The koi pond was silent.
Lyra stood barefoot on the glass floor of her dorm, staring down at the water below. It had turned black again — not murky, not shadowed, but pure, reflective black. Like ink. Like memory.
Maris joined her, her golden robe trailing behind her like a whisper. "It's back."
Lyra nodded. "Same time as last night."
They didn't speak of the door. Not yet. But it was there — pulsing faintly beneath the surface, like a heartbeat waiting to be heard.
The Cafeteria
The Velvet Atrium had reshaped itself again — today, it was a spiral staircase, each step a table. Students climbed and ate, their trays floating beside them. Lyra and Maris sat halfway up, watching the others.
Cassian Thorn passed below, tossing grapes into the air and catching them with his teeth. Nova Quinn danced between steps, their hair glowing faintly. Zephyr Vale sat at the top, unmoving, unreadable.
Then came the rivals.
- Saphira Wynn, Maris's older sister, radiant and sharp. She wore Aureum gold like armor and spoke like a blade.
- Corvin Dusk, pale and poetic, from Noctis Hollow. He moved like smoke and stared like silence.
- Juno Blaze, fire-haired and loud, from Solara Keep. She kicked her tray off the step and laughed as it exploded into sparks.
Maris stiffened. "They're watching us."
Lyra didn't look. "Let them."
Class: Dream Theory
Professor Umbra floated into the room, her robes trailing mist. "Today," she whispered, "we enter each other."
Students paired off. Lyra and Maris sat cross-legged, palms touching. The room darkened. The air thickened.
Lyra saw Maris's birthday — a cake untouched, a room too quiet.
Maris saw Lyra's hallway — the walls closing in, the doors vanishing.
They gasped, pulled back.
Umbra smiled. "You're stitched together now."
Class: Emotional Projection
In Echo Fields, the grass turned violet as Lyra stepped forward. Maris followed, her laughter turning the sky gold.
They practiced Emotional Projection. Lyra summoned wind. Maris summoned warmth.
Then Juno Blaze arrived, stomping through the field, her emotions sparking fire. She grinned at Lyra. "Storm girl. Let's see what you've got."
Lyra didn't respond. She closed her eyes and let the wind rise.
Juno's fire flickered.
Maris whispered, "You're stronger than you think."
The Door
That night, the koi pond turned black again.
Lyra and Maris knelt on the floor. The door pulsed beneath them — a rectangle of light, faint and flickering.
Lyra reached down. Her fingers passed through the glass.
Maris gasped. "It's not solid."
Lyra stood. "We need to go."
Maris hesitated. "What if it's a trap?"
Lyra looked at her. "What if it's the truth?"
The Descent
They returned after curfew. The dorm was silent. The koi pond was still.
Lyra stepped onto the glass. It gave way.
She fell.
Maris followed.
They landed in velvet.
Beneath the Velvet
The space beneath the dorm was not a room. It was a memory.
Walls pulsed with emotion. Mirrors showed forgotten dreams. The air smelled like ink and thunder.
In the center stood a pedestal. On it, a book.
Lyra approached. The title shimmered: The Root.
Maris touched the cover. "This isn't supposed to exist."
Lyra opened it.
Inside were names. Dates. Lessons. All erased.
Except one line:
> "The fifth tower remembers."
They didn't speak as they climbed back up.
The koi pond was clear again.
Their dorm was unchanged.
But something inside them had shifted.
They weren't just students anymore.
They were witnesses.