The door finished parting with a breath of conditioned air, and the world dropped its library voice.
White.
Not blank-white. Lived-in white. Polished floors that held the light and returned it without glare. Walls of matte panels stitched with hairline seams. The corridor ran straight for twenty paces, then opened out and kept opening until perspective gave up. Bridges crossed above at clean angles. Elevators rode glass columns like pinned raindrops. Rooms branched and kept branching. The place did not have an end, only more.
Nobody spoke. Even Arashi ran out of commentary.
They stepped onto the threshold as a unit. The sound their boots made here was different - a soft, confidence-making hush that said the floor wanted you to trust it. Kori waited just inside, letting their eyes learn.
"This is the Heart" she said, voice low and clear. "We train here. We plan here. We build here. If the city needs a fist, it beats in these rooms."
