Between Dust and Data

Before he could respond—before he could so much as move—the ruins reacted.

A tremor shuddered through the chamber, deep and resonant, like the earth itself had drawn breath. The mist surged, no longer an idle force but something denser, something aware. The dim glow within the engravings pulsed brighter, illuminating the space in flickering patterns.

Rodion's voice turned sharp.

Mikhailis barely had time to register the warning before he felt it.

A shift in the air. A pulse of something deeper than magic, older than recorded history. The weight of an unseen force pressing against the edges of reality.

The Crownless operative stiffened, their earlier wariness turning to outright alarm. Their eyes darted to the shifting mist, their breath coming faster.

They knew what this meant.