You follow Maeka deeper into the academy as she asks the council audience to remain in the outer hall. As you enter you see that water and lava entwine, combining together in the center of the room in some sort of apparatus. Is this what Kiva meant in the underground about Mages pushing the boundaries of what's possible? Are they experimenting with lava, just like the Voek did?

Maeka places the artifact on the central platform, allowing a magnetic force to suspend it into the air.

"This is the heart of the academy. Our most precious room." Maeka gestures to four pedestals placed at different intervals. "This place is meant to represent the four elements. The symbols we saw — I think we need to use our powers together to awaken the artifact."

Haden, who had been feeling quite out of place in this mage world stood beside you, she nods and repeats aloud. "Seek the strongest of the Mages, and bind their powers with earth. Only then will the path open. That's what the girl of light said." This must be the right place!

Under Maeka's instruction, each of the Mage leaders stands before their pedestals. At once they conjure their magic, channeling the elements around them — fire from the lava, the air, the water, the stone of the academy's walls. Together they direct their energy toward the artifact.

The artifact's symbols blaze white hot, then flicker into lifelessness. You frown and glance at one another, confused. The mage leaders did what they were supposed to. Why didn't it work?

Maeka's gaze lingers on the artifact, a hint of puzzlement in her eyes. "Perhaps there is something we are overlooking," she murmurs, almost to herself. The room falls into a contemplative silence, the only sound being the soft hum of the suspended artifact.

From beneath the parapet of the central platform, a soft clank echoes, like the sound of a machine catching and then falling silent. The noise barely registers, yet it sends a shiver through the room, hinting at mechanisms hidden from view, waiting for some trigger to bring them to life.

Why didn't anything happen? Make a prediction in Thy Quests.

Next: E3Q3 A Light Touch