The silence of the upper-campus estate was absolute, a stark contrast to the persistent, choking dampness of the Under-Mines. Christian stood quietly by the high window of his pavilion, hands clasped behind his back. To him, luxury was merely an environmental variable that reduced frictional drag. With his void core awakened, his perception of the environment had shifted into a geometric construct. He mapped the area along three axes: the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical planes. Every pillar and open space was assigned a precise mental coordinate. Within his immediate three-meter perimeter, the spatial grid of Kaelostra hummed softly—an invisible zone where physics belonged entirely to him, free from the uncalibrated parameters of conventional magic.His resting heart rate sat at exactly fifty-eight beats per minute. Even without the iron collar that had bitten into his neck for over a decade, his internal discipline remained purely mechanical. The skin where the brand should have