---
Fizz hovered low and pretended to be a normal contract spirit, which for him meant he only whispered every other minute.
The teacher started talking about mana routes and control, about why most people broke their flow by pushing too hard, and why control was more like holding a bird than gripping a hammer.
John listened. He wrote. He kept his face calm.
Inside him, the void thread stayed steady.
Until it did not.
Not pain. Not a stab. Not an injury.
A faint shift.
A small tug, like someone had lightly tapped the inside of his chest with one finger.
John's pen paused.
Fizz noticed instantly. "What was that," he whispered.
John did not move his head. "Quiet."
Fizz went quiet, which made the room feel stranger than any spell.
John breathed once. He reached inward with just a thin touch of awareness.
The mana platform inside the void still existed.
But Nyx was not curled in the center anymore.
