The high-vaulted ceiling of the fourth-floor laboratory was quiet, illuminated only by the soft, green glow of the specialised containment vats.
Kale Ardentis stood before his central workbench, his fingers resting on the smooth wood.
His new domain was a stark contrast to his master's cluttered chamber.
It was clean, spacious, and fortified with heavy lead-mesh arrays designed to suppress even the most violent elemental fluctuations.
On the stone table lay his master-level certification... a parchment bearing the gold-rimmed seal of the Association, legally securing his political immunity.
The permanent subcutaneous seal on his neck thrummed with a steady, numb warmth, a constant reminder of the gold runic mesh resting beneath his skin.
