Chapter 20: The Barrier
The same day after the incident.
A knock echoed softly against the thick, mana-sealed door, its sound barely audible beneath the humming enchantments that lined the chamber walls.
"Sir, the report from the lab has arrived," came a calm, youthful voice.
"Come in," Vasra answered without looking up.
The door responded immediately, peeling open with a low hiss as mana locks disengaged in sequence.
A young man, barely past twenty, stepped inside with reverence in every motion.
He bowed, then approached the polished obsidian desk and extended a sealed crystal scroll with both hands.
Vasra accepted the report with a nod. "You may leave."
The man did not question him.
He offered another respectful bow, his eyes lingering on Vasra’s figure with open admiration, the gaze of someone looking at a legend rather than a man.
He exited in silence, and the mana-sealed door shut behind him with a resonant ’thump’.