The first point stood at the convergence of three bridges, a wide junction where pale violet light pooled more densely than anywhere else on the floor.
Lysara stepped into the center of the radiance and stopped. The glow immediately seemed wrong against her boots.
Not brighter.
Deeper.
As though the light had substance beneath its surface.
She held her staff loosely at her side.
"The first stage of the ritual is Recognition," she said. Her voice had changed, settling into the cadence of something memorized long ago. "You do not command the structure. You do not request passage. You present yourself."
A brief pause.
"And then you wait to learn whether it acknowledges you."
She closed her eyes.
Marcus and Taryn remained at the edge of the node.
Neither spoke.
The silence felt heavier here.
The vast skeletal classroom seemed to be listening.
Nothing happened.
For several seconds, there was only stillness.
Then the violet light beneath Lysara's feet began to change.
The glow thickened.
Darkened.
The edges of the pool sharpened until they resembled polished glass. Marcus felt an involuntary chill crawl across his arms. The surface no longer looked like light. It looked like an eye. An enormous eye staring upward from immeasurable depth.
"It's reading her," he said quietly.
Taryn didn't look away.
"Reading or judging?"
Marcus had no answer.
The pressure in the room was growing. A subtle weight settled across his shoulders, similar to what he had felt beneath the gaze of the Void-Kin Scout.
Not hostile.
Not yet.
Simply attentive.
The sensation was somehow worse. Lysara remained motionless. Her breathing was measured.
Controlled.
Yet a thin line of sweat appeared along her brow.
The node watched.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then, just as suddenly as it had emerged, the pressure withdrew. The glass-like surface softened. The impossible depth vanished. The light became ordinary once more.
Lysara opened her eyes and stepped backward.
Only then did Marcus realize he had been holding his breath.
"The first stage is complete."
Her voice remained steady.
But her grip on the staff was tighter than before.
"The structure recognizes us."
For the second node:
"The second stage is Intent."
Lysara stepped forward.
This time, she hesitated.
Only slightly.
But Marcus noticed.
"The structure already knows we're here," she continued. "Now it decides whether our purpose is acceptable."
That wording earned a glance from Taryn.
"Acceptable?"
Lysara stepped into the light.
The node awakened instantly.
Violet radiance curled around her boots like liquid smoke.
Her voice dropped to little more than a whisper.
"...need to cross..."
The light spread.
"...not to shatter..."
The bridges surrounding them vibrated faintly.
"...not to plunder..."
The glow deepened.
"...only to pass through..."
The skeletal framework of the classroom responded with a low groan that echoed through the darkness beyond their sight.
"...and to return what I borrow."
Silence followed.
Absolute silence.
The node remained dark.
Motionless.
Watching.
For a single unnerving second, nothing happened.
Then the pulse came.
A ring of violet energy exploded outward from the center. It raced across all three bridges before collapsing back into the node.
The pressure lifted.
Lysara exhaled.
Only then did Marcus realize she had been tense as a drawn wire.
"It accepted."
But there was no relief in her voice.
Only concern.
"You don't sound convinced," Marcus said.
"The response was correct."
She stared at the node.
"But it hesitated."
The words lingered.
Nobody immediately replied.
Because all three of them understood the implication.
Something had considered their request.
And consideration implied choice.