The sudden silence in the training yard felt heavier than the sound of clashing steel. Nihil stood rigid, his red eyes staring blankly into the distance, the newly activated `Sanctuary of Absence` pulsing like an invisible shield around his mind. The conceptual whisper had vanished, but its echo remained—a foreign touch within his consciousness, like a ghost's fingerprint left on clean glass.
"Nihil? What's happening?" Lyraelle's voice was sharp, pulling him back to reality. She stood ready before him, her twin swords partially unsheathed, her vigilant eyes scanning the shadows around them for an invisible enemy.
