Chapter 141 The Pressure Of A Silent Will

• The shard did not fracture all at once. It shifted quietly. Almost politely. At first, nothing appeared out of place. The scholars moved as instructed, retrieving records, cross-checking texts, isolating sections that had shown signs of instability. Conversations remained measured, careful, as though everyone understood that speaking too confidently might betray something they could no longer verify.
• Lucia stood near the inner chamber, her attention divided between the relic and the subtle rhythm of movement around her. Something had changed, not outwardly though. The fracture within the shard had not spread, and the chamber itself remained intact. Yet the atmosphere carried a different weight now, one that pressed more deliberately against her awareness.
• Kelvin noticed the shift in her before she spoke. “You feel it again,” he said quietly. Lucia nodded. “It’s not the same as before,” she replied. “It’s… closer.” Kelvin’s expression hardened slightly. “Closer to what?” Lucia did not answer immediately. Her gaze moved across the chamber, not searching for movement, but for absence. For something that no longer felt where it should be.