Chapter 640 - Blending With The Elves (End)

Mikhailis stepped out of the Archive-Tree's crystalline dome, the living wood archway closing behind him with a breath-like sigh that fluttered the ends of his coat. A hush swallowed him the instant that crystalline glow disappeared. Out here, the corridor swam in twilight greens and bruised violets, every curve of bark bathed in the slow pulse of lantern-fungi. Some caps burned bright jade, others ember-orange, and together they mottled the tunnel like stained glass on wet stone. Far below, sap-flows thumped in steady percussion—distant drums for a procession that felt half funeral, half parade.