The air inside the Phoenix Estate was thick with mana, so dense that even a whisper of it made Rowan's veins tingle. Shadows stretched unnaturally along the golden walls, and every polished surface reflected a faint blue glow, the residual magic of protective wards humming faintly underfoot.
Mira led them through the main corridor, her cloak brushing the floor with ghost-like softness. "Stay quiet," she whispered. "These halls are alive. The wards sense motion, heat, even your heartbeat if you linger too long."
Cass tried to suppress a groan. "Why does every place we go smell like someone's magical cologne exploded?"
Lynx shot him a glance sharp enough to cut glass. "Because it does, idiot. Concentrated mana has a… scent. And this place reeks."
Rowan ignored both of them, eyes scanning every shadow, every crack in the marble floor. The Loki crystal inside him pulsed faintly, restless, as if sensing the Phoenix Family's presence nearby. He flexed his fingers subtly, feeling the divine energy hum in anticipation.
"Through this corridor," Mira whispered, gesturing to a massive arched doorway. "We reach the spire's inner sanctum. That's where the Phoenix Family keeps their records, their research… and their most dangerous secrets. Everything we need to understand how they enslave mana, control the Crows, and why they've branded you, Rowan."
Cass's jaw dropped. "You mean we just… stroll in there? No guards noticing?"
Mira's lips curved into a shadow of a smile. "We won't be strolling. We'll be ghosts. And if we fail…" Her voice hardened. "We die without a trace."
Rowan's pulse quickened. "Then we don't fail."
The corridor narrowed, walls etched with golden runes. Each rune pulsed faintly with a rhythm that almost mimicked a heartbeat. Rowan felt the Loki crystal hum in response, reacting instinctively to the layers of divine and artificial mana intertwined in the enchantments. He slowed his breathing, letting the crystal sync with the wards.
"Your crystal…" Mira said softly. "It's responding to their magic. That's why I told you to focus. If it flares uncontrollably, we'll trigger every alarm in the building."
Rowan swallowed, concentration snapping into place. He pictured the mana as smoke, curling around him, slipping through the gaps in the wards, ghosting along the edges of reality. Each step was a calculated gamble.
Cass whispered from behind him, voice trembling slightly. "So… like, if we screw this up, we're toast, right?"
"Yes," Lynx said dryly. "You'd be toast. But at least you'd be spicy."
Rowan ignored the banter, focusing on the pattern of the runes. A faint corridor to the left caught his eye — a slight shimmer, as if the light bent differently there. He crouched, testing the divine mana's flow. The crystal pulsed brighter, acknowledging the weakness in the ward.
"This way," he said, signaling Mira and Lynx. Cass hesitated for a fraction of a second, then followed.
The hidden passage opened into a massive library, stretching upward for three stories. Shelves of books, scrolls, and crystal-bound records lined the walls, mana flowing along invisible channels connecting them to the estate's core. The air was heavy with knowledge, power, and the faint stench of obsession.
Mira gestured to a central desk. "Everything you need to understand the Phoenix Family is here. Their research on mana fusion, slave pacts, and even Loki Crystal experiments."
Rowan stepped forward, hands brushing along the surface of the desk. Ancient texts glimmered faintly under his touch, reacting to the divine essence within him. One scroll, bound in black leather with a golden sun sigil, thrummed stronger than the rest.
"This one," Rowan murmured. "It's… calling to me."
Mira nodded. "Be careful. That's one of the experiments your father's work inspired. Many nobles died trying to control it."
Cass leaned over his shoulder. "Do I even want to know what 'it' is?"
Rowan opened the scroll carefully. The pages were etched with diagrams of mana veins, human anatomy, and a strange crystal design — jagged, blue and red, pulsing like a heartbeat. Rowan froze.
"That… that's the Loki Crystal," he whispered.
Mira's eyes darkened. "Your father wasn't just experimenting on mana. He was trying to merge divine essence with humans — to create a new kind of soldier. The Phoenix Family twisted his research for their own army. And now, you carry the first successful fusion."
Rowan's fingers trembled slightly. The weight of the revelation pressed down like a physical force. "That's why… why they fear me. I'm… what?"
"A weapon," Mira said softly. "But not just any weapon. One that can either destroy them… or be destroyed by them."
Lynx's ears twitched. "And they've been hunting him for this reason alone."
Cass swallowed audibly. "So, all those Crows, assassins, and rune-marked freaks… it's because you're walking Loki Crystal number one?"
Rowan's jaw tightened. "And if I don't understand it, they'll use it against me — or worse, against others."
Mira nodded. "That's why we need information. Names, schedules, weaknesses. Everything. If we can get this knowledge, you won't just survive… you can start taking the fight to them."
Rowan's eyes scanned the diagrams again, lingering on the jagged crystal shape. He flexed his hand subtly, feeling a faint resonance — a pull, like the crystal was a piece of him, reaching out across time and space.
"Cass," he said quietly, "gather the texts on Crow operations. Lynx, find the records on slave pacts. Mira, I want everything you can pull on the Phoenix Family's internal defenses."
The group split, moving with practiced silence. Cass rifled through stacks of guild reports, occasionally whispering to himself about mana concentrations and troop movements. Lynx crouched low, reading through parchments describing mana extraction and containment procedures. Mira's fingers flew across crystal records, decoding magical encryptions row by row.
Hours passed like minutes. The library's glow dimmed as night deepened outside the spire. Rowan felt the Loki crystal