The Great Hall shook as the very fabric of space began to tear. Headmaster Alaric, now stripped of his legendary weapon, fell to his knees. Around him, the other Masters of the Academy were chanting a forbidden seal, their mana intertwining to create a massive cage of white light around Caelum.
"It's over, Thorne!" one of the Council members screamed from the balcony. "This is the 'Heavenly Lock'. Not even a god can escape its boundaries!"
Caelum stood in the center of the glowing cage, his hands still tucked casually in his pockets. He looked at the white bars of light with a tilted head, as if he were inspecting a piece of broken glass.
"A Heavenly Lock?" Caelum whispered. "Interesting. You built a wall out of mana, assuming that I am also made of mana. That's your first mistake."
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: DETECTED_SUBROUTINE: HEAVENLY_LOCK_01]
[VULNERABILITY FOUND: TIME_STAMP_DISCREPANCY]
"You see," Caelum continued, walking straight toward the bars of the cage. "Every lock has a timer. Every system has a delay. I'm not going to break your lock. I'm just going to... speed it up."
Caelum reached out and touched the glowing white bar.
[COMMAND: OVERCLOCK_SYSTEM_TIME: TARGET: HEAVENLY_LOCK]
[VALUE: 1,000,000% SPEED]
In a split second, the white light flared with the intensity of a thousand suns, and then... it instantly flickered and died. The 'Heavenly Lock', designed to last for a hundred years, had just lived through its entire life cycle in a fraction of a second. It didn't break; it simply finished its existence and vanished.
The Masters fell backward, vomiting blood as their mana was violently ripped away. The hall was silent, save for the sound of Caelum's boots clicking on the stone floor as he walked toward the Headmaster's throne.
"The throne is a bit dusty, Alaric," Caelum said, turning around and sitting down on the golden chair that had ruled the Academy for centuries.
[GLOBAL NOTIFICATION: DOMAIN_OVERRIDE_COMPLETE]
[NEW_ADMINISTRATOR: CAELUM THORNE]
Suddenly, every student's 'Status Window' in the hall glitched. The blue screens flickered and turned blood-red. Their levels, their skills, their very names—everything began to scramble into unreadable gibberish.
"What are you doing to us?!" a student cried out, clutching his head.
"I'm updating your software," Caelum's voice echoed, now sounding like it was coming from inside their own minds. "From today, the Academy is no longer a school. It is a laboratory. And you... are the data."
A portal of black static opened beside the throne, and Kira stepped out, her blades dripping with glowing grey essence. "The Council is dealt with, Master. The High Elder Silas has been... quarantined."
"Good," Caelum leaned his head on his hand, looking down at the terrified masses. "Let the word out to the neighboring Kingdoms. Tell them the King of Errors has arrived. If they want to keep their 'Logic', they will have to pay for the license."
[OBJECTIVE UPDATED: WORLD_DOMINATION_PHASE_1_COMPLETE]
[CURRENT RANK: THE ARCHITECT]