Frederick and Mia stood frozen, their gazes locked onto Ashok, eyes wide with sheer disbelief.
It was as if something unnatural—something beyond their comprehension—had just manifested before them.
Their expressions flickered between shock and silent calculation, as if trying to grasp the impossibility of what they had just witnessed.
Around them, the atmosphere remained eerily still.
The soft glow of mana-infused lanterns cast dim light over the hall, illuminating the rows of students, all still immersed in their manuals—eyes shut, expressions tranquil, minds consumed by the process of learning.
Yet Frederick and Mia paid them no mind.
Their attention was focused entirely on Ashok.
The prolonged silence stretched thin, pressing against him with a suffocating weight.
He could feel their stares boring into him, scrutinizing him like an anomaly—something that shouldn't exist, yet did.
It was beginning to grate on his nerves.
