The hall didn't feel unfamiliar when Lucas stepped inside. That was the problem. After everything that had changed, everything that had been stripped away piece by piece, there was something unsettling about how normal it looked. The floor hadn't shifted. The air didn't feel wrong. People stood where they usually did, spoke in low voices, moved in patterns that still resembled routine. It should have been grounding.
Instead, it felt like something pretending.
Lucas slowed slightly, not because he saw anything out of place, but because nothing stood out at all. His eyes moved across the room, searching for the small inconsistencies that usually revealed what kind of trial they were about to face. He didn't find any.
Tomas walked beside him, hands loose at his sides, gaze drifting with less focus than usual. "Okay… I don't feel anything," he said.
Lucas glanced at him. "That's not good."
Tomas frowned. "You say that every time."
"And I'm usually right."
