The morning air was thick with unease as Levi stepped onto the campus lawn, coffee in hand. The sun was still struggling to break through the early fog, but something felt off. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes landed on the center of the campus courtyard, where an elaborate ritual circle had manifested overnight. The symbols were burned into the grass, etched in a spiral pattern, thorns wrapping around a central sigil that glowed faintly, like dying embers in the dim light.
Students around her were already noticing, their eyes wide with confusion and growing fear. A few screamed and ran in the opposite direction, while others stood frozen in place, uncertain whether to flee or investigate. The usual morning chatter turned into anxious whispers, and the campus grounds were quickly overtaken by a sense of panic.
Levi felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. The circle wasn't just a strange occurrence—it was a threat. Her pulse quickened as she approached, trying to keep her composure. The symbols within the circle pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat, as if they were aware of her presence, calling her in.
Across the lawn, Rue appeared, his eyes narrowed. He moved toward her with deliberate steps, his usual nonchalance replaced by a palpable tension. His gaze flicked from the circle to Levi, as if expecting her to know more.
"What the hell is this?" Rue's voice was low, almost a growl.
"I don't know," Levi replied, her eyes fixed on the sigil. "But it's... familiar." She hated the fact that it felt familiar. The pull in her chest told her this wasn't just some random occurrence.
Levi stepped forward, her fingers twitching, drawn toward the energy of the circle. Something dark and ancient hummed beneath her feet. Before she could take another step, the campus security guard burst onto the scene, shouting for everyone to move back. Panic spread quickly.
"Don't touch it!" someone screamed, but the damage had already been done—the circle had been seen, and now there was no going back.
Levi crouched near the edge of the circle, her breath fogging in the cool morning air. "It's carved into the earth. Not just surface-level." She pressed her fingers into the blackened grass, flinching at the warmth still radiating from the sigil.
Rue knelt beside her, already pulling a thick silver ring from his pocket—etched with demonic runes—and sliding it onto his middle finger. "This wasn't just a summoning. This is celestial counter-magic. Something wants in."
"Great," Prairie muttered as she arrived, red scarf whipping in the wind. "I leave for ten minutes and we've got a damn occult crop circle in the quad." Her voice was sarcastic, but the worry in her eyes betrayed her. She held up a folded sheet of parchment: protective wards she'd pre-drawn in anticipation of a surge like this.
More students began gathering at the edges, filming with their phones. Murmurs spread through the crowd. Levi stood, blocking their view as best she could. "We don't have much time. Can one of you veil this?"
"I'll try," Prairie said, unfurling the paper and chanting quickly under her breath. The symbols began to glow faintly, and an illusion shimmered over the circle—a mirage of untouched grass. But the light flickered, unsteady.
Rue extended his palm. Black flame curled in his hand, and he whispered a phrase in a tongue older than any human language. The burned sigils began to unravel, smoke coiling upward like writhing serpents. "I can burn out the energy trace, but this wasn't drawn by any witch. This is something worse."
A tremor ran beneath them. The mirage shimmered again. Prairie grit her teeth. "The illusion's unstable. We need to finish this—fast."
Levi slammed her hand down on the last rune, ignoring the sting. Her blood hissed against the symbols—and they vanished in a crackle of air. The circle was gone, but the feeling of being watched remained. She swore the wind whispered her name.
They stood silently for a moment, the quad now eerily calm. Then Levi spoke, eyes still on the place the sigil had been. "This wasn't a message... it was a warning."
Certainly. Here's Page 3 of Chapter 11: Circle of Thorns based on your outline:
Page 3: Scout realizes a celestial gate is weakening
Scout Cromwell crouched on the rooftop of the east bell tower, the city's wind lashing at his dark coat like impatient fingers. He'd seen the flare—faint, almost imperceptible, but real. It pulsed once from the sky like a heartbeat. Not human. Not earthly.
Through the lens of his relic eyeglass—crafted from silver and bone—he saw it again. A crack in the firmament, faint and shuddering. It spiderwebbed across the heavens like bruised glass. His breath caught.
"No…" he whispered, adjusting the lens. The sigils inscribed along its rim blazed with light. "It's weakening."
The celestial gate—sealed centuries ago by the first Circle of Watchers—was meant to remain dormant. Unbreachable. Untouched by time. But it wasn't dormant now. Not after the ritual flare in the quad. Not after the surge of divine and infernal pressure twisting through the ley lines like exposed nerve endings.
Scout stood quickly, clicking the lens shut and pocketing it. "The wards are thinning." His voice was low, angry. "And if the gate breaks... we won't just be dealing with demons. Something far older will come through."
He glanced back toward the university's center, where the veiled sigil had burned into the lawn only minutes earlier. "This wasn't random," he muttered. "Someone's trying to open the gate from the inside."
Below, Rue, Levi, and Prairie walked off the field, unaware of the storm climbing behind the veil of stars. Scout's eyes narrowed, the glow in his irises flickering.
"I have to find the anchor point," he murmured, turning from the skyline. "And I need to warn Rue—before the Celestials notice her too."
The wind shrieked once as he vanished into the night.