Lina did not scream. She did not cry.
She just walked forward.
The name "Lina" echoed in the belfry, shouted by the girls behind her. But the word meant nothing. It was just a sound. It was just a shape in the air. She did not know who was saying it. She did not know who she was.
There was only the glass. And the cracks. And the instinct to fix them.
"Lina, stop!" Mira sobbed, reaching out to grab her arm.
Lina gently but firmly pulled her arm away. She did not look at the girl. She did not know the girl. Her white, blank eyes were fixed entirely on the giant, fracturing sphere.
She reached the glass. The black water was pouring out in thick, freezing sheets. The screaming faces inside the sphere were thrashing in agony.
Lina raised her right hand. The golden ink beneath her skin pulsed one last time. She pressed her palm flat against the cold, wet surface of the sphere.
The magic exploded outward.
Thick, glowing golden lines shot from her hand, racing across the surface of the glass. Wherever the gold touched, the black cracks hissed and sealed. The freezing black water stopped pouring out. The screaming faces inside the glass stopped thrashing. They turned to look at Lina, their empty eyes wide, and then, slowly, they closed their eyes in peace.
The girls behind her gasped. The deafening grinding of the giant gears began to slow down.
But the seal was not complete.
Right in the very center of the sphere, one massive, jagged fracture remained. The glass groaned. The black water inside began to bubble and boil.
A voice echoed in Lina's empty mind. It was not a human voice. It was the heavy, grinding voice of the Founder's magic.
The mortar is broken. The cage needs a heart. A living soul must take the place.
Lina stared at the final crack. She did not feel fear. She did not feel sadness. She only felt the hollow, driving need to finish the task. The magic was telling her what to do. She had to step inside. She had to become the new mortar.
She lifted her foot to climb onto the base of the sphere.
"No!"
The voice did not come from the girls. It came from the glass.
Lina paused. She looked at her reflection in the curved surface.
The ghost of Kai was standing inside the glass. He was not made of pale water anymore. He was made of pure, blinding golden light. He looked whole. He looked real.
He pressed his hands against the inside of the glass, right where Lina's hand was resting on the outside.
You are blank, Lina, Kai's voice whispered in her mind. It was warm and sad. If you go in there, you will be trapped in the dark forever. You will never remember the sun. You will never remember them.
Lina tilted her head. She looked back at the three girls huddled on the floor. She knew she was supposed to protect them. But she did not know why.
Let me do it, the golden boy whispered.
Kai pushed harder against the glass. The golden light of his soul began to bleed through the surface.
My true name is the ink, he said. It is the only thing strong enough to hold the water forever. If I give it all, I will not just die, Lina. I will be erased. I will never have existed at all.
Lina stared at him. A single, blank tear slipped down her white-eyed face. She did not know why she was crying.
Thank you, Kai whispered. For trying to save me.
He stepped forward. He did not step out of the glass. He stepped deeper into the sphere.
The golden light flared so brightly it blinded everyone in the room. The light rushed into the final, massive crack. It filled the fracture, melting the black glass into solid, warm gold.
A shockwave of pure, clean air blasted through the belfry.
The giant gears ground to a complete, final halt. The black water inside the sphere vanished, replaced by a swirling, peaceful golden light. The cage was sealed. The monster beneath the stone was locked away forever.
The golden light faded. The sphere was now just a beautiful, solid ball of gold.
Lina's hand slipped off the smooth surface. Her knees buckled. She collapsed onto the stone floor.
Mira, Seren, and Nia scrambled over to her. Mira threw her arms around Lina's shoulders, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You did it," Mira cried. "Lina, you did it! It's over!"
Lina sat perfectly still. She did not hug Mira back. She slowly turned her head and looked at the crying girl.
Her eyes were still completely, terrifyingly white.
"Who are you?" Lina asked. Her voice was flat, empty, and cold.
Mira's sobs hitched in her throat. She stared at Lina's blank face, the devastating reality crashing down on her.
They had saved the academy. But the girl they loved was gone.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2026
All rights reserved.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, leaving a Power Stone or a review would be a huge help in growing this story. Thank you for your continued support!
Next Chapter Summary for Chapter 138: The academy is finally safe, but Lina is completely hollow, and her friends must find a way to restore her memories before the blankness becomes permanent.