After Ashara left, Ulrich remained awake.
The room had become quiet again.
Ulrich leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes.
His awareness turned inward.
Toward the Hollow Core.
At first, he found only the familiar presence within his chest: the helix-shaped structure that had replaced the crippled mana core he had been born with. Mana moved through it in slow currents, more stable than it had been before the physicians' treatment, though his pathways were still strained from the battle.
Then Ulrich frowned.
Something was different.
He focused more closely.
His Hollow Core possessed three completed springs.
Each one twisted around the central helix, drawing in mana, refining it, and feeding it through the channels connected to his body. They allowed him to weave spells with greater speed and force than a normal core could sustain, provided he controlled the power carefully enough.
But at the edge of the third spring, something had begun to form.
