Her ancient body moves with desperation that contradicts everything her usual composure suggested—banging against the invisible barrier with magical essence that crackles against surfaces designed to resist exactly this kind of assault.
"Without me, the final year won't unlock!"
The declaration carries desperation that makes my satisfaction grow.
I sigh.
The sound carries theatrical disappointment that I don't try to hide.
"A shame, wouldn't it be?"
The question is rhetorical—mockery disguised as inquiry.
"To not go through more unnecessary trials that make us learn nothing?"
I let the criticism settle.
"We don't grow," I continue. "We don't excel. We barely get time with one another."
My voice hardens with conviction.
"Frankly, that isn't an academy that's building its students to be the best they can be."
I shake my head with the particular disappointment of someone who expected better.
"It's simply setting them up for failure."
I meet her desperate gaze with steady resolve.
"And I won't account for that at all."
I smirk then.
The expression carries the particular satisfaction of someone who is about to deliver their final blow.
I lift my hand.
The motion draws attention to incantations that trace along my arm—magical symbols that have been accumulating since I first touched the throne, power that has been building toward this exact moment.
"These gates were controlled by you," I observe, "for us to enter these worlds and trials."
The accusation lands with weight that makes her ancient features pale.
"The deaths and chaos," I continue. "It was made by you."
I let the full weight of judgment settle into my words.
"You are the creator of this Wicked Academy that you assumed was what my parents yearned for."
My voice softens then—not with sympathy, but with the particular sadness of someone recognizing misunderstanding that has cost everything.
"And that's what makes you so different from my parents."
I meet her gaze with eyes that carry centuries of wisdom I didn't know I possessed.
"For you never truly understood their vision for the Academy of the Wicked."
I pause.
