Cassidy looks at the person who arrived, with a huge concern on his face, she knew what happened. She sighs and looks back at Patricia, who was confused with the sudden and terrifying arrival of a person unknown to her. "I'm afraid that we need to hold the special class for a while. Are you up to waiting for me here or do you want to postpone it? This is an urgent matter at hand, and I will be gone for a moment."
"I'm fine with waiting for you, Miss Cassidy. While at it, I could go to the town and have some snacks for myself and even explore the school. With how this mister sound, it seems very urgent." Cassidy smiles, "Thank you for understanding me. See you later around four." She turns to the man who called her attention and follows him out of the class building.
Patricia watches them leave and an idea struck her mind. Her curiosity conquered her thinking as she thought of following Miss Cassidy to see what happened. She peeks from the door of the building she's in. She can still see her professor but seemingly running towards the back part of the school. It piques her curiosity more and followed them, avoiding herself to be conspicuous with the people around them.
Even with a map, the school was still big to grasp for her. She arrived on what seems to be the area for 4th-year students. The buildings were much different from the area for the lesser years, they are much more unique to one another instead of the same old buildings. There is an obvious division between the areas of the seniors, seemingly holding different courses if she got to her last years.
In her eyes she caught Miss Cassidy going to a gate that was secluded among the buildings. It seems that it was intentionally hidden away, especially having it at the very back of the school. As the teacher arrived, she was escorted by some uniformed guards that were watching the gate. What must be beyond the gate is something crucial and/or dangerous for students to pass through.
The guards unknowingly left the gate unguarded which gave Patricia more chance to see what was happening. She sneaks behind the wall, looking beyond the school's 'premises'. She could see a wooded area, a forest at the back of her school. It was no ordinary forest. The color of the tree's leaves was much more vibrant and lively than what she had seen, even with the trees that were most cared for and looked out for. They were not packed densely, they were spaced enough for Patricia to see the foggy inside of the forest. With the atmosphere like this, it sent shivers down Patricia's spine. It was a chilling feeling, but she feels the forest call for her.
She looks around for any person that could catch her going out of the school. She's already there, it will be a waste of time for her to not go further. She steps outside of the school, a chilling breeze welcomed her to the forest.
In the distance, she could see the silhouette of the people she saw just moments ago. She decided to follow them at a distance, hiding among the trees. She could hear their conversation among the tree trunks.
"Miss Bethel-Craith already ordered the Wardens to guard the Monadentro." She could hear her Pristinity professor sighs, "Then why did the Monadentro burst again? We will get scolded by the COIC and the Thereal High Governing Ministry again. If this problem persists, there are a lot of problems that will branch out of this."
"We understand the weight of the situation, Miss Stanton. The Wardens did their best to stop the tree from bursting again. We even came to the point that we communicated with the previous wardens and even the ones that are still studying. The Wardens we have don't have enough power to stop the tree, that's why we called to you Miss Stanton. You're the only one who could control the situation. Miss Bethel-Craith couldn't even do anything."
"Then you should have said it to me when the situation was still mild." She sighs, "There's no point of arguing about this. I supposed you seek my help at the right time, not when everything is irreversible, right?" A guard nods, "One of the interns already said to seek help from you, but Warden Clarissa said that they could handle it." "Then they can't…" Cassidy sighs, "Clarissa hasn't learned her lesson before. I need to have a word to her again."
Patricia carefully listens to their conversation, she was surprised by everything that was happening. Her mind's getting more and more curious, she couldn't turn and step back anymore.
After minutes of trekking in the forest, they have arrived on an open area where in the middle, a huge and thick tree stands tall. It's imbued with different colors on every side, mainly bright red, sky blue, yellow, and silver. Its roots were visible and extends towards the ground below the hill it's standing on. Its canopy was brimmed with leaves, ones with have streaks of the four colors that she sees on the trunk. In the middle of the truck were particular wisps of magic that are compacted on the holes of the trunk. It has the common four colors with one that was unique, it was bright white, probably the most eye-catching of all.
Around the tree were people that are wearing stylized robes, all imbued with what seemed symbols of the main elements with one big symbol on the chest that seems to represent something. Patricia can't get the context of what it was, but she listens closely for any information to catch.
"Miss Cassidy! We are glad that you have arrived. We hope that we didn't disturb you." The professor sighs, "Matters like these will never be a disturbance for me. Besides, I have just been out for a day or two. I will not complain about going back to the usual work once I arrived from Greensward. Explain to me clearly what happened."
A lady that seems older than everyone else steps forward, "The matter at hand has already been fixed days before. I was so content that the Monadentro will not go and malfunction once more. I even reported to the COIC that the problem was fixed and the usual exchange of people from Thereal to the Earth should resume." She sighs, "I miscalculated how much damaged that tree was."
"The Singularity, is it still intact?" The lady nods, "Although, it has been flickering for days. The panic that this situation may have brought to the nations has affected the singularity and the tree more. I suggest not to report this to the COIC or be known to any governing body of every region so that the people could calm down. Doing so will calm the energy of the Singularity as well."
Cassidy approaches the tree and caresses it gently with her hand. She closes her eyes and 'feels' the tree. She opened and looked at them with disappointment. "The tree is still not very well. Monadentro might have been still struggling with the polarity that it was exposed to before. Where have you seized that?"
"Mister Hickmott said that he has sealed it in a safe place, away from the school." A familiar voice said among the crowd. It was no other than the Vice-Chancellor, arriving in the forest. Patricia fixes her position for no one to get a glimpse of her sight. "The COIC arrived an hour later. They told us that the situation isn't getting better. It gave me an idea to visit here." She looks at Cassidy, "Miss Stanton, have you any answer on why the singularity is behaving like this? For the 18 years that I have been serving the school and having the responsibility to take guard of the forest and the tree itself, I have not encountered this problem."
"It's because of the polarity that Mister Hickmott has gladly sealed." Cassidy sighs, "But I foresee that this is not going to be a long-term solution for this problem. As long as there's another energy of singularity that exists beyond the existing singularity itself, things will just get much worse." She sighs, "There's no way of possibly destroying it since it's magic, but I am confused why it was created in the first place. It goes against every basic rule and law of magic."
"But the solution we have now is better than nothing." Sophronia sighs, "The suspect that seemingly created the energy was not yet caught nor determined. We have possibilities and some suspicion, but no one came clean."
"It's fine, Miss Bethel-Craith. You should have known that no one will admit a crime that this huge and destructive. There's only one lead that I could give to you." The Vice-Chancellor took an interest, "What is it?" Cassidy looks at the tree, "The tree itself is a powerful enough vessel for the Singularity and other elements to mutually reside in. Especially all of these came from every corner of every region. Whoever made the polarity is powerful enough to handle the essence of Singularity inside them. The suspect could be young as a young adult or could be old as 30 if following the three peaks of a human."
"Your contribution has been noted. I know you will be a big help, Miss Stanton." Cassidy smiles, "I will do everything to contribute to Monadentro." The head lady approached her, "Miss Cassidy and Miss Bethel-Craith, could we have a word on you two for a moment? I and the Wardens have discovered something. It's not about the matter at hand but something else."
They walked behind the tree and to a separate area that was connected through a path. The other Wardens decided to take a rest from the exhaustion that they have been enduring and the guards followed the authoritative figures to the secret area.
Silence conquered the forest. Patricia could only hear the whistling of the wind, the rustling of the leaves, and sometimes even the chirps of the bird. She looks at the tree and stares at it in its glory, especially without people around it. It was so mystical and enticing. It was the most beautiful thing she have seen in her whole life, she doesn't regret coming all the way here. The destination was too beautiful to pass on.
She walks mindlessly towards the tree, still mesmerized with every mark, every leaf, and everything about it. "Monadentro..." She whispered under her breath as she walks up to the trunk of the tree. Every step was light as if she was walking on the clouds.
The view was even better up close, she could see the things she have been curious about since she laid her eyes on the tree. She places her palm on the tree trunk. It was a rough texture, but she feels blissful as she touches it. She looks at the concentrated wisps of magic that was engraved in the tree. She feels compelled to touch them like a moth to light. Her fingers reached for the white one. As her fingertip comes into contact with the white wisp, she felt a wave of wind go through her arm.
Her sense suddenly jolted as she looks at her side. She could see someone going at the tree. Her mind suddenly snapped to reality and run out of the place. She can feel someone was running after her, she tried her best to run faster and even use the trees to maneuver and lost the person after her. But she feels like she's not covering a larger distance. After a while of running, not too long, someone held her hand and was forced to face the individual after her. The familiar hue of the hair makes her heart thump heavier than before. "Miss Prudent?"