The shockwave from the subterranean vaults shook the entire Grand Library.
Bookshelves swayed along all seven levels, sending hundreds of heavy volumes tumbling to the hardwood floors.
The central chandelier of enchanted crystals flickered wildly before dying out, plunging the main reading room into dim shadow.
High above, the library's automated security wards activated with a loud, ringing chime.
"Attention all students!" Master Vance's voice reverberated through the amplification runes.
"Evacuate the main hall immediately! All faculty report to the lower archives!"
Julian and Orion were already in the lower archives when the secondary breach occurred.
The heavy iron door leading to the Restricted Vaults blew outward with explosive force, its stone frame shattering into granite dust.
A column of swirling, ink-black mist poured out of the doorway, carrying a cold wave of void-energy that turned nearby wooden desks into crumbling grey powder.
Where the void mist touched magical parchment, the ink dissolved instantly, leaving blank, ruined scrolls.
"The Void Tome," Julian realized in horror.
"The ancient binding in Vault Seven has failed!"
The void mist began to rise up the central library shaft, warping the gravity fields that held the floating staircases in place.
Staircases shifted at awkward forty-five-degree angles; bookshelves began to float upside down toward the ceiling.
Human mages attempting to reach the lower vaults were pushed back by the violent anti-gravity winds and the suffocating void mist.
"It's too dense for human casting!" an senior archivist shouted from the upper balcony.
"The gravity distortion will crush anyone over fifty pounds!"
Julian looked at Orion, who was hovering beside his shoulder, his small silver body light and nimble in the shifting air currents.
"You can fly through the gravity traps," Julian realized, looking at his small griffin companion.
"You are light enough to reach the altar."
Only the blue glow of Orion's starlight aura illuminated the immediate hallway.
A massive surge of dark void-mist poured out of the breach, flooding the corridor with icy black fog.
"The Void Tome!" Julian gasped, pulling Orion back from the expanding shadow.
"The containment spell has broken!"
An emergency warning bell began to toll from the academy tower above, its loud bronze strikes reverberating through the halls.
The void-mist began to distort the local gravity fields in the archives.
Stone floor tiles broke loose and floated upward toward the ceiling; heavy oak chairs spun slowly in mid-air.
Faculty mages rushed down the spiral stairs, but the violent anti-gravity drafts threw them back.
"The gravity rift is too wild!" Senior Archivist Elara shouted down the stairwell.
"Human mages will be crushed by the kinetic pressure!"
"You are light enough to reach the altar at the bottom!"
The explosion from the lower vault sent a shockwave through the entire academy foundation.
Upper library shelves collapsed, sending thousands of rare volumes cascading down the central stairwells.
The magical crystal chandelier crashed onto the lower reading floor, shattering into glowing blue shards.
Outside in the courtyard, the emergency bell began to ring furiously, alerting the entire campus to a major breach.
Inside the lower archives, the void-mist poured out of the broken iron door like a black river.
The gravity field around the entrance warped violently.
Heavy oak tables floated into the air, spinning upside down as if suspended in water.
Julian had to anchor himself to a stone pillar to keep from being pulled into the dark vortex.
Senior Archivist Elara tried to cast a barrier rune, but the void-mist absorbed the spell instantly, turning the magic into black dust.
"The Void Tome is consuming the library's mana!" Elara shouted over the howling wind.
"We cannot approach the breach without risking total gravity collapse!"
Julian held tightly to the pillar, looking down into the whirling vortex of shadow and floating debris.
Orion hovered right beside his shoulder, his lightweight body immune to the violent kinetic pressure.
"Orion can fly through the rift!" Julian called out to the archivists.
"He can reach the altar at the bottom!"
Senior Archivist Elara quickly directed the younger students to safety outside the main hall.
The void-mist continued to swirl violently around the subterranean shaft.
"You can do this, Orion," Julian encouraged his small friend.
Orion nodded bravely, spread his silver wings, and launched into the shifting anti-gravity draft.
The shockwave had thrown the archives into complete disarray, but Julian stayed calm.
He knew that panic would only make the situation worse.
"You're the only one who can navigate the anti-gravity shaft, Orion," Julian reminded his companion.
Orion chirped bravely, giving Julian a reassuring head-nudge before diving into the vortex.
Julian held his wand high, maintaining a beacon of blue light at the top of the shaft to guide Orion back.