>Mrs. Mavis stepped forward, her voice steady but edged with urgency. “Listen closely. What I’m about to say doesn’t leave this room. Not until the High Authority gives us clearance.”
>Willow sat upright, her tail stiff with anticipation.
>Alan folded his arms, looking uncharacteristically grave. “There’s been a major development. One of the High Authority task forces launched a raid this morning. They located the hiding site of Saint Neal and the Sun Phoenix Movement.”
>The students gasped. Even Ronnie’s eyes widened at the name. The whispers of Saint Neal had haunted the academy halls for weeks, but never with certainty. The idea that the Authority had actually found him… it was almost unbelievable.
>Alan continued. “It was a sanatorium in the middle of nowhere. Remote, fortified. The task force moved in fast and hard, ready to break the Movement once and for all.” He paused, glancing at Mavis.
>Her golden eyes narrowed, her words measured and heavy. “But when they breached the building…” She hesitated, searching for the right phrase. “The Sun Phoenix Movement was gone.”
>Silence dropped like a hammer.
>“Gone?” Sailor Norm asked, leaning forward. “As in… escaped?”
>Coach Roma growled low in her throat. “As in vanished. Every trace of them. No members. No weopens. No Saint Neal.” She clenched her fists. “It was like they dissolved into smoke.”
>The students exchanged horrified looks. Aya muttered, “That’s impossible…” while Gwendolyn hugged her arms to her chest. Ronnie’s brow furrowed, the wheels in his head turning fast.
>Alan’s voice cut through the dread. “The raid was supposed to end this movement before it grew. Instead… the Sun Phoenix slipped through the Authority’s hands in a matter of moments. No one can explain how. No trails, no signs of escape. Just… gone.”