The chamber no longer felt like a battlefield.
It felt like a threshold that had already been crossed.
Adrian stood still for a few seconds after the energy finally settled, his breathing slow, controlled, but not entirely relaxed. The faint glow that had surrounded him earlier had faded into something far more subtle now, barely visible unless someone focused on it directly.
But the difference wasn't in what could be seen.
It was in what could be felt.
The system hadn't disappeared.
It had changed.
Adrian flexed his fingers slightly, watching as a faint trace of energy responded—not explosively, not instinctively—but deliberately. It didn't rush forward like before. It waited.
For intent.
That alone made everything feel different.
"You're quieter."
Lyra's voice broke the silence, though she didn't move from where she stood.
Adrian glanced over his shoulder.
"…Quieter?"
