"Hold on tightly."
Vice Headmaster William Al Vermont raised his metal arm.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the world folded.
That was the only way I could describe it.
The sky bent. The ground vanished. My stomach attempted to escape through my spine, and every student around me made some variation of a deeply undignified noise.
Personally, I handled it with grace.
By which I mean I almost screamed.
Then everything snapped back into place.
Light returned first.
Then sound.
Then the feeling of solid ground beneath my feet.
No.
Not ground.
Bark.
I looked down.
My shoes stood on a wide path of pale-gold wood, smooth enough to walk on but lined with natural grooves that pulsed faintly with light. The air smelled clean. Too clean. Like rain, sunlight, and something sweet I could not name.
Around me, students stumbled, gasped, and grabbed at one another for balance.
One boy fell to his knees and whispered a prayer.
Understandable.
Being transferred by a spatial mage felt like being turned inside out and politely put back together.
Professor Ludwig clapped his hands from the front of our group.
"Everyone, take a moment to steady yourselves. Spatial transfer can be disorienting the first few times."
A girl near me muttered, "The first few?"
I agreed with her spiritually.
Vice Headmaster William stood a short distance ahead, looking completely unaffected because apparently powerful people were allergic to basic discomfort.
Behind him stretched the minor branch of the Western Branch.
Minor.
That was hilarious.
The path beneath us was wider than a city street. Enormous ridges of bark rose like hills in the distance. Smaller branches, still large enough to hold buildings, extended outward in every direction. Golden veins ran through the wood, glowing softly beneath the surface.
Far above, leaves the size of rooftops shifted in the wind.
Light passed through them in broken sheets.
It was beautiful.
Annoyingly beautiful.
The kind of beautiful that made it difficult to remember this place was about to become a disaster.
William's voice carried over the gathered students.
"You are currently standing on one of the lower minor branches connected to the Western Branch. This region has been secured and inspected before your arrival. However, you are still outside the academy's subspace, which means you are expected to follow all instructions from your professors and escorts immediately."
His gaze swept over us.
For a brief moment, I felt like his eyes passed directly over me.
My soul considered fleeing.
I stood very still.
"There are barriers placed across the study route," William continued. "Do not cross them. Do not wander alone. Do not touch any unknown growths, fruits, flowers, insects, beasts, or unusual formations. This is a sanctified region, but sanctified does not mean harmless."
Good advice.
Unfortunately, I was planning to violate several layers of it.
William lowered his metal arm.
"Professors, continue with your groups. I will remain near the transfer anchor until the return window."
Ah.
So he would not be following us directly.
That was good.
Terrifying, but good.
Because if William personally escorted us the entire time, my grand plan would have ended at step one.
Step one, of course, being:
Attend a school trip.
Step two:
Stay near Carlos Strega.
Step three:
Survive a tier-three griffin attack.
Step four:
Get kidnapped on purpose.
Step five:
Kill the future villain before he reached whatever was waiting for him.
A normal academic excursion, really.
Professor Ludwig gestured for our group to follow him.
"Alright, everyone. Stay close and move in pairs if possible. The Western Branch is one of the most important historical and magical sites in the world, so please do try not to embarrass the academy by falling off it."
A few students laughed nervously.
I did not.
I looked over the group instead.
Carlos was near the back.
Alone, of course.
He stood with his bag over one shoulder, his dark eyes drifting across the glowing bark and distant leaves. He looked calm. Detached. Maybe a little curious.
He did not look like someone who was about to be abducted by griffins.
That was rude of him.
I adjusted the strap of my own bag and slowed my pace until I was a few steps behind him.
Not too close.
Close enough.
The warning from Sleazy's memory crawled through my mind.
If you are ever near the Strega boy before the incident, do not touch him.
The woman's voice echoed through my memory, calm and distant.
"Then fate would have corrected itself."
Ominous. Very ominous.
Wonderful.
A divine murder puzzle with personal-space rules.
I could work with that.
Probably.
Maybe.
I hoped.
A faint shimmer appeared beside me.
Lazy materialized first, floating vertically for once, which was how I knew he was taking this seriously.
"How long?" he asked.
"Soon," I muttered under my breath.
"Approximate?"
"You think the future came with a clock?"
"It would be helpful."
"Unfortunately, the world is inconsiderate."
A navy mist flickered near a nearby ridge of bark.
Sleazy appeared with his hands hidden inside his coat sleeves, smiling faintly.
"Students excited. Professors relaxed. Guards spread thin across a wide area. A perfect little stage."
"Don't sound so happy about it."
"I am admiring the craftsmanship of impending disaster."
"That is not better."
Knight appeared next, his expression tense as he studied the students around us.
"Where is Bloody?"
"Sulking," Lazy said.
"He is not sulking," Bloody snapped, appearing in a burst of red mist.
He was absolutely sulking.
His arms were crossed, his expression was foul, and the heart floating in his chest beat with irritated thuds.
"I simply do not see the value in standing around while children stare at wood."
"That wood is older than most nations," Knight said.
"Still wood."
I rubbed my temples.
"Can all of you please not have a debate about sacred lumber right now?"
Carlos glanced slightly in my direction.
I froze.
The ghosts stopped talking.
Carlos looked at me for a second, then looked away.
My heart slowly resumed functioning.
Fantastic.
Almost got caught talking to myself before the kidnapping even started.
Very professional.
Professor Ludwig led us along the glowing path, stopping occasionally to explain some historical detail about the branch. Something about sanctification layers. Something about the first protective barrier. Something about the relationship between divine wood and mana circulation.
I listened enough to know I would probably still die if I fell off.
Useful information.
Eventually, Ludwig stopped beside a cluster of pale flowers growing directly from the bark.
"Observe the petals."
Several students leaned closer.
The flowers glowed faintly.
Not mana.
Something softer.
Almost like sunlight trapped inside glass.
"These only grow on sanctified wood," Ludwig explained. "They absorb excess divine energy from the branch and release it gradually into the surrounding ecosystem."
A student raised his hand.
"Can we touch them?"
"No."
Another student raised her hand.
"Can we pick one?"
"No."
A third hand went up.
"Can we eat one?"
Professor Ludwig stared at the class.
"No."
"Has anyone tried?"
"Yes."
The student looked relieved.
"They merely exploded."
The relief vanished.
Several students stepped away from the flowers.
I stared at Ludwig.
This man was enjoying himself far too much.
A sudden gust of wind swept across the branch, scattering several pages from a girl's notebook.
The papers drifted toward the edge.
Before anyone else reacted, Carlos stepped forward and caught two of them.
The girl blinked.
"Oh. Thanks."
Carlos handed them back.
"Your notes were about divine flora migration."
"Yeah?"
"You wrote the dates wrong."
The girl stared at him.
Carlos walked away.
She looked down at her notebook.
"…I did write them wrong."
I watched him return to his place near the back.
Annoying.
He was annoyingly helpful.
Future villains should not correct people's notes.
They should lurk. Plot. Maybe say something ominous about destiny.
They should not be useful in group learning environments.
A shadow crossed the leaves overhead.
My pulse jumped.
There.
Movement.
Large wings.
I stopped walking.
Nothing happened.
A moment later, a flock of silver-feathered birds burst from the canopy and disappeared into the distance.
Several students pointed excitedly.
One began sketching them.
I stared.
"…Seriously?"
Lazy floated beside me.
"False positive."
"I hate this."
"Understandable."
Sleazy chuckled.
"Jumpy, are we?"
"I am not jumpy."
"You stopped breathing."
"That is called tactical stillness."
"That is called fear."
"That is called shut up."
Knight's expression remained grim.
"Stay focused."
"I am focused."
Bloody scoffed.
"You look like a rabbit waiting for a hawk."
I glared at him.
"Thank you for the morale boost."
"You're welcome."
The group continued forward.
The path curved around a large rise of bark, opening into a wider platform where several smaller branches stretched outward like roads. Pale markings had been carved into the wood, forming a faint barrier line around the safe route.
Guards stood near the edges.
Professors spread themselves out.
Ludwig lifted his hand.
"We will pause here for a short observation period. You may take notes, sketch, or ask questions. Do not cross the marked line."
Students immediately began spreading out within the barrier.
Some sat down.
Some started writing.
Some whispered excitedly while pointing at the glowing veins beneath the bark.
I did none of those things.
My attention was on Carlos.
He stood near the back of the platform, close enough to the marked line that it made my spine itch. He was not crossing it. He was not doing anything wrong.
But he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
The memory of Sleazy's executive whispered through me.
The academy needed to believe the Western Branch was simply unsafe.
My grip tightened around my bag strap.
This was it.
The place where I had planned to kill him.
No.
The place where I was supposed to kill him.
There was a difference.
A small one.
An inconvenient one.
The scream came from the sky.
This time, it was not a bird.
A shrill, tearing cry split the air.
Every head turned upward.
Wings cut across the golden light.
Large bodies dove through the leaves, feathers flashing bronze and white, lion-like hindlegs tucked beneath them. Their hooked beaks gleamed. Their talons flexed open, long enough to tear through flesh and bone.
Tier-three griffins.
The students froze.
For one perfect, horrible second, nobody moved.
Then Professor Ludwig's voice cracked like a whip.
"Barriers up! Students to the center!"
The guards moved instantly.
Credit where it was due — they were not useless.
Mana flared across the platform. A translucent wall of light rose along the left side of the group. Another guard drew a spear and launched a bolt of blue mana at the first griffin.
The beast twisted away.
Too smoothly.
My eyes narrowed.
That was not panic.
That was not hunger.
It dodged like it expected the attack.
The griffin slammed into the barrier instead of the students, talons screeching against the glowing surface. Several people screamed and stumbled backward.
"Move!" Ludwig shouted. "Stay together!"
A second griffin dove from the opposite side.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
The group broke.
Of course it did.
Students could be told to stay calm all day, but the moment giant bird-lions started falling out of the sky, theory became decorative.
People shoved.
Someone tripped.
A girl dropped her bag and cried out as another student stepped over it.
Professor Ludwig raised both hands, and a ring of golden light spread outward from his feet.
"Do not run from the group!"
The command carried mana.
Several students stopped mid-panic, blinking as if waking from a nightmare.
Impressive.
Then a griffin slammed into the path ahead of us and shattered that fragile order completely.
The branch shook.
Bark splintered.
A guard was thrown sideways, rolling hard across the platform before catching himself.
The griffin did not immediately attack the closest student.
It turned its head.
Toward Carlos.
My blood went cold.
Not shock.
Recognition.
This was it.
Carlos had been standing near the back, just like I remembered.
The attack had separated the group, just like it was supposed to.
And now the griffins were moving exactly how they had been guided to move.
They were not hunting.
They were herding.
"Kamrik," Knight said sharply.
"I know."
Carlos stepped back as students surged around him.
His face had finally changed.
Not much.
But enough.
His eyes widened slightly as he realized the path behind him had been cut off by falling debris and panicked students.
A griffin landed between him and the nearest guard.
Its wings spread wide.
People screamed and scattered.
Carlos looked left.
Then right.
Calculating.
Still calm enough to think.
Of course he was.
That made this more annoying.
"Stay close to him," Lazy said.
"I am aware."
Sleazy's eyes narrowed.
"The griffins are opening a lane."
I saw it.
The beasts were striking barriers, forcing guards to defend certain directions, pushing students inward while leaving one narrow path oddly clear.
A side branch.
Smaller than the main route, but still wide enough for several people to cross.
Carlos noticed it too.
He moved.
"Damn it."
I followed.
Not too fast.
Running directly after him would look suspicious.
Unfortunately, everyone was currently screaming, so suspicion had a lot of competition.
Carlos slipped through a gap between two panicked students and headed toward the side branch.
A guard shouted something.
A griffin crashed down in front of him.
The guard raised his shield.
Carlos kept moving.
I grit my teeth.
He was being separated perfectly.
Too perfectly.
Professor Ludwig was too far ahead, protecting a cluster of students near the main path. William was back near the transfer anchor. The guards were occupied.
The cult had planned this well.
I hated competent enemies.
The side branch trembled beneath my feet as I followed Carlos onto it.
The noise of the main group became muffled behind us.
Branches curved around us like walls of living gold.
Carlos finally noticed me.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You followed me."
My brain produced several possible answers.
Yes, because I'm trying to assassinate you.
Yes, because I'm trying to prevent you from becoming a god-vessel.
Yes, because I need to be kidnapped with you and possibly murder you before lunch.
Instead, I said, "You looked like you knew where you were going."
Carlos stared at me.
"That is a terrible reason to follow someone during a beast attack."
"Yeah, well, I'm having a terrible day."
A shadow passed overhead.
Both of us looked up.
The griffin descended.
Fast.
Carlos reacted first, throwing himself to the side.
I moved half a second later.
Talons tore through the bark where he had stood.
Splinters exploded outward.
One cut across my cheek.
Pain flashed.
Blood trickled down my face.
Bloodrend stirred beneath my skin.
Warm.
Hungry.
Excited.
No.
Not now.
I forced the sensation down.
The griffin turned, its golden eyes fixed on Carlos.
Not me.
Carlos.
That should not have annoyed me as much as it did.
The beast lunged.
Carlos grabbed a broken piece of bark and hurled it at the griffin's face. The impact did nothing, obviously, because it was a tier-three magical beast and Carlos was a Studies student with the upper-body strength of a depressed scholar.
Still, the griffin blinked.
That was enough.
Carlos dodged under one wing and ran.
I followed.
"Bloodrend," Bloody hissed beside me. "Use it."
"No."
"You need power."
"I need secrecy."
"You need to not die."
"I'm working on that."
Knight appeared near my shoulder.
"Young man, retreat toward the professors."
"I can't."
"You can."
"I won't."
"That is worse."
The branch beneath us narrowed.
Not dangerously, but enough that I became very aware of the endless drop somewhere beyond the leaves.
Carlos ran ahead, breathing hard now.
The calm mask was cracking.
Good.
No.
Not good.
Useful.
Different.
The griffin behind us screeched.
Then another answered from ahead.
Carlos stopped.
I almost crashed into him.
A second griffin landed on the path in front of us.
It lowered its head.
Behind us, the first griffin stepped closer.
We were boxed in.
Sleazy appeared beside me, smiling thinly.
"Well. This is unfortunate."
"You think?"
Lazy floated above us.
"They are not trying to kill him."
"I noticed."
"They are positioning."
"I noticed that too."
"Then you understand what comes next?"
My mouth went dry.
Yes.
I understood.
This was the moment Carlos Strega vanished.
Originally, this was where my plan was supposed to begin.
Use the chaos.
Stay close.
Strike before anyone noticed.
But looking at Carlos now, standing between two tier-three beasts with his hands clenched and his face pale, I found myself thinking something deeply inconvenient.
He looked scared.
Not villainous.
Not monstrous.
Just scared.
That was unfair.
The griffin in front lunged.
Carlos stumbled back.
The griffin behind us moved at the same time.
Talons opened.
There it was.
The grab.
My body moved before my courage could properly object.
I stepped toward Carlos.
Not touching him.
Not his skin.
I grabbed the back of his academy coat.
There was a difference.
A divine legal loophole, probably.
Carlos's head snapped toward me.
"What are you—"
The griffin struck.
Talons closed around Carlos's bag and coat, lifting him off the branch in one violent motion.
Because I was still holding his coat, I was lifted too.
Ah.
Excellent.
Terrible.
Excellent.
My feet left the ground.
My stomach fell through the world.
Carlos shouted.
I made a dignified noise somewhere between a gasp and a dying goat.
The griffin beat its wings and rose into the air.
The branch dropped away beneath us.
Wind slammed into my face.
My grip nearly slipped.
Carlos twisted, panic flashing across his face.
"Let go!"
"No!"
"Are you insane?"
"Currently? Maybe!"
The griffin climbed higher.
Below us, the side branch shrank.
The main study group became a cluster of distant movement and flickering barriers. I could see Professor Ludwig fighting to push through the chaos. Guards launched spells into the sky. One griffin spiraled away, trailing blood from its wing.
They were competent.
They were trying.
They were also too late.
Good.
Bad.
Both.
My fingers burned from holding Carlos's coat.
The fabric strained.
Carlos grabbed my wrist through my sleeve, his grip tight.
I immediately panicked.
Not because of the height.
Not because of the griffin.
Because he had touched me.
Skin?
No.
Sleeve.
Fabric.
Still.
My heart tried to explode.
Nothing happened.
No door opened.
No divine horror unfolded.
Great.
Wonderful.
I was going to count that as a win.
"Why did you grab me?" Carlos shouted over the wind.
"Would you believe academic curiosity?"
"No!"
"Then no!"
The griffin banked hard to the left.
My body swung outward.
For one terrifying second, my grip slipped.
Carlos grabbed my sleeve with both hands.
His face was pale.
"Hold on!"
"I am trying!"
"You followed me during a beast attack!"
"I am aware that was a questionable choice!"
"Questionable?"
The griffin screeched.
Another griffin joined beside us, its wings cutting through the air. For a moment, its golden eye turned toward me.
It stared.
Not like a beast.
Like something checking whether a mistake mattered.
A chill crawled down my spine.
Then it looked away.
The two griffins flew deeper into the branches.
Leaves the size of rooftops swallowed the sky. Golden light flashed around us as we were carried into the living maze of the God Tree.
The academy vanished behind layers of bark and light.
The professors became dots.
The students became nothing.
Carlos looked at me, breathing hard, his black eyes wide with shock and fear.
"Why did you do that?"
I looked past him.
Ahead, the branches twisted into the unknown.
Somewhere inside this place was the thing meant for him.
The thing that would begin the end of the world.
And now, unfortunately, me.
I tightened my grip on his coat.
"Academic curiosity!" I screamed over the wind.
Carlos stared at me.
Then the griffin dove into the glowing forest.
Branches swallowed the sky.
Light flashed past us in streaks of gold and green.
Carlos shouted something, but the wind tore the words away before I could hear them.
Honestly, rude.
If I was going to die, I at least wanted the dignity of hearing the last complaint directed at me.
The griffin twisted sharply.
My grip slipped.
Carlos grabbed my sleeve again, his fingers digging into the fabric.
Then the branches opened.
For one brief, horrible second, I saw where we were being taken.
A nest.
Massive.
Woven from pale branches, strips of bark, and bones far too large to belong to anything comforting.
At the center of it rested an egg taller than me, its shell white-gold and faintly pulsing with light.
The griffin screeched.
Then its talons opened.
Ah.
So we were being dropped.
Good to know.
Carlos and I fell.
We hit the nest hard enough to knock every thought out of my skull.
Pain exploded through my body.
The world spun.
Gold light.
White shell.
Carlos's voice.
My own heartbeat.
Then nothing.