He walked past the guards, the lie still tasting like metal and ozone in his mouth. The air under the archway was cooler, the scent of damp earth and flowers stronger than it had been on the platform. A low hum vibrated up through the soles of his boots, a constant, living thrum he could feel in his bones. He was in. He was inside the enemy’s stronghold, a virus that had just slipped past the firewall.
The space that opened up before him was not a city. It was a world. He stopped, his breath catching in his throat. A vast cavern stretched out, so large he could not see the ceiling, which was lost in a perpetual, soft twilight. Canals of dark, still water crisscrossed the landscape, spanned by elegant, arching bridges of pale, carved stone. Glass-domed cloisters, glowing with what looked like trapped sunlight, rose like islands from the water, each one a miniature jungle of impossible, vibrant flora. The light came from the glowing moss that clung to every surface and the distant, shimmering domes.
He had seen the schematics. He had read the TAC reports. None of it had prepared him for the reality. This was the Sunken Athenaeum. The sound of the place was a symphony of dripping water and the quiet, rustling life from the cloisters. The air was clean, a stark contrast to the metallic tang of decay he had breathed his entire life in the Veridia District. It was beautiful, and its beauty was a weapon aimed directly at his certainty.
He took a step forward onto the main plaza, a wide expanse of polished, dark stone that seemed to drink the soft light. Dozens of Seers moved across it, their robes flowing in shades of deep blue, green, and gold. Their T-Minus displays were a mix of calm blues and steady greens, a sea of temporal health that felt alien. They spoke in low, calm tones, their conversations punctuated by laughter that echoed softly in the immense space. There was no tension here. No fear. It was the most unnerving thing he had ever seen.
His mission was to find the woman responsible for bleeding his home district dry. He was here to find a monster, a predator hiding behind ritual and faith. But this place, this community, felt whole. It felt stable. His entire operational premise felt like it was built on sand. He felt the obsidian charm in his pocket, a solid weight. The memory of its impossible pulse of light was a fresh wound in his logic.
He needed to find Seraphina Vey. He scanned the plaza, his training taking over. He wasn't a tourist; he was an auditor. He analyzed the flow of people, the patterns of their movements, looking for the center of gravity, the point of command. He found it near the base of a grand staircase that spiraled up toward a distant, unseen level. A small group stood there, not talking, but listening to a woman at their center.
Kaelen started walking toward them, his steps measured. He kept his posture open, his hands loose at his sides, mimicking the relaxed confidence of the other Seers. He was a wolf learning the flock’s gait. As he drew closer, he could see her. She was talking, her hands moving in small, descriptive gestures. The others watched her with an attention that was both respectful and easy.
She turned as he approached, as if she had sensed his arrival without looking. Her eyes met his, and she smiled. It was a warm, genuine smile that held no calculation, no agenda he could read. It was a simple, disarming act of welcome, and it threw him completely off balance. Her T-Minus was a steady, placid blue, the color of a deep, calm sea. Fifteen years, four months, and a handful of days. It was the picture of stability.
— You must be Kaelen, — she said, her voice as warm as her smile.
This was Seraphina Vey. His target. The woman he was here to destroy.
— I am, — he managed, his own voice sounding stiff and formal in the soft air of the Athenaeum.
— Welcome, Kaelen. We're so glad to have your unique perspective, — Seraphina Vey said. The words were simple, but they landed with the weight of official acceptance. His cover was solid. He was in. A wave of relief washed over him, so sharp and sudden it almost made him dizzy. But with it came the cold fact of his new reality: he was a known quantity in the heart of their operation, his anonymity burned as the price of entry.
Then a man standing beside her spoke, his voice a cold counterpoint to her warmth. — Another ‘intuitive’ from the outer districts. How novel.
Kaelen’s eyes shifted to him. The man was tall and thin, with a severe face and eyes that were narrow and cold. His T-Minus was a nervous, flickering green, a sign of someone burning their time with stress or ambition. This was Lucius Thorne, the rival his briefing file had mentioned. The file had described him as a procedural obstructionist, a man whose ambition outstripped his talent. The description felt accurate. Lucius’s gaze was a physical weight, a direct and hostile audit.
Seraphina ignored Lucius’s comment with a practiced ease that was its own kind of power play. She simply turned her attention back to Kaelen, dismissing her rival as if he were a piece of furniture. It was a move of superior status, and it was brutally effective.
— I’m assigning you to my personal team, — she continued, her smile not wavering. — We’re working on a new resonance projection for the lower aqueducts. Your experience with discordant energies will be invaluable.
The relief Kaelen felt was immediately followed by a sharp, bitter pang of guilt. He had to lie to this woman’s face, a woman who had just welcomed him with open arms and defended him from a rival’s jab. The choice was made in that instant, a silent commitment in the space between heartbeats. He would hold the lie. He would see the mission through. The sour taste of his own deceit was a debt added to an already bankrupt soul.
He was moving deeper into their world, a step toward the community and trust his own values rejected. It felt like a step into darkness.
— I’d be honored, — Kaelen said, the lie smooth and practiced.
— Excellent, — Seraphina beamed. She gestured for him to follow. — Let me introduce you to the others. Orion has been looking forward to meeting you. He has a theory about your attunement signature.
She turned and began to walk toward a nearby gazebo that overlooked one of the dark canals, expecting him to follow. Lucius Thorne remained behind, his cold eyes fixed on Kaelen’s back, a promise of future trouble.
Kaelen fell into step beside Seraphina. The infiltration was successful. He had passed the test, made contact, and been accepted into the inner circle.
