The voice was soft but carried weight that pressed down.

The Chairman’s expression didn’t change, his hands returning to his pockets as he watched the tear with mild curiosity.

"A child wielding the Law of Destruction with such casual ease." The voice carried genuine surprise mixed with amusement. "Tell me, little one, where did you learn to unmake existence itself? That knowledge shouldn’t exist in worlds as young as yours."

The Chairman tilted his head slightly, considering the question.

Then he smiled, the expression warmer now.

"You tell me... Aren’t you the Oracle this guy kept mentioning? The one who sees all possible futures and guides your people through warfare?"

His tone became almost conversational.

"On a side note, can you divine whether I’ll ever find the love of my life? My own seer says I never will, but I’m starting to think she’s just bitter about something."

"..."

Silence fell across the terrace.

Then the voice spoke again, and this time it carried something that might have been laughter.

"You are either remarkably brave or remarkably foolish, child. I cannot decide which." Another pause. "But your question deserves an answer. Yes, you will find love. Though, not the kind you’re expecting."

The amusement faded from the voice, replaced by something more serious.

"Luna Valcor."

Luna’s head snapped toward the tear, her silver eyes wide.

"My subordinate approached you with excessive aggression. Please forgive his enthusiasm, it stems from desperation rather than malice."

Something small emerged from the tear, floating through the air on currents of golden light.

A token, circular and palm-sized, made of material that seemed to shift between solid and liquid states.

It drifted toward Luna, settling gently into her outstretched palm.

Warmth spread through her fingers where the token touched her skin.

"We shall meet one day if fate permits it." The voice spoke again, warmer now. "Keep that token with you always. It might save your life when circumstances grow dire beyond your ability to handle alone."

The golden light wrapping Azareth’s stabilized form began pulling him backward toward the tear.

His eyes met the Chairman’s for a brief moment, filled with fear and grudging respect.

Then the dimensional tear collapsed inward.

CRACK

The rift sealed completely, dragging the Light Bearer with it and leaving no trace that it had ever existed.

Luna and the Chairman stood alone on the terrace, the normal sounds of the academy slowly returning.

Then the Chairman turned toward Luna.

"Are you alright, young lady?"

Luna let out a long breath, her shoulders dropping as the adrenaline started draining away.

Her hands were still shaking, the token clutched between her fingers.

’So much happened in the span of a few minutes...’

Her mind tried to process everything and failed, thoughts scattering like leaves in wind.

’Light Bearers, dimensional tears, laws that erase existence, oracles who see the future...’

The Chairman seemed to understand her scattered state without needing explanation.

He extended his hand, palm up.

"May I see that token? I want to make sure there’s nothing dangerous attached to it."

Luna’s fingers loosened their grip, offering the circular object forward.

The Chairman held it up to the moonlight, turning it slowly between his fingers.

His eyes tracked the moving patterns on its surface, reading something Luna couldn’t begin to comprehend.

After several long seconds, he handed it back.

"You can keep it with you. There’s nothing wrong with it, just a standard protective artifact infused with their power."

His lips twitched slightly.

"Though calling it ’standard’ is generous. The amount of power compressed into something this small token is insane."

Luna’s fingers closed around the token again, feeling its warmth pulse against her skin.

"Thank you."

Her voice came out quieter than intended.

"If you hadn’t intervened, I would have..."

She didn’t finish the sentence, but her hands clenched tighter around the token.

’I would have been dragged to another world... Away from everything that matters... Away from Damian.’

The Chairman waved his hand dismissively.

"Well, I can’t just let some birds take away one of the most talented humans, can I?"

He smiled slightly, the expression warmer than before.

"Not to mention, one who managed to learn my skill in such a short time."

Luna nodded automatically, then froze.

Her head snapped up, silver eyes wide.

"Huh?"

The Chairman looked at her confused face and made a sound between amusement and exasperation.

"Tsk tsk... The skill you used to defeat that Langsten girl today in the arena." He tilted his head slightly. "Who do you think created it?"

Luna’s mind went blank for a moment, then raced backward through recent memory.

The compression technique, the beam that had punched through Iris’s defenses, the way it had felt both natural and foreign when she’d used it.

’Gia sent me that skill.’

She’d been in her dormitory room one evening about a month ago, and suddenly a notification had appeared on her academy watch.

[New Skill Data Received]

[Source: Admin AI - Gia]

[Singularity Beam]

She’d been surprised at the time since she’d never directly communicated with the Admin AI before.

’I had thought it might be because of whatever relationship the AI has with Damian.’

The Chairman continued speaking, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"That stupid AI had the nerve to send my personal skill without asking permission first."

His voice carried genuine annoyance despite the mild expression on his face.

"I don’t understand what sort of magic that kid has performed, but Gia is way too biased toward anything or anyone related to him."

He shook his head slowly.

"She’s supposed to be neutral and impartial, treating all humans equally. Instead she hoards information about him, protects his privacy beyond standard protocols and apparently distributes my skills to his family members."

The Chairman stopped speaking when he noticed Luna had gone silent again.

’Hm?’

He turned toward her fully, studying her face.

Her silver eyes were distant, focused on something he couldn’t see, and her hands had clenched into fists at her sides.

"Are you worried about those birds coming back?"

His voice softened slightly.

"Don’t concern yourself with that possibility... The natural dimensional barriers surrounding Earth make forced entry extremely difficult. Creating even a small tear requires immense resources, and the cost rises exponentially with the power level of the being attempting entry."

He gestured vaguely at where the rift had been.

"SS rank beings cannot force their way through at all. The barriers simply won’t allow it, which is why that Oracle could only send a subordinate."

His expression remained calm.

"More importantly, Gia monitors every barrier disturbance across the planet. The moment they started to open that tear, she detected it and alerted me."

He paused.

"So if they try opening another tear anywhere on Earth, we’ll know immediately..."

But Luna shook her head, her gaze lifting toward the night sky.

Stars dotted the darkness above, cold and distant and offering no answers.

"It’s not that."

Her voice came out strained.

"I’m worried about my parents and Damian."

She turned toward the Chairman, her silver eyes locking onto his unremarkable face.

’He’s the Chairman of the Federation... He has to know something about what’s happening to them.’

’If anyone has information, it would be him.’