The Infiltration Begins

The weight of the mausoleum's silence settled around Riven like a cloak. He closed his eyes, drawing in a slow breath. The sharpening of his mind had granted him an edge—one he fully intended to test.

With a flicker of thought, he reached outward, stretching his awareness beyond his own body, beyond the walls of the chamber.

The bond with Sana pulsed in his mind, distant yet clear.

She was inside the library.

Standing. Waiting.

Through the connection, Riven could sense her stillness, the eerie lack of breath, the way she blended seamlessly with the living Acolytes. If he hadn't known better, he might have thought she was just another servant of the academy.

Riven inhaled deeply, pushing his consciousness further until something in his mind shifted—an invisible thread tightening. His vision flickered, and in the next instant, he was no longer in his own body.

He felt it—Sana's awareness.