***
{Inside The Projection}
Malik, for the first time, put words to the feeling that had gnawed at him for years.
It all made sense now.
The way she trained like her life depended on it.
The way she talked to him, not like a student, but like someone trying to measure him.
The way she hated and despised, stared too long at maps she shouldn't understand, reacted to names that hadn't risen yet, asked about beasts not yet born.
She wasn't just curious.
She was always tracking things.
Or people, trying to be the first in line.
"Why now…?"
He walked to his desk, pushed aside scrolls, and a half-split Aether core still leaking faint fire.
Digging under the table, he pulled out a lockbox and opened it.
Inside was a scroll. A completely white one.
Beside it was a quill and an inkwell.
He took them out and placed them on the desk.
After dipping the quill into the ink, he wrote down six words.
Each one of these words glowed bright with Aether.
