forth across my body, the green mana filling the room as it tried to overwhelm me, but it was useless.

My mana was an endless tide.

There was a shout of fright and Alexis stepped back from me.

Or he tried to, at least.

I held onto his wrist tightly, forcing him to keep contact with me. He hissed in pain as my mana pushed forward, cradling his hand, and crawling over his skin.

Their emotions were clear to me.

Alexis had tried to claim what was theirs.

Now he would pay the price.

A sharp scream blasted through my ears as the wave of gold inched over him, peeling back his skin. He grasped at his disappearing flesh in terror, and I stared at the scene in front of me in confusion.

I hadn’t ordered this.

My hand raised to stop the mana from eating him alive, and then I paused. The golden mana wasn’t attacking Alexis.

It wasn’t hurting him either.

Waves of green emanated from his body, fighting against my mana, but nothing would stop the incoming tide.

The golden ocean had become a river, it’s fight against the five tumors finished. Their carcasses dissolved as my mana overcame them, and a withered hand took the place of Alexis’ hand that was being destroyed by my mana.

I realised what was happening.

The green mana was powering magic around Alexis. Without it, the mirage was gone.

His body was an illusion.

Piece by piece his healthy demeanour disappeared as the glamour was torn away. The last of my mana sank into his back, and he dropped to his knees, cradling his head in his hands.

As the golden light disappeared, all that was left was the glow of the flames in his hair, and the crimson eyes of his bloodline.

I took a step towards him and raised my hands.

Then I hesitated.

“Alexis…?”

There was a corpse in front of me.

No.

It was a withered husk disguised as a human body. I could see life in his eyes, but his skin was pale, his bones jutted out at awkward angles, and his clothing draped loosely over atrophied muscles.

A familiar odour wafted over me, stabbing at my nose.

Rot.

“What have you done to me?” Alexis’s eyes widened and he gazed at his hands in confusion.

His fingers had lost their tone and lustre, pale bones covered in a thin layer of skin. He staggered back, his arms flailing, and his shirt fluttered, revealing his stomach underneath.

I sucked in a breath. There were a dozen holes in his flesh, the same shape as the wriggling green tumours my mana had destroyed.

“Earth creation.” This time my voice came out clear.

There was no hesitation as I clicked my fingers and a stone block appeared above Alexis, smashing into his back, and forcing him into the ground.

There was a crack as his head smashed into the study floor and I winced as his weakened body fought against the block.

Then the struggles stopped.

Alexis’ eyes rolled back into his skull and his body was broken, a faint tremor the only sign that he was still alive.

I had won.

My body sagged and I felt a familiar itching sensation inside me. The beginning of mana burn. The golden wave had shredded everything in its path without mercy, but it had also drained me to send it all out at once, without the medium of a spell.

I was on my last drops of mana, barely above the line to activate my Mark.

My breathing was shallow and ragged. I took a step towards Alexis’ body. Then I paused, a lingering question at the tip of my tongue.

Where were my guards?

The presence of my divine mana had shot out with the strength of an ocean, a shining beacon to any that were aware of it.

My guards should have arrived in an instant.

This wasn’t right.

The only thing that could be holding them back was an illusion that everything was fine, and I’d stopped Alexis, the source of the magic.

There were no more illusions.

“The converted mana of dozens of noble magicians.” A voice floated by my ear. “All sacrificed to deplete the manapool of one person.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

“You truly were worth the wait.” A breeze brushed by me.

I felt a tender touch against my neck, and I turned around.

There was nobody there.

My side flinched as a I felt a presence knock against it, and then I felt a weight lift.

Something had been taken from me.

I placed a hand against my pocket, and my body trembled.

My inventory was gone.

I expanded my mana sense and a familiar disturbance knocked at the corner of my mind; an incessant scratching that was growing as the seconds passed.

It was the same feeling I’ve gotten twice before, once in the academy dome when I was under the first illusion, and again on the academy entrance after Amanda and Gerial had met.

There was someone else here that I couldn’t see.

“Guards-”

I need a few minutes of privacy.

“I need a few minutes of privacy.”

I’d like to talk to Amanda alone.

“I’d like to talk to Amanda alone.”

But Amanda wasn't here. I knew that.

Why was I...

“Are you sure, Master Silver?” A voice whispered.

It was the knight of the church that was in charge of communicating with me.

“I’m-”

I’m sure. It’s strange having you watch over me when I’m with my friend. I’ll be fine.

“I’m sure. It’s strange having you watch over me when I’m with my friend.” I spoke. “I’ll be fine.”

My head pounded, and I parted my lips to speak again.

“That's enough from you.” The voice spoke. "My illusions will do the rest."

Something wrapped around my mouth, choking me. More objects pressed against my skin, wrapping around my wrists, torso, and legs, ensnaring me in its grips. There was no shift in the mana around me and no spell being cast. Whatever was happening, it was all physical.

It forced my head to face Alexis’ broken body.

There was a woman beside him, kneeling beside his decrepit husk.

She held my inventory in her hands.

“My poor bloodline inheritor.” Her voice was soft. “You served your purpose well.”

“And you.” She stood up and faced me. “How I’ve waited for a talent like you.”

I recognised her the moment I saw her. Two identical images gazed at me, one from the painting hanging on the wall, and the other from the figure in front of me.

It was Amanda’s mother.

”I can see you’re confused dear. Don’t worry,”

Her lips parted in a smile.

”We have time.”