No wave of mana formed on the training ground, no teleportation rune appeared, and no one could follow his path.
Only in one moment he was there, and in the next, his empty space remained among the training ground's stones.
At the same time, Daniel appeared before the white palace on the mountain. A cold wind blew from the cliff's edge, spinning tiny snowflakes in the air.
The palace courtyard was vast but empty. The white stones of the courtyard floor were so clean and polished that it seemed no one had walked on them for years.
At the end of the courtyard, a woman stood by the cliff's edge. Her very long white hair moved in the wind and reached down to her waist.
She wore a simple, all-white robe, without any emblem, ornament, or extra color. Beside her, a long sword with a white sheath leaned against the stone wall.
The woman released no mana, but her presence alone made the surrounding space cold and heavy.
