The anomaly shift happened at dawn.
No storm.
No warning.
Just a ripple in the glyphlines that made every warded rune snap at once and the sky fold inward like paper on fire.
Valen was the first to speak.
"I saw this in a projection two weeks ago," he said. "This exact pattern."
Juno turned sharply. "And you didn't think to mention that before?"
"It wasn't relevant until now."
Lyle's eyes narrowed.
> Liar. You've been waiting for this.
The rift blossomed in the center of the plateau, crackling like a wound made of memory. It pulsed mana unlike anything the Academy cataloged.
Not chaotic. Not corrupt.
Just… unknown.
And unstable.
---
"We need to split up," Valen said suddenly, already drawing glyphs into the air.
Lyle moved instinctively to challenge that, but—
Juno agreed.
"I'll take the ridge," she said. "Lyle, hold the anchor line. Valen's right—we need both angles stabilized before it surges again."
Lyle blinked.
"Wait."
She looked at him.
He felt it in that moment—the pressure, like a script was already written and he'd stepped into a role someone else had cast for him.
This wasn't real choice.
This was control.
> They're watching to see if I break formation. If I refuse to follow her leadership now, I look unstable. Possessive.
> But if I agree… and something happens…
---
He nodded.
Quietly.
And turned toward the anchor site.
But the Codex pulsed again—urgently this time.
> [Fragment Warning – Constructed Trial Detected]
Event is partially simulated.
Environment altered by third-party glyphs.
Purpose: Force divergence between bond-pair.
[Do not let her ascend the ridge.]
Lyle froze.
Then turned—eyes sharp.
"Juno—wait!"
But it was too late.
She was already climbing.
And Valen was watching him.
Smiling.
---
Atop the ridge, the glyphs turned red.
Not Academy-grade.
Not even human.
Something old pulsed beneath them.
Juno stopped instantly.
Realized the trap.
And the spike glyph activated—cracking her defensive barrier in one hit.
She fell.
Hard.
---
Lyle moved before thought could catch up.
Ran through the anomaly itself—tearing open his concealment—shattering three glyph wards with raw force.
His hands lit with false spells.
Not to cast.
To erase.
To override.
To undo what Valen had hidden in the terrain.
He reached Juno just before the second pulse fired.
Caught her with one arm, dragged her backward.
She looked up at him, blood trailing from her temple.
"You knew."
He nodded.
"I always know."
Valen approached slowly, hands raised.
"Greenbottle," he said carefully, "what you just did was not in protocol."
"Neither was this entire test."
"The instructors will hear about this."
"They're the ones who wrote it."
Valen paused.
Then smiled.
Like a man who'd almost won.
---
Later, in the med wing, Juno lay silent on the cot.
The lights were low.
Lyle sat beside her.
Not speaking.
Just there.
Eventually, she said, "I almost didn't believe you."
"I know."
"I think that scared me more than the glyph."
He looked at her.
Eyes clear.
Voice quiet.
"Then let it scare us together."
She reached for his hand.
And didn't let go.