The checkpoint was a piece of standard Zenith infrastructure, entirely devoid of malice. Built directly into the dock's upper boarding ramp, the mana-scan arch cross-referenced the current student registry in real time. It had stood there long before any of them had first set foot on the island. A silent sentinel wrapped in gleaming metal and humming spell-work. It did not possess opinions about who walked through it. It simply executed its designed purpose with cold, mechanical efficiency.
Ashe strode through first, the arch glowing a soft, affirming blue. Valerica followed, her posture immaculate. Then Isole, her collar pulled tight against the chill. Finally, Nyx glided through, barely casting a glance at the glowing runes.
Vane stepped under the arch.
It produced a sound.
It wasn't a blaring alarm or a screech of sirens. It was just a flat, dissonant tone. The precise note the system emitted when the mana signature found absolutely no match in the active enrollment database.
