Vonjo pushed open the heavy, brass-handled door of the principal's office, its hinges giving a low, almost ceremonial groan, like they were announcing his return. The thick scent of old parchment and candle wax hit him instantly, mixing with the faint aroma of tea leaves steeped too long. The room was much the same as before—overcrowded bookshelves groaning under the weight of grimoires and scrolls, the air alive with a strange, almost imperceptible hum, as if the room itself was whispering with the voices of centuries past. Yet somehow, it felt sharper this time, more aware of him.

Principal Tharos looked up from behind his desk, the glint of a monocle catching the faint light from the tall, arched windows. His expression wasn't one of surprise. If anything, there was a knowing curve to his lips, the kind that said he had expected Vonjo to come back sooner rather than later. The silver thread embroidery of his deep navy robe shimmered faintly, patterns shifting ever so subtly like water ripples, hinting that they weren't purely decorative. His fingers rested on a quill, poised above a page that looked far too worn for something freshly written on—almost as if the parchment had been reused over centuries, the ink sinking into the memories of previous words.

"Let me guess," Tharos said, his voice a slow drawl with an undertone of amusement. "You didn't go straight to your quarters after our meeting earlier."

Vonjo tilted his head, schooling his face into casual neutrality. "I… walked around. To get familiar with the place for tomorrow." He kept his tone as mild as he could, but there was a restless energy under his skin.

The principal's brow rose ever so slightly, the glimmer of his monocle intensifying for a brief moment before settling. "Mm. Walked. Strolled. Wandered. An act of curiosity, perhaps." He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "You've already begun measuring the walls of this place, haven't you? Testing where the doors lead, what the shadows hide."

Vonjo didn't answer right away, his eyes darting for a second to the side, taking in again the details of the office. On the wall to the left, he'd noticed earlier that the grand oil painting of a robed sorcerer—supposedly the founder of the academy—had eyes that weren't quite static. If you stared too long, the gaze would follow you, even blink, as though the canvas was just a thin veil between here and somewhere else. The floor beneath his boots was a lattice of black and gold tiles, polished enough to reflect the faint shimmer of protective wards woven into them. The desk itself wasn't entirely still either; occasionally, a faint, rhythmic vibration moved through it, like the heartbeat of a living thing.

"You've noticed," Tharos said, catching where Vonjo's gaze had gone. "The walls here remember. The floor listens. And the portraits… they gossip."

Vonjo gave the faintest smirk, though his shoulders remained tense. "Seems like the whole building has eyes."

"Not eyes," the principal corrected, a glimmer of dry humor in his tone. "Intentions."

He let that word hang in the air for a moment, as though expecting Vonjo to chew on it. And Vonjo did. Intentions. That made sense—because while walking earlier, it hadn't just been the physical layout of the academy he was noticing. The place felt alive in ways he couldn't explain.

He'd passed the glass-roofed atrium where beams of moonlight poured through, refracting through crystalline prisms suspended midair, scattering light in shifting sigils across the marble floor. Each sigil pulsed faintly as he stepped near, reacting like ripples in water. In the eastern hall, where the walls were lined with ancient wands sealed behind enchanted glass, the air had grown colder the moment he lingered too long, as if warning him that touching anything there would not end well. Down in the lower corridor, he'd stumbled upon a door marked Restricted, its surface etched with curling runes that glowed faint red—not just a barrier, but a warning in a language that seemed to vibrate in his bones.

Tharos seemed to read all that in his silence. "I imagine you didn't just look," he said mildly. "You listened. The way the air shifts, the way magic clings heavier in certain places, the way the shadows behave when they think no one's watching."

Vonjo's eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn't sure if this was praise or a warning.

"You'd be surprised," Tharos continued, "how many students walk these halls for years and never notice the academy's mood. And yes… it does have moods." He tapped a finger on his desk, the faint tap, tap, tap echoing oddly, as though each sound was being recorded somewhere unseen. "Tonight, for example, it is… curious about you. I can feel it."

Vonjo shifted his weight, leaning slightly on the back of the chair opposite the principal's desk without sitting. "And is that a good thing?"

The principal's eyes gleamed faintly, a mix of amusement and something darker. "Curiosity can be dangerous. It can draw people—or places—closer to you. Or it can decide to test you."

There was a faint creak from somewhere behind Vonjo. He turned slightly, just enough to catch the corner of a book on the shelf shifting on its own, sliding back into place as though something unseen had been rifling through it moments ago. He didn't comment on it, but Tharos's smirk deepened just slightly, telling him the man had noticed his reaction.

"You'll need to understand," the principal went on, leaning forward now, resting his forearms on the desk, "that this academy is not merely a place of study. It is… a contract. Those who stay here form a bond with it, and in return, it offers both protection and peril. It rewards talent, ambition, and… initiative." His gaze sharpened on the last word. "But it also remembers disobedience. Every wall, every stone, every lingering spell here has a memory."

Vonjo let the words sink in. He'd already suspected as much while walking earlier—how the door to one corridor seemed to grow heavier the moment he reached for it, or how the whisper of voices in the west wing hallway faded the moment he stepped into view.

"And you," Tharos said, breaking the pause, "strike me as someone who will test the boundaries of that contract."

Vonjo met his gaze, letting a slow breath escape. "And what if I do?"

The principal chuckled—a deep, resonant sound that seemed to vibrate in the bookshelves. "Then the academy will decide for itself whether to treat you as a prodigy… or prey."

The room felt heavier at that moment, the shadows in the corners deepening slightly, as if leaning in to hear what would come next. Vonjo straightened, pushing off the chair, his movements unhurried but deliberate.

"I guess I'll find out," he said, voice steady but laced with the edge of challenge.

Tharos's smirk faded into something more unreadable. "Oh, you will. Sooner than you think."

As Vonjo turned to leave, the faint vibration of the floor beneath his boots seemed to follow him toward the door. The handle was cool to the touch, but there was a subtle pulse in it, like holding onto the wrist of someone alive. He stepped back into the dimly lit corridor, the sounds of the office fading behind him, replaced by the soft, ever-present hum of the academy's breathing.

And as he walked, the moonlight spilling in from the high windows seemed to track his steps, as though the very building was still watching.

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