Xara led the way without another word, while Jax followed at an unhurried pace, boots echoing softly against obsidian pathways as the city shifted around them.
The deeper they went, the quieter Aurelion's Fall became.
Public platforms gave way to narrower bridges, the ambient hum of citizens fading into a subdued, reverent silence. Here, the architecture changed subtly, it was less grand
The towering spires curved inward protectively, and the runes etched into the walls were older, denser, layered with contingencies upon contingencies. These weren't defensive wards meant to repel enemies.
They were meant to contain something, and Jax picked up on that immediately.
"These wards," he said calmly, eyes tracing the air where invisible sigils overlapped, "They're not keyed for hostility."
Xara glanced back at him, a faint smirk touching her lips. "Of course you'd catch that. No, they're stabilizers,"
