"Ahhh!" Annabelle squealed in delight as Ariana shared the news. The three of them had gathered in the villa at the foot of the town, and the atmosphere shifted instantly.
Ruby's eyes remained wide, her mind struggling to process what she had just heard.
"Are you serious?" she asked again. "Adrian… really?"
Ariana grinned. "Yes. As unbelievable as it sounds, he actually did it."
Just two days ago, Adrian had still been studying the fundamentals of the fifth thread, carefully registering every detail about the final stage of Runesmithing.
And now he had already learned how to tune it?
Even for Adrian, that sounded outrageous.
"This is insane," Ruby muttered, sinking onto the couch as she tried to calm her racing thoughts. "He's the first Runesmith in decades to truly master the fifth thread."
