Elias stopped trying to ignore the hum.
That was the first difference.
Instead of pushing it away, instead of bracing himself every time it surfaced, he began to listen. Not with fear but with attention. The sensation wasn't constant. It rose and fell like a tide, responding to his thoughts, his breath, his focus.
Control, he realized, wasn't about silence.
It was about balance.
They returned to the hidden room together the next evening.
Mara didn't rush inside this time. She stood near the doorway, watching Elias closely. "You okay?"
"I think so," he said. "If I'm not, I'll stop."
That promise mattered.
He stepped forward. The symbols brightened but gently now, like a response rather than a warning.
"Try grounding yourself," Mara said. "Like before."
Elias nodded. He closed his eyes and focused on small things.
The cool stone beneath his feet.
The steady rhythm of his breathing
The fact that he wasn't alone.
The hum steadied.
A book slid an inch forward on the shelf.
Elias opened his eyes, startled.
"Did you do that?" Mara asked.
"I didn't push," he said slowly. "I just… allowed."
He tried again.
The book moved fully into his hand.
No tremor. No pressure. No fear.
Just response.
Mara smiled, real and bright this time. "You did it."
"So did the school," Elias said.
Not everything went smoothly.
Later, when a sudden noise echoed from the hallway outside, Elias flinched. The air tightened, sharp and immediate. The symbols flared too brightly.
"Hey," Mara said, stepping closer. "You're slipping."
"I know," he said, forcing himself to slow down. His pulse raced but he didn't panic.
The room calmed.
It took longer than before. But it worked.
"That's still control," Mara said quietly. "Even when it's messy."
Elias let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
On the way back, the school felt different.
Not quieter.
More respectful.
Doors opened smoothly. Lights stayed steady. The hum followed him like a companion instead of a warning.
At the base of the stairs, Elias paused.
"I don't think I'm meant to dominate this," he said. "Or fight it."
Mara leaned against the railing. "Then what are you meant to do?"
"Listen," he said. "And choose."
She studied him for a long moment. "You're changing."
He met her gaze. "So are you."
She smiled softly. "Maybe we're just becoming more honest."
That night, Elias dreamed of the wall again.
But this time, the name carved into the stone wasn't shaking.It was steady.
And beneath it, there was space.
As if the school was waiting to see what he would carve next.
*End of the chapter