The gate, now devoid of its core, didn’t last long. The golden light that had spread throughout collapsed back into the gate, as if someone had pressed a rewind button, and then it crumbled into nothingness.

"That’s it. It’s finally over."

"Time won’t be tampered with anymore," said the Celestial and the Demon God, gracefully handling the last steps of their work. With their job done, we returned to the empty academy with Aria in tow.

Aria hadn’t spoken a single word the entire time. Leona was similarly silent, as were the others. Everyone here had been involved in one …