The murmurs hadn't stopped.
Even as Zane stepped back from the shattered pedestal, the atmosphere around the assembly ground had shifted. Professors exchanged glances, and some students stared at him like he'd just grown horns.
Nyx manifested beside him, only visible to his eyes. Her form, cloaked in flowing darkness and violet embers, watched the chaos with amused indifference.
"Nyx," Zane whispered, "what the hell just happened?"
She chuckled softly. "What did you expect?"
Zane clenched his fists. "Something less... dramatic."
Nyx tilted her head. "You wield the Void, Zane. Even if it's still a flicker, that power doesn't bend—it breaks. These crystals are made to measure mana. The Void isn't mana."
Zane blinked. "Then what is it?"
She turned to face him fully, her eyes gleaming like twin stars.
"The Void is potential. It's destruction. It's creation. It's every element and none. It cannot be measured. It devours what tries to contain it."
Zane exhaled slowly as realization sank in.
Suddenly, a voice barked from the stage.
It was one of the robed instructors, eyes narrowed at Zane with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity.
Sera gave him a worried glance from the line. He gave her a half-smile before walking forward, hiding the twist of nerves in his stomach.
The whispers followed him.