The morning light filtering through the academy's crystal windows felt different somehow—heavier, like the air before a thunderstorm.
Ethan sat in what appeared to be a routine student study session, his academy disguise perfect enough that even the enhanced senses around him detected nothing unusual.
To everyone else, he was just another promising young scholar working through advanced theoretical frameworks. None of them suspected they were sitting next to the person who could reshape their world with a single decision.
The communication crystal hidden within his textbook pulsed once, then twice—the signal for urgent but secure intelligence.
Ethan excused himself from the study group with the casual politeness of someone heading to the library, but his steps carried him toward one of the academy's many hidden alcoves where conversations could happen without curious ears.
