The soil is dry. That means she hasn’t watered them all day.
Sedina cherished the plants enough to come to the assistant’s office in the morning just to water them.
Even on busy days, she never once skipped coming early at dawn to tend to the pots.
To dismiss it as simple forgetfulness would be impossible—the weight of her consistency was different.
Someone who dragged herself in with apologies no matter what happened, suddenly absent without a word?
Ludger suddenly recalled the conversation other professors had shared at the dining hall earlier today.
He looked out the window.
On the peaceful grounds of Seorn, students walked under the warm sunlight.
It was the same scenery as always, but today it felt strangely out of place.
First, finding Sedina was the priority.
As Ludger opened the staff office door with that thought, [N O V E L I G H T] he ran into a student about to enter.
“Julia? What brings you here?”
“Sedina didn’t come today. I thought something might have happened, so I came to ask... Is she here?”
“I was just about to go look for her myself. It’s strange. A usually diligent girl, suddenly absent without notice.”
“I know where Sedina’s room is.”
The two of them headed toward Sedina’s dormitory.
She had been given a room to herself. Since it was the women’s dormitory, Ludger waited outside.
It did not take Julia long to return from searching.
But her expression—
It was more serious than ever before.
“Professor. Sedina...”
“What happened? Is she inside?”
Julia nodded, lips trembling.
“Sedina won’t wake up.”
* * *
Zero Order drifted in the sky.
A high altitude where breathing was difficult.
Even a short stay would coat the skin in frost under subzero temperatures, yet he was unscathed.
Below him stretched endless white clouds, above him the vast blue heavens.
It felt like the world lay beneath his feet.
But Zero Order kept looking upward.
Because above the ocean of clouds where he stood, something greater still hovered.
Wings. Enormous wings.
Three pairs of white, birdlike wings spread wide, while another three pairs wrapped around its body—an oddly formed being.
With a single beat of its wings, it overturned the land.
With a second, it erased kingdoms.
With a third, it tore the heavens.
In ancient records, it was said to appear only once in an age, bringing storms and tempests in its wake.
The Elemental Lord of Wind.
The Elemental Lord of Wind hovered silently at high altitude where oxygen was scarce, without even stirring its wings.
One might ask why it bore wings if it did not need them to fly. But that was ignorance.
For if those wings were ever to stir, it would herald an irreversible calamity.
Zero Order gazed at the Elemental Lord of Wind in silence.
It appeared to be asleep.
Not just seemingly—it was truly in a slumber with no telling when it might awaken.
Yet to move closer would be courting death.
Zero Order stood precisely on the boundary.
One step further, and the Elemental Lord of Wind would sense the intruder and react.
That was not what Zero Order desired.
Beep.
A magic tool tucked in his coat lit up.
“Hm.”
After confirming the signal, Zero Order’s body dropped downward.
He plunged through the sea of clouds, leaving a long white trail.
Minutes of freefall passed.
At last, the dense canopy of forest came into view.
Just before striking the ground, Zero Order twisted his body, landing lightly on both feet.
The landing was so effortless, so graceful, it seemed natural.
Zero Order showed no joy, only turned his gaze forward.
“Were you watching the Elemental Lord again?”
The man who had sent the signal awaited him there.
“Well, there’s no harm in checking regularly.”
The one who had called him—Franz—lifted his head to the clouds above the forest.
To his eyes, nothing was visible beyond the clouds.
But if Zero Order had been up there, then the Elemental Lord of Wind was surely present.
“Why pay so much attention to a spirit that has slept for centuries?”
At that, Zero Order gave a faint smile.
“Because when the Elemental Lord of Wind awakens, it will be troublesome.”
All Elemental Lords were dangerous in their own right.
But the Elemental Lord of Wind was exceptional.
If it willed it, it could cross the continent at over five times the speed of sound.
With a wingspan of 300 meters, its speed was beyond perception.
To say a single wingbeat overturned the land was no exaggeration.
If it chose, it could tear through the stratosphere or slaughter life upon the surface.
Of course, beings of nature did not normally act so.
But the Elemental Lord of Wind was different.
Other Elemental Lords, no matter what unfolded in the world, usually remained observers.
Even the recently sighted Elemental Lord of Earth, with its unusual patterns, did not interfere in the ecosystem.
But the Elemental Lord of Wind was not like that.
It was the only one in ancient history to ever create a Contractor.
An Elemental Lord is the ultimate state all spirits of its element strive toward.
Naturally, like lesser spirits, it was not impossible for them to form contracts—at least in theory.
“That one bears a vow.”
The Elemental Lord of Wind, having once formed a Contractor, carried an eternal pact engraved into its being.
Even with the Contractor long dead, the vow still existed.
If the trigger were pulled, if the vow caused it to open its eyes—
Even Zero Order could not predict what would happen to the world then.
For once it moved, no being in existence could stop it.
Not even another Elemental Lord.
The realm of the Wind Lord’s dominion was the entire sky.
The Elemental Lord of Fire, dwelling in volcanic magma.
The Elemental Lord of Water, sunk deep in the abyss of the seas.
The Elemental Lord of Ice, confined to frozen lands.
The Elemental Lord of Earth, slumbering beneath the ground.
All their realms combined still could not rival the vast dominion of the Wind.
That was why the Elemental Lord of Wind was to be feared.
“It’s best if the Typhoon never awakens.”
“Is there not another reason as well?”
“Well, I can’t say there isn’t. Anyway—why did you call me here?”
Zero Order smoothly shifted the subject.
Franz did not press further. He too had urgent business.
“It seems... the subject has already begun to move.”
“Hm. If you put it that way, then...”
Zero Order let out a wry smile.
“So it has finally awakened. [Nirva].”
* * *
“Sedina is inside. But her condition isn’t good.”
“Not good? In what way?”
“She’s asleep.”
Asleep?
At this hour, if she was in the dormitory, it would not be strange if she had lain down from fatigue or illness.
But the one saying this was Julia Plumehart—
A mage of the Dream School, and a future master-level Dreamwalker.
Of course she would know better than anyone whether Sedina was simply sleeping or lying unconscious for another reason.
“Tell me exactly—what state is Sedina in?”
“She’s sleeping as if dead. No matter how much external stimulation is applied, she won’t wake. Quite literally, she has fallen into a sleep from which she cannot awaken.”
“Has there been a similar case?”
“Yes. But it has never been observed in ordinary people. It usually happens to Dreamwalkers. Specifically, to those who grew greedy beyond their limits.”
“Greedy... could it be what I think it is?”
Julia gave a heavy nod.
“Yes. Sedina is now trapped in Dreamland.”
Julia looked around the dormitory.
It was the same dormitory as always, yet now that the abnormality had been confirmed, it looked different.
Inside, besides Sedina, there were other students who could not awaken from their sleep.
Not just here.
The boys’ dormitory would be the same, as well as the quarters where the staff lived.
“An unspecified number of people have fallen into Dreamland. No matter how I look at it, this is not natural.”
“Yes. I think someone deliberately carried out a terrorist act.”
“Terrorism, you say.”
It was not strange for such a thing to happen.
If someone targeted Seorn with terrorism, it would create massive ripples across the world.
But the method was unusual.
To cast people into a sleep they could never wake from?
Even Ludger had never heard of such a thing.
‘Could it be because of what I saw before, deep within Dreamland?’
This incident could not be said to be unrelated to the god pinned by the Stake.
In any case, it was deeply tied to Dreamland.
But for now, he had no proper answer.
What mattered more than why this had happened was how to resolve it.
“I must inform the Headmaster of the situation.”
“There’s no need for that.”
It was at that moment that another voice was heard.
Ludger and Julia turned their gazes toward the one who had spoken.
“Because I came here myself.”
Elisa Willow, Headmaster of Seorn.
She appeared with light steps.
Her face wore its usual soft smile, but a subtle trace of irritation lingered there.
“I came here to see Miss Julia because of the incident taking place right now... but to think you would be here as well, Professor Ludger.”
“So you too are aware of the situation, Headmaster. How did you come to know of it?”
“Wilford did not come to work today.”
“...That is rather serious.”
Wilford was a retired knight.
Moreover, he possessed at least the skill of a high-ranking knight.
Even though he had grown old, Wilford still had a mind and body far beyond that of any ordinary person.
‘If even Wilford could do nothing and fell into sleep.’
That meant this mysterious incident was unaffected by the strength of the victim.
“We may need to consider evacuating the students and staff outside of Seorn.”
“If we assume the worst, yes. We don’t know how the situation will develop, but if we move diligently now, we may be able to end it here.”
“I understand. If such an incident were to occur so soon after the semester began, it would cause all sorts of trouble.”
It had not yet reached a dangerous level.
But the fuse was already lit, and the spark was racing toward the powder keg.
They did not know when it might explode.
So they could not remain complacent.
“To suddenly fall into a dream... this must be magic related to Dreamwork?”
Julia shook her head.
“If it were dream magic, I would have noticed it before anyone else. The fact that I didn’t notice until things reached this point means it is something different.”
“Hmm. As Headmaster, it may be improper to say this, but... is it not possible there exists a mage more skilled than you, Miss Julia?”
“No.”
Julia denied it firmly.
Her answer was so sharp and certain that both Ludger and Elisa were taken aback.
“I am marked as the next Master’s successor. There may be Dreamwalkers who surpass me in raw ability, but there is no Dreamwalker who could wield dream magic so skillfully as to deceive my eyes. Not even the current Master.”
Her voice did not waver.
Her clear eyes carried conviction.
It was a stance that could not be shown without absolute confidence in her own talent.
Truly, she was worthy of her overwhelming position as top student.
Elisa regarded Julia with a gaze filled with complex emotion.
To Elisa, Julia was a strange child.
She stirred within her an odd sense of nostalgia.
‘Yes. This girl resembles me.’
Elisa realized the source of the familiarity she felt.
Julia was a reflection of herself in her student years.
Overwhelming talent that looked down on peers with ease, and infinite trust in that very talent.
‘A little nostalgic.’
There had been a time when she too brimmed with such audacity.
Not now.
It was not humility. She had simply grown used to concealing that boldness.
Would this child grow to become like her, or someone else entirely?
Elisa envisioned that amusing future while fixing her eyes on the present reality.
“Whatever the case, this incident means there is a caster somewhere. And that caster must be inside Seorn.”
“A caster, yes. But won’t it take far too long to identify them? There are more than ten thousand people staying here.”
“For now, it would be best to scatter and search before the situation worsens.”
“Professor Ludger is right.”
“Shall we inform the other instructors of the situation?”
“We must. Not everyone—only those we can truly trust with this.”
For now, they would scatter and seek out clues.
Having agreed, the three separated.
Ludger headed outside Seorn.
Though the incident was unfolding inside, there was a chance that someone had secretly infiltrated from outside.
And nothing was better for confirming that than the private information network he had established in Rederbelk.
As he entered Royal Street, a guide approached him as if waiting.
“Owner. We have been waiting.”
“What is it?”
Normally, he would have feigned ignorance, but the fact that they had come to him directly meant there was indeed business.
Yet the guide could not answer immediately.
From that hesitation, Ludger sensed unease.
“Where is Hans?”
“Please, follow me.”
Follow? Normally Hans would be in the secret branch office, reviewing documents.
Ludger followed the guide to where Hans was said to be.
It was Hans’s personal residence.
“......”
And Hans was there—
Sleeping in his room as if dead.
No matter how much he was shaken, he would not wake, sunk in the deepest of slumbers.