The wind at the peak didn't just blow. It screamed.
High altitude gales battered the basalt cliffs, stripping away the silence usually afforded to the elite. Vane walked the stone path to Villa 1, his boots striking a rhythm against the stone. The heavy iron gates loomed ahead, standing guard over a sanctuary of white marble and silver wards.
It was quiet up here. Too quiet.
Below, the residential blocks were empty. The recent purge had gutted the lower ranks, leaving the academy feeling like a hollowed-out carcass. The absence of the hundred and fifty failed students created a physical void. The silence wasn't peaceful. It was heavy.
The group breached the foyer, shedding the cold like a second skin. The unified front of the Sentinel Circle fractured immediately.
Ashe didn't speak. She just cracked her knuckles and vanished toward the lower training cellar. A moment later, the faint, rhythmic thud of impacts against automated dummies vibrated through the floorboards.
