Some inherit power.
Others are chosen by what was lost.
The morning after the Reflection Hall collapsed, Aren Kael stood before the Delegation Council.
The chamber was quiet.
Too quiet.
Seria sat at the center, dressed in black and crimson. Kaela leaned against a wall, arms folded. Mira was pale. Lysara, for once, looked worried.
"Tell us what you saw," Seria said.
Aren told them everything.
The mirrors.
The lost author.
The Null Proxy.
The page.
He handed the gold-folded parchment to Mira. She touched it—then gasped.
"It's still alive. The thread... it's evolving."
Kaela frowned. "That's not supposed to happen."
Lysara stood. "Then the question is no longer 'What did Aren find?'"
She looked at him directly.
"It's 'Why him?'"
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Aren turned as the doors opened.
Three other students entered the hall.
All from Class F.
All holding blank pages.
All blinking in confusion.
Seria exhaled.
