Professor Squant's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Professor Squant unfolded the list and counted again. Seventeen experts had told them it couldn't be done. Seventeen, and every single one had studied under the same teacher — someone called the Founder, who was apparently still alive but had sealed themselves in chrysalis thirty years ago. No one knew why. No one knew when the Founder would emerge. But if anyone could help Squant reverse what metamorphosis had done, it would be the person who had taught everyone else that such things were impossible. Squant tucked the list back into their notebook and flew toward the place everyone had mentioned but no one had visited in years. The building sat at the edge of a clearing, shaped like a giant peapod with round green walls and oval windows that caught the afternoon light. Inside, according to the last expert Squant had spoken to, the Founder's chrysalis hung from the center beam. No guards. No students. Just silence and waiting. The door wasn't locked. Squant pushed it open with one wing and stepped inside, their feet clicking against the wooden floor. The chrysalis hung exactly where they'd been told it would be — pale and smooth, suspended by silk threads that looked older than Squant's entire search. They pulled out their notebook and opened to a fresh page, the one after all seventeen dismissals. This was different. This wasn't another expert saying no. This was the source. Squant wrote the date at the top of the page and began a new list. Things to try while waiting for the Founder to emerge. Underground alchemists who might know the Founder's work. Questions to ask when the chrysalis finally opened. The notebook felt heavier now, not with rejections but with something close to direction. For the first time since their metamorphosis, Squant wasn't chasing someone who would say no. They were simply here, in the same room as the only answer that mattered, willing to wait as long as it took.