Block 2 of the academy dormitories was unusually quiet that morning.
The long stone corridor stretched ahead in a straight line, its polished floor reflecting faint strips of pale sunlight spilling in through the tall windows along the wall. Normally there would have been the sound of students passing through—footsteps, laughter, someone calling to a friend down the hall—but today it was subdued. Most students had already finished breakfast and either retreated to their rooms to enjoy the rare quiet of a free morning or wandered outside to spend their day off in the open grounds of the academy.
The silence wasn't absolute.
There were small sounds here and there. The faint creak of a door somewhere far down the hall. The muffled murmur of voices through the walls. The distant echo of footsteps on another floor.
But compared to the usual liveliness of the dormitory halls, the atmosphere felt calm, almost still.
Ariana walked through the corridor alone.
