The Sanctum Below the Tower
Kaelen had never been beneath the glyph sanctum before. Not this far.
The spiral steps descended past stone etched in ancient runes, the walls growing darker with every turn, until even the torches flickered with a blue-white glow—not flame, but stored glyphlight.
Master Elyrian walked ahead of him, robes trailing like shadows stitched to his heels.
"You've unlocked more glyph resonance than any Initiate in three decades," Elyrian said without turning. "That makes you dangerous."
Kaelen flinched. "Dangerous to who?"
"To the Tower. And perhaps, to yourself."
They reached a door of living wood—roots twisting and curling around a circular frame. Elyrian placed his palm on the bark.
"By breath unbroken and truth unbound."
The door opened soundlessly.
Inside, a domed chamber waited. The ceiling was glass, revealing the morning sky far above, but beneath the dome… something pulsed.
A crystal. Floating midair. Webbed in rune-thread.
The Veritas Core.
Kaelen's glyph flared the moment he stepped inside.
And the crystal responded.
You are awake, a voice echoed. Too soon. Too deep.
Kaelen staggered.
Elyrian did not move.
You who carry memory, shame, and desire. You cannot shape truth until you confront its cost.
"What does that mean?" Kaelen rasped.
The Core answered without sound—but in sensation.
Veritas shows what is. But the world prefers what is not.
Upper Courtyard – Later That Day
Selene stood beneath the hawthorn trees, watching the sky turn pale with cloud-thin gold.
She didn't see Seraphine approach until the footsteps stopped a pace away.
They didn't speak immediately.
"I know you were in his room when he woke," Seraphine said softly.
Selene didn't look at her. "I know you were the one who set the ward."
A beat of silence.
"Why are we doing this?" Seraphine asked.
Selene finally turned. "Because we both care."
"I care because he's changing." Seraphine's voice cracked with something deeper. "And I don't want him to forget who he was."
"I care," Selene said, her voice clipped, "because he might not survive what he's becoming."
Their eyes locked.
And in that breathless, bristling stillness—two truths stood between them:
They both would fight for him.But neither knew if they'd win him.
Glyph Sanctum – Hours Later
Kaelen sat alone after the Core dimmed again, sweat beading along his jaw.
He could still feel its words, not spoken but embedded in memory:
You were part of the Ninth Trial.You were born under Veritas—not chosen later.
You are not the key. You are the lock.
His entire chest ached with the pressure of it.
Was this why his father died?
Was he the reason the glyph reawakened?
A knock broke his thoughts.
Selene stood in the doorway, not entering, her expression unreadable.
"I heard what happened," she said.
"Which part?"
"The part where you went alone. Again."
"I didn't—" He stopped. "I'm sorry."
Selene stepped inside now, slowly. "Next time… don't apologize. Just take me with you."
He didn't answer.
He just nodded.
And the silence between them turned into something fragile—and real.
Seraphine – Midnight, Her Room
She stared at the journal again.
Kaelen Vale – Subject 9.
His existence wasn't chance.
She paced. Her mind raced.
Did Kaelen know? Was Elyrian hiding it? Had the glyph chosen him… or created him?
She had no one to tell.
Except—
She turned toward the door.
A knock at Kaelen's door.
He opened it, expecting Selene.
But Seraphine stood there, wind-tossed and breathless.
"I found something," she said. "And it changes everything."
Behind her, shadows twisted—something old stirring in the Tower's belly.