Chapter 19
last update2025-08-05 18:32:16

They moved cautiously, Kael running a hand along the wall until he felt a temperature shift—slightly warmer air. A pathway.

Eventually, they found a spiralled incline etched into the rock itself. It twisted upwards in a slow arc, emerging just beyond the edge of the trial perimeter.

As they stepped back onto the marked trail, Kael’s rune compass which had been silent for hours flared to life. The glow was immediate, almost eager, as though it hadn’t been dormant at all.

When they returned to the Academy, the instructors took their report with polite nods and vague interest.

“Strange anomalies,” one muttered, barely looking up. “We’ll investigate.”

But Kael saw it: the way Instructor Ember’s eyes darted away from his, the stiffness in her posture. A flicker of something less clinical than disinterest. Guilt? Or fear?

He didn’t press it.

That night, Kael couldn’t sleep.

He drifted from the barracks and wandered to the edge of the dormitory courtyard. The torches in the archways had gutt
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