The silence in the Genesis Crystal Chamber following Ray’s declaration was sharp and brittle. The four masters stared at him, their initial shock curdling into a complex mixture of indignation, intrigue, and reluctant respect. It was Master Osmin who spoke first.

“Absolutely not,”

he stated, his voice a cold, precise instrument of authority.

“This is a gross breach of academic protocol, Initiate Croft. A matter of this gravity is the purview of the senior faculty. To propose a private audience with the Headmaster, bypassing us, is an act of profound arrogance.”

Before Ray could even formulate a response, Master Namara chimed in, her objection not one of pride, but of pure, data-driven logic.

“With all due respect, Headmaster Andrade is a brilliant theorist, but she is not an arcane engineer. Any proposal regarding the Genesis Crystal’s core matrix must be vetted for structural integrity and resonant viability before it is even considered. I must be present to analyze the data.”

Master Elias, who had been vibrating like a plucked string, could no longer contain himself.

“And I must be there to provide the necessary historical context!”

he declared, his voice booming with passionate fervor.

“The boy’s theories are rooted in the wisdom of the ancients! He will need my support to make you bureaucrats understand!”

Finally, Master Malin, ever the voice of quiet reason, added her support.

“Ray’s insights when I worked with him have proven invaluable to me thus far,”

she said, her calm tone a stark contrast to the others.

“It is only right that we lend our weight to his proposal and hear it for ourselves.”

Ray stood in the center of their sudden, passionate storm, a silent observer. His archetypes offered their own running commentary in the quiet of his Ambient Presence.

Detective: “Look at them, the old traditionalist can’t stand being left out of the loop. The engineer needs to check our math. And the other two are just worried we’ll screw it up without them. It ain’t about trust; it’s about control.”

Courtier: “Their individual motives are irrelevant, their collective presence is the asset. We are no longer a lone petitioner; we are a delegation. It grants us legitimacy and leverage. Let them come. Let them be our unwitting honor guard.”

Ray thought that the Courtier was right. He was trapped by their collective insistence, but it was a trap that offered a strategic advantage. To refuse them now would be to create a new and unnecessary conflict with the very experts he needed. Arriving at the Headmaster’s office with the full, united backing of her entire Genesis Project team would be a far more powerful political statement than arriving alone.

He gave a small, reluctant sigh, a perfect performance of a boy being overruled by his elders.

“Very well,”

he conceded.

“We will go together.”

With the matter settled, the four masters began gathering their notes, their debate shifting from whether to go, to how best to present their own findings. Ray watched them for a moment before turning to leave, a quiet, knowing look in his golden-flecked eyes. Sergeant Orben, who had stood like a statue by the door throughout the entire exchange, his expression utterly impassive, silently fell into formation behind the group.

The journey to the Headmaster’s office was a tense, silent procession. They moved through the grand corridors of the academy not as individuals, but as a single, grim entity. The arrival of four of the academy's most senior masters, and a boy with an elite Silver Aegis guard was a stark contrast to this party. As they arrived at the Headmaster's office it caused an immediate stir. The receptionist, Cecille, looked up from her desk, her eyes widening in alarm before she quickly and nervously waved them through.

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They were granted an immediate audience. Headmaster Andrade stood from her desk as they entered, her expression hardening with visible displeasure as she took in the size of their delegation.

“I was expecting a report from my Special Research Fellow, not a full faculty meeting,”

she said, her voice a sharp, cold instrument.

Ray stepped forward, his small frame a stark contrast to the powerful scholars flanking him. He met her gaze with the calm, unwavering authority she herself had granted him. He delivered his grim prognosis, his childish voice cutting through the tension with the clean, final sound of a guillotine’s blade.

“The modified containment seal that divides the Sunken Vault and the Genesis Chamber has a lifespan of one year.”

For a single, unguarded moment, Andrade’s composure broke. Her emerald eyes widened, and Ray saw a brief, sharp intake of breath, her jaw tightening as the full weight of the deadline settled upon her. It was a flicker of raw, personal vulnerability before the mask of the unshakable Headmaster slammed back down, her expression once again a wall of cold control.

“Solutions,”

she demanded, her voice tight.

“NOW!”

Master Nobeos, puffing out his chest, was the first to speak.

“A Grand Ritual, Headmaster! The full power of the senior faculty can erect a Seventh-Circle Abjuration Ward…”

“Unsustainable,”

Andrade cut him off flatly.

“The faculty is already strained. A constant power drain of that magnitude would cripple our other duties within months.”

Master Mirkin stepped forward, her tone logical and precise.

“Then a Mana-powered siphon, Headmaster. We can engineer a system to draw the corrupted energy into a secure containment matrix…”

“And create another concentrated bomb of pure magical poison in our basement?”

Andrade countered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“An even greater folly. Next.”

“The Bloom!”

Master Elias burst out, unable to contain his passion.

“We must embrace the Bloom! Let it grow! Let it purify the...”

“You want me to unleash an uncontrolled, chaotic force of Old Magic into the foundations of my academy?”

she hissed, her deep-seated fear and prejudice against the ancient art flaring in her eyes.

“That is not a solution, Master Elias. That is madness.”

She dismissed each of their proposals, her frustration mounting with each flawed, inadequate idea. They were brilliant men, but their solutions were unsustainable, reckless, or both.

With the masters’ proposals exhausted and their arguments dismissed, a heavy, frustrated silence descended upon the Headmaster’s office. It was Master Malin, her expression of practical impatience, who finally broke the impasse. She looked past her deadlocked colleagues and gestured toward the small, silent boy who had been watching the entire exchange with an unnerving calm.

“Headmaster,”

Malin said, her voice direct and clear.

“We are at an impasse. However, Initiate Croft has an alternative theory. We haven't heard it yet but he said it is unorthodox, but given the circumstances, it deserves to be heard.”

Every eye in the room turned to Ray. As he prepared to present his solution, his internal committee gave their thoughts in the quiet of his Ambient Presence.

Detective: “Don’t even think about it, kid, you don’t know who in this room is clean. The mole is still out there. You don’t spill a state secret in a room you can’t trust.”

Courtier: “He is correct, but for the wrong reasons, this is not just about security; it is about leverage. This solution is your single greatest political asset. To share it with the council is to dilute its value. It must be presented to the Headmaster, and to her alone. Make her indebted to you, not them.”

Acting on their unified counsel, Ray deliberately paused as he was about to speak. He let his gaze travel slowly around the room, from the heavy velvet curtains to the sealed oaken doors, before finally fixing his golden-flecked grey eyes directly on Headmaster Andrade. The theatricality of the gesture was not lost on her; it was a clear signal that the nature of the conversation was about to change.

He delivered his masterstroke, his childish voice a perfect, polite weapon.

“Headmaster, before I present the full details of my proposed solution, I must be certain this chamber is secure. Given the recent... intelligence leak... that compromised my previous research, are you confident that this conversation can remain classified with everyone present?”

The words, though spoken with the utmost respect, were a perfectly aimed dart. Andrade was placed in an impossible position. She could not acknowledge the existence of a mole in front of her senior faculty and department heads, nor could she dismiss the valid and deeply alarming security concern Ray had just raised.

The four masters looked at each other, their faces a mask of confusion and intrigue. Intelligence leak? What was the boy talking about? They were suddenly outsiders in a secret conversation, a new and deeply unsettling variable in a game whose rules they did not know.

Forced to act, the Headmaster made the only logical choice. Her expression hardened into a mask of pure, cold authority.

“Masters, your preliminary reports are noted,”

she said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

“I will hear Initiate Croft's proposal in private. You are dismissed.”