Night in the upper quarters of the Academy fell quiet like a held breath.
Too quiet.
The lamps along the stone corridors were dimmed with enchantments... low flickers of white-blue mana that cast no warmth, only shadow. Sound faded here, swallowed by sigils carved into the walls centuries ago.
Nclai walked them alone.
Not sneaking. Just... unannounced.
The Observation tier had no curfew. That was the unspoken rule.
It was their way of saying, "We expect nothing from you."
He passed an open arch that led toward the Bloodline Archives. Faint whispers echoed beyond it. Not words. Just... tones.
He ignored them.
His hand brushed the sigils carved into the railing as he climbed the side stair toward the unmonitored floor.
A familiar pulse stirred behind his ribs.
...
[Crimson Sovereign Protocol: Stable]
[Sync Ratio: 2.3%]
[Passive Trait: Blood Sensitivity Lv.1]
Mastery: 1.7%
Effect Radius: 3.6 meters
...
He paused.
Below. Just barely.
A ripple.
Not awkward as schoolchildren. Not inattentive as the hybrids.
This one pulsed... sharp. Precise.
Nclai looked grimly.
Another presence. Moving through the corridor opposite him. Fast. Too fast for a student.
And too quiet.
...
Suddenly, a figure passed beneath the landing.
Robed. Hooded. The sigils on their shoulders glinted... Inquisitor Black-Class. Not instructors. Not nobles. Not bound to the academy hierarchy.
They were watchers.
And they didn't sense him.
Not yet.
He waited until the figure vanished into a stairwell, then resumed walking, hands tucked into his coat sleeves.
The Protocol in his head stirred again.
Something about that blood signature wasn't natural.
The speed. The compression of it.
As if... masked.
...
By the time he reached the west wing, the torchlights had died completely.
He didn't need them.
His steps took him past the unused classrooms, the broken ritual chamber from an older war, the mirrorless hall where reflection magic once cursed an entire student batch.
He stopped just before a locked door.
It was carved with a sun-shaped glyph and sealed with five tiers of warding.
The door hummed when he neared it.
Like it remembered something.
His scar burned faintly.
He raised his palm.
...
[Blood Sensitivity: Passive Reaction Triggered]
Signature Detected: Unknown, Suppressed Lineage
Alert: Permission denied. Containment protocol active.
...
He lowered his hand.
This wasn't for him.
Not yet.
...
Footsteps behind him. Light. Familiar.
He didn't turn.
"I told you they'd move you," Lyra said.
He said nothing.
"I overheard a Night Warden talking about you. They think you're broken. That the system fragment you awakened is unstable."
"I know."
She moved to stand beside him.
"You're letting them believe it."
He didn't answer.
She looked at the sealed door. "What is this place?"
"Old Sovereign research chamber," he said. "Before the war. Before the clans."
Lyra stiffened.
"Those weren't supposed to exist anymore."
"They don't."
He turned away.
She followed.
...
As they returned to the dorm halls, a final notification stirred in his mind... quiet, slow, and unfinished.
...
[Warning: External Blood Signature Detected - Suppressed Hunger Class]
[Distance: 67 meters]
[Action Suggested: Observe, Do Not Engage]
[Reason: Sync Ratio below activation threshold]
...
He said nothing.
But behind his silence, the system whispered again.
Something old was watching.
And it was hungry.
...