The Academy dormitory was too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet—but the sort that listened back.
I sat on the edge of a narrow bed in a stone room assigned to "Provisional Candidates," staring at the faintly glowing ward lines carved into the walls. Observation wards. Detection wards. Recording wards.
None of them were hidden.
Which meant there were others I couldn't see.
[High surveillance environment confirmed.]
"Great," I muttered. "A cage with manners."
I lay back, staring at the ceiling, forcing my breathing to slow. The West Spire test replayed in my mind again and again—especially the moment my crystal stabilized too perfectly.
I overcorrected.
A mistake born from habit.
Perfect control was unnatural here. Even prodigies showed waste, hesitation, inefficiency.
I would have to fake imperfection.
The thought alone was exhausting.
A soft chime echoed through the room.
The door rune pulsed once.
[Visitor detected.]
I sat up instantly.
"Enter," I said.
The door opened to reveal a young man in academy robes, his dark hair tied back neatly. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were sharp—assessing.
"Echo," he said with a friendly smile. "I'm Caelan. Second-year."
He stepped inside uninvited, glancing around my room with practiced familiarity.
"They asked me to check on you," he continued. "New provisionals tend to… struggle."
"Do I look like I'm struggling?" I asked.
He laughed lightly. "Everyone does at first."
We sat across from each other, silence stretching.
"You're not from any known school," Caelan said casually. "Yet your control is remarkable. That's rare."
I shrugged. "I learned alone."
"Dangerous way to learn," he replied. "Especially with spells that don't exist."
My heart skipped.
"What do you mean?" I asked carefully.
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.
"There are gaps in the Academy archives," he said. "Spells referenced but never recorded. Effects without formulas. Results without causes."
Forgotten spells.
"And you," he continued, "feel like one of those gaps."
The Authority Fragment stirred uneasily.
[Caution.]
[Observer exhibits partial awareness.]
I kept my expression neutral. "That's a strange accusation."
Caelan smiled. "Not an accusation. An observation."
He stood. "There's a practical lecture tomorrow in the lower halls. Ancient runes. You should attend."
"I wasn't invited."
He paused at the door. "You were."
The rune flared, then dimmed as the door opened.
Before leaving, he added quietly, "Be careful, Echo. Some spells were erased for a reason."
The door closed.
I sat in silence long after.
He knows something.
Or he was fishing.
Either way, it meant the Academy wasn't just watching me—they were testing me in return.
[Notice.]
[Archive resonance detected — weak.]
I frowned.
The resonance didn't come from outside.
It came from beneath the Academy.
I closed my eyes and focused inward, carefully, carefully.
A familiar pull answered.
Something sealed.
Something old.
Something that absolutely—
Shouldn't exist.
I opened my eyes slowly.
"So that's it," I whispered. "That's what you're hiding."
The Academy wasn't just a school.
It was a lid.
And whatever lay beneath it—
Was starting to remember me.