The world in my vision shimmered and shifted as I activated my mana sense. The shallow waters that rippled across the corridor floor transformed into thin mists that clung to the air. With each second that passed the mists blew down into passageways that my eyes couldn’t follow. The mana was quickly replaced in a gentle rhythm that continued before my eyes.

I was inside the nexus. A living being.

Its body was the building around me, and the mana was its oxygen. Every breath it took rushed new mana into the corridor, but that wasn’t what I was looking for.

The rotting scent had disappeared, but I knew that it had been real. It was the exact same as when I had entered the illusion in the academy dome.

I kept my feet planted firmly on the wooden board that bridged the gap between the nexus and the entrance to Koshima.

My hands lingered by my sides, and I reached for my inventory cautiously. With a single gesture a steady stream of stone spewed out of my pocket and weaved around me in loops.

Gold flapped his wings at my movement, his head twitched as he looked from side to side. He had recognised the smell as well, but neither of us could see where it had come from

I concentrated on my surroundings with my mana sense. I combed the area around me but all I could see was purple mana gathering like waves.

I focused deeply and the walls disappeared around me. I was looking beyond them, behind the veil of the physical and into the sight and true form of the magic around me.

Gerial had said that during my first encounter with the illusion I could have been near the spell caster the whole time and not realised. I wanted to make sure that nothing was hiding from me this time.

My gaze swept through the corridor.

I felt something stir. It wasn’t the feeling of a hidden object at the edge of my mind that I had felt when I had been in an illusion. This was different.

Something was staring at me.

The swirling purple mists solidified around me, and my vision was cut short as the mana disappeared and in its place the walls stood firm.

The nexus was responding to my probe.

It had felt my scrutiny and it wasn’t happy. After it cut off my mana sense, it fell quiet. I held my breath but nothing else changed.

Everything around me was quiet except for the gently breathing walls of the nexus, the stone looping around my body, and the sea of purple mana.

Last time I had felt something on the edge of my vision, just out of reach. This time there was nothing. The scent hadn’t returned.

I was safe.

I allowed myself to relax. I was inside a building that was strong enough to keep out intruders and had multiple safety precautions.

A movement at my side caught my attention. While I had been busy searching the surroundings, Gold hadn’t been checking the corridor, instead, he had dropped down to the ground.

He disappeared underneath the purple water. I could hear his fourteen talons tapping on the ground like rain. He was searching for something. Then his head rose above the surface of the liquid, drops pouring down his beak, and I saw that he was lifting himself with his one long leg. He stopped next to my blazer and then he pecked me.

“Ow.” I stepped back from him. “What are you doing?”

There was no anger in my tone, only curiosity. Gold wouldn’t attack me out of nowhere.

I looked at what he had been aiming for. It was my blazer pocket. I patted my hand against it and felt something underneath the fabric.

Why did I have something in my pocket?

Gold squawked and I heard caution in his tone. His head bobbed from side to side, a habit I’d seen his body do when he was stressed.

I frowned and waved my hand gently in the air. The stone looping around me shifted and a portion of it broke off, encasing whatever Gold had found in my pocket.

I could feel the tendril of stone as though they were a limb of my own, and their touch outlined the object.

“What?”

It was the lapel pin Amanda’s mother had given me. I closed my eyes and tried to remember if I felt someone putting it in my pocket.

No. I had put it there myself.

It was after one of the suit changes, I didn’t want to keep switching the pin to each suit because I’d worried that I was damaging them.

I’d slipped it into my blazer, intending to give it back and then forgetting when Amanda and I fell into conversation.

I brought the pin out and the stone kept it away from me.

Gold poked at the stone holding the pin. My mana sense was still active, even if it couldn’t break through the nexus walls any more, I could still see the pin in front of me.

It was ordinary.

There was no mana inside it, and I couldn’t see any symbols.

“Okay.” I held the trapped pin out in front of me. “This is strange.”

Was this where the smell of rot had come from?

That was what Gold seemed to think. I kept the main body of the pin under a thin layer of stone, but I let a small section of it rise to the surface.

I sniffed the air. There was nothing.

I felt a whisper of concern cross over my heart.

Inside the house the pin had smelt like mint. I’d noticed it, and Amanda had commented on it as well, so I knew that it wasn’t just my imagination.

The fact that I couldn’t smell anything now was suspicious. Either a spell had been lifted, or a condition met that stopped the scent of mint.

I let the block hover in front of me as I thought over events. The smell of rot had only appeared when I got to the nexus, but this time I had been prepared and I hadn’t sensed anyone nearby.

Amanda’s mother had handed me the pin, could she have been an impostor?

No. That wasn’t likely.

Amanda had been fine with me mentioning meeting her mum.

I had also had my mana sense activated at all times when I was talking to the elderly woman.

I stepped into the corridor, purple water lapping over my shoes.

I made my way cautiously to the door. There was a small chance that this could all be a coincidence, but I wasn’t going to take that chance.

The moment my feet touched the ground I moved the stone block away from me. There was no change in the pin. It didn’t start absorbing mana from the surroundings, and there was no activation of any kind.

It was still an ordinary pin.

I was feeling kind of silly now. I was going through all of these cautionary maneuvers just to move a simple pin a few steps forward.

Then again, this world thrived with magic and spells beyond my understanding. If something had been done to this pin it didn’t mean I would feel it.

“Hi there.” I spoke out into the air. “Sorry to bother you, but I have a potentially dangerous item encased in this stone. It is possibly related to the incident I had at the academy.”

“It was given to me as an ordinary gift, and now I suspect it might be magical in nature and I’ve encased it in stone. Could you check if it’s safe?”

Nothing happened. I tapped my foot on the ground nervously. Speaking to myself made me feel silly.

A slight breeze pushed against my body and my eyes closed as the air brushed over them.

When I opened them again, there were three people bowing in front of me.

Each one of them wore a mask with a single eye in the middle.

“Master Silver.”

The knight in the middle looked up and a shiver crossed my spine as my mana sense picked up a presence around him.

It crawled along my skin and wrapped my neck in its embrace, but I could sense it wasn’t hostile. It wasn’t even directed at me, it existed because the man in front of me did.

He noticed my hands trembling and stood up straight, his presence vanishing completely.

“I apologise Master.” His voice was strained. “Please forgive me. Or do not, if that is your will.”

He sounded nervous.

I sighed.

Having a teenage body didn’t stop the religious worship they had for me. I knew this man could end me with a single finger, and yet he feared me because of what he thought might happen if I got angry at him.

“Could you examine this item?” I phrased it as a question, but I knew he’d consider it an order.

“At once.”

The leader of the trio gestured with his hands and the two knights beside him moved towards the stone block that held the pin.

It disappeared as their hands touched it and with a tap of their feet on the ground, they vanished from my sight.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Gold chirped beside me, and I saw an orange shimmer glowing just above my skin.

“You activated a shield?” I asked the puffer.

He shook his head. Then he looked at the remaining knight. I stared up at him and I saw his shoulders fidgeting.

“My apologies for acting before you gave me orders.” He spoke. “I thought it prudent to protect you in case the item reacted to us trying to remove it from your presence.”

“An overly cautious person is exactly the kind of person I want protecting me.” I smiled.

I saw a wave of relief wash over him.

“You sound familiar.” I spoke. “Are you the guard I usually speak with?”

Now that I had gotten time to relax and my attention was no longer focused on the pin, I had time to concentrate on the man in front of me.

“Yes, sir.”

“There's no need to be so formal, not when it’s just us.” I spoke. “Do you need a rundown of the situation?”

“That would be best.” He stood up straight.

I explained the scent of rot and the visit to Amanda’s house.

“Her mother is scheduled to attend young mistress Destin’s attunement celebration.” The guard spoke. Then he saw my expression. “We obtained copies of the guestlist the day you were invited.”

I hadn’t told them about that.

“I need to know that Amanda’s safe as well. Please check that for me.” My tone was firm. “From the way her mother was acting I don’t think anything was wrong. I had my mana sense activated at the time as well.”

There had been nothing wrong at the house. Even when I had faced the illusion, I had known what it was, and I had been able to pick up hidden details with my mana sense that my eyes couldn’t.

None of that had appeared when I was talking to Amanda’s mother.

I frowned. “Wait. I did feel something.”

I explained the mana disappearing. His body language didn’t change, and he didn’t seem worried.

“I will send word to have it investigated immediately.”

He waited for my permission to leave, and once I granted it he tapped his foot on the ground and disappeared.

I didn’t even see an after-image.

Gold flapped his wings but didn’t go to his tree this time. Instead, he followed me inside.

My parents hadn’t noticed the exchange outside. The guards had made sure of that. I went to my room and laid down on my bed. I opened my texting regent and saw Gerial had continued messaging me.

I sent him a quick update. There was no reason to leave loose ends.

In two days, Unice’s celebrations would begin. It would be attended by bigwigs from across the city and beyond. Her house was in the noble district and the church would accompany me there, even if I didn’t see their guards. Gerial was also coming.

As an event it was as safe as things could get.

So why did I feel a sense of unease in my heart?