CHAPTER 1079: RECORD IT

The door to the meeting room suddenly slammed open, banging hard against the wall. Both Erend and Adrius reflexively turned and their hands twitching toward the defense stance immediately, until their eyes landed on the two figures in the doorway.

Relief softened their stances because it was only Billy and Adrien.

The two of them froze at the threshold. Their gazes immediately widening at the sight before them.

The air inside the room shimmered with a strange spectacle filled with threads of glowing energy woven like veins across the walls and ceiling, some tangled in chaotic strands while others hung suspended like frozen lightning.

Scattered lights drifted lazily through the dim chamber like remnants of the Magic work still echoing through the space.

"What happened here?" Billy asked, his voice low but urgent, his eyes scanning everything.

"Just come in first," Erend said firmly, cutting off further questions. His tone carried urgency, his eyes flicking to the open hallway behind them. "Not out there. Someone could hear."

Billy and Adrien exchanged a quick look then stepped inside without another word.

Erend closed the door behind them, shutting the room back into its dark and pulsating light and its silence.

Both newcomers continued to look around with a mixture of amazement and also suspicion, their expressions confirming that they knew something important had just taken place.

Only now, standing closer, could they see the tether on the table. It was a floating black orb wrapped in silver rings, its glow pulsing rhythmically like the beat of a living heart.

Adrien’s brow furrowed, he asked in a measured but tense voice. "We were just walking down here and then a wave hit us. The air was thick with fluctuation like Magic swelling out of this room." His hand clenched slightly as though remembering the sensation running through his own veins. "Since both Billy and I are already awakened, we felt it immediately. We rushed here because we thought that maybe a monster from another world had crossed through."

Adrius, still catching his breath from the spell, let out a low chuckle. His lips curved faintly despite the exhaustion in his eyes. "No, nothing like that. Erend and I decided to begin ahead of you. Time isn’t a luxury we can waste. It was better that when you all came the groundwork was already laid."

Adrien and Billy both nodded, understanding dawning across their features. The tension eased slightly from Billy’s shoulders even though his eyes remained sharp on the orb.

"Yeah. I’m glad that both of you are already awakening and adapting to your Magic. That connection will help a great deal in what’s to come." Adrius continued, his voice softening into genuine approval.

Adrien gave a single nod. His voice carried expectation now, curiosity woven with resolve. "So... what have you got?"

Adrius gestured toward the lattice of glowing veins suspended in the air. "We managed to trace something. A thread left behind by the entity. It isn’t perfect but it’s a trail that is enough for us to pursue."

Billy’s jaw tightened, his eyes hard. He nodded once, his voice hard. "That’s great. Then let’s track this bastard down and put an end to it."

But Adrius shook his head slowly, his expression shadowed with caution. "I’m afraid it won’t be that easy."

Billy’s eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

Adrian also leaned slightly forward, the weight of the answer pulling at him.

Adrius drew in a steadying breath and said. "An entity with this much intelligence and with this much skill won’t leave itself vulnerable that easily. What we’ve captured here is only its trace of where it once was. Not necessarily where it is now."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Billy’s face, his jaw clenching tighter. Adrien’s brows knit in frustration, but neither of them argued.

Erend broke the silence with a steady voice. "Even so it’s enough. Better than wandering in the dark with nothing."

Adrius looked at him, then gave a reluctant nod. "I suppose you’re right. It’s something, at least."

Adrius exhaled, his eyes narrowing on the tangled lattice of light still crawling faintly across the walls. "Now... I need to record the place I just found."

Erend, Billy, and Adrien exchanged quick glances, none of them voicing the confusion written across their faces.

What did he mean by record and how could something like this be recorded? But they didn’t interrupt. It was best to watch and wait.

The Archmage lifted his hand, fingers curling in a smooth gesture, and with a faint shimmer of distortion a folded parchment appeared in his grasp. He laid it neatly on the table beside the tether.

Adrius glanced at them with a small, proud grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"This," he said with a touch of flourish, "is my own storage dimension. I can’t hold many things within it yet but it’s still very useful. In matters like this it’s priceless."

With another fluid motion he reached into the air again and withdrew a quill without any reservoir for ink.

He pressed it gently to the parchment and the feathered shaft flared with faint light. Slowly the glow shifted to the tip and began to flow, settling into lines as he wrote.

The quill scratched rapidly across the page but it was not an ordinary letter that appeared. Instead, symbols bloomed one after another, curling, jagged, and spiraled.

Erend, Billy, and Adrien watched in silence, their gazes fixed as the parchment filled with a script beyond comprehension.

Adrius’s hand moved in sharp bursts, the symbols flowing from him in a stream of thought and power. His eyes glowed faintly with focus, his lips twitching in the barest hint of satisfaction.

He was writing the symbols that he alone could see, the residue of the entity’s trace already unraveling in his memory.

But it was not for long. If he delays it the pattern will scatter.

The quill’s glow flickered one last time, and with a swift slash, Adrius ended the sequence.

He pulled his hand back, exhaling heavily, then leaned into the chair with a faint smile of accomplishment.

"Phew... It’s done."

Without hesitation, Adrius slipped the quill back into his storage dimension, the object dissolving into faint motes of light before vanishing.

He pressed his palm lightly against the parchment, then with a snap of his fingers, the glowing page folded neatly and vanished into the same unseen space.

He looked up at the others. "Now it’s preserved. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be able to read this trace again. And when we’re ready, I’ll use it to open the path."

Erend simply nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching in the faintest hint of relief.

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