Verelia turned away from where Elina and Livia's unconscious form was.
From the devastated clearing that looked like two completely different weather systems had declared war on each other.
She walked straight, ice spreading ahead of her footsteps, cooling the scorched earth and then the dirt.
After who knows how long of slow walking, she stopped.
As she saw, in the center of the path ahead, there was a simple pedestal stone.
Unremarkable except for the fact that it absolutely hadn't been there before.
And the faint essence formations carved into its surface that pulsed with examination-specific energy that was placed by the professors.
One of the exam's surprises?
Verelia's eyes narrowed.
She studied it without approaching. Reading the formations. Calculating what it represented.
Then—
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
The sound of soft, slow claps echoed in the silent canopy.
Each sound echoing through the forest with theatrical precision.
