"Don't panic. It was just an accident..." Annan stayed calm despite being suddenly surrounded by darkness and uncertainty.
"Let's try to restore the Mage Tower first... Tower Spirit, are you still there?"
Only Annan's echo and faint sounds from other floors answered him in the empty Operations Floor.
Chaos was brewing as the Mage Tower lost its power.
By the Red Ghost's faint glow, Annan tried to carry the diamond-shaped Cursed Soul Crystal back to its pedestal. Then a streak of fire appeared in the night sky. It first flickered beyond Breeze City, then rapidly grew clearer, trailing a straight line as it hurtled toward the Mage Tower. To the countless residents looking up, it seemed like an illusion as it vanished into the darkened tower.
But for Annan, who faced the "meteor" on the Operations Floor, it was another matter entirely. Miraculous Sacred Flame wrapped a blurred figure, its scorching heat nearly searing his soul as it lit the entire floor:
A boy in a Mage Robe stood frozen, clutching the diamond-shaped Cursed Soul Crystal. Beside him was a furtive ghost holding a magic stone.
"It's not what it looks like..."
Before Annan could say more, blinding white light engulfed him, and his thoughts went blank—
He did not know how much time passed. As the white light in his vision faded, his awareness returned, and a cold snort cut through the shrill ringing in his head.
"I saw what happened in your head. Gutter scum..."
The insult made Annan think of a second Michael.
The fiery figure began restoring the Mage Tower. A suffocating torrent of magic power surged forth, gathering and crystallizing into the Cursed Soul Crystal that reappeared on its copper pedestal.
Returning light drove the darkness from the Mage Tower.
"Deal with this, and you