Kai was awake when William came back to the room, sitting quietly on his bed with his eyes open, indicating he had either awakened on his own or heard William activate the crystal and decided to wait.

William relayed the message to him in a straightforward manner, without any embellishments, ensuring the information was conveyed as clearly as possible.

Kai listened.

When William finished, Kai was quiet for a moment.

"Your mother is moving the legal mechanism," he said.

"Yes."

"Which means the client who might be your father, or whoever is operating through his structure will know today that the investigation has reached them. When official inquiry is opened, the subject is typically notified." Kai looked at the window. "That changes their timeline."

"They accelerate," William said.

"Or they abort." Kai turned his cup — there was already tea, somehow, which William had stopped questioning. "Aborting is safer for them legally."

"The Hollow Court contract becomes a liability if there’s active official inquiry — completing it creates evidence, and the organization protects itself by not leaving evidence in active legal environments."

"But if they abort, they lose whatever they were trying to accomplish."

"Yes. And if they’ve been building toward this for months across multiple loops—" Kai stopped. "In multiple iterations, the timeline suggests this isn’t just about the competition result. There’s a political moment at stake. Something that happens during or immediately after the competition that requires the target to be gone before it concludes."

William considered his mother’s words carefully. He needed to research the allocation records—specifically, which families would receive cultivation resources over the next decade.

The family in question held authority over those decisions.

"The council observers," he said. "They’re here for three days. Whatever decision they’re attending to observe — it happens during the competition window."

"And if the target’s family is removed from the equation before the decision is formalized—"

"The allocation shifts." William looked at Kai directly. "That’s this isn’t about competition sabotage or political maneuvering related to cultivation rankings."

"It’s about a resource decision that holds significant influence over a decade of cultivation development, and someone is attempting to eliminate the obstacle to achieve their desired outcome."

"Before the council observers leave," Kai said. "Yes. That’s consistent with everything."

"This means they must act today, not later in the competition. Specifically, during the opening ceremonies or immediately afterwards, before the inquiry notification reaches the person managing the operation."

Kai set down his cup. "We need to tell Morris."

"Now."

"Now," Kai agreed.

---

Morris greeted them in her office at five forty-five in the morning, indicating she had already been there or arrived shortly after receiving their message.

The door was open, and she was standing at her desk when they entered.

William told her about the message crystal, his father’s structure, the timeline acceleration, the resource allocation decision, and the council observers.

Morris listened with a stillness that differed from her usual calm, more focused and more intense, like someone who had been waiting for the last piece and finally got it. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

When he finished she said, "The council observers arrived yesterday. They’re scheduled to conduct a closed session with academy administration this afternoon during the opening ceremony period." She looked at the desk. "Which means the decision whatever it is happens today. In approximately eight hours."

"If the target isn’t present, can the decision proceed," Kai asked.

"A closed session can proceed with the parties present. If one party’s representative is absent—" Morris thought through it. "It depends on the specific council protocols. Some decisions require all represented parties. Some can proceed with majority representation." She looked at them. "If the target is the representative for their family’s position—"

"Then removing them prevents their family’s voice from the session," William said. "The decision proceeds without opposition."

"Or gets delayed, which achieves the same short-term objective while the opposition is restructured under new family leadership." Morris moved around the desk. "I need to contact the observers directly."

"If they understand there’s active threat against a represented party, they can delay the session under security protocols." She was already moving toward the door. "Where are you in competition positioning today?"

"Opening ceremonies at six this evening," William said. "Individual bracket matches don’t begin until tomorrow morning."

"So today you have coverage capacity."

"Yes."

"I want you visible," Morris said. "Both of you. Your presence at the ceremonies serves a function — the organization knows what you’re capable of, the expedition made that clear for Wraith and your family situation implies it for you, Cross. If they’re calculating whether to proceed, knowing you’re in the vicinity of the target is a deterrent factor."

"You want us to be the visible complication in their calculation," Kai said.

"I want you to be exactly where you would naturally be as competition participants, which happens to make their operation more difficult." Morris’s voice was precise.

"I’ll handle the council session and the observer communication. Henrik is briefing the target again this morning with updated timeline information. My security adjustments will be in final position by four o’clock." She looked at them both.

"This afternoon, stay close to each other and stay visible. If something feels wrong—"

"It is wrong," William said, echoing his mother’s words.

Morris paused. Then nodded once. "Yes."

She left.

William and Kai stood in the empty office for a moment.

"We should tell Seraphina," William said.

"Yes."

"And then breakfast."

"In that order," Kai agreed.

---

Seraphina absorbed the information with her usual focus on tactical updates. She asked two questions: the timeline for the inquiry notification and if Morris had confirmed the session delay. Once she received satisfactory answers, she nodded once and resumed her breakfast.

The dining hall was bustling with activity. Students from all four academies filled the space, embodying a mix of competitive mindset and casual camaraderie as they ate together. While a sense of competition lingered, it was subdued.

Liam was discussing the bracket structure and the specific matchups he looked forward to, while Marcus listened attentively.

The conversation was completely normal and competition-focused, fulfilling the function Morris mentioned — behavior that was precisely as expected.

William ate and listened to Liam and watched the room and checked, periodically, the position of the target.

Who was eating at a table twenty feet away with their own friend group, looking like exactly what they appeared to be — a student the day before competition, slightly nervous, occasionally checking their own competition schedule.

They were not panicking or showing visible awareness of the threat. Henrik and Morris had done their work well.

Seraphina’s leg pressed briefly against his under the table. Not drawing attention. Just present.

He kept eating.

---

The opening ceremonies began at six in the evening in the main courtyard, which had been transformed over the past two days into a genuine ceremonial space. Stands had been erected along three sides.

The fourth side opened onto the competition venue entrance.

Torches had been positioned along every walkway, and essence-reactive lighting had been installed along the venue borders that shifted through the colors of all four academies in a slow cycle.

Students from all academies filled the stands in their respective sections. Faculty occupied the elevated platform at the center.

The council observers sat in a separate designated area to the left of the platform — three of them, formally dressed, with the contained attention of people who were here to observe and were observing.

---

Vote!