The Voidcraft cut through distance like a knife through silk.
Hours of travel collapsed into a handful of breaths.
Then Cassian raised his hand.
"Here."
Lucien felt it before he saw it.
A seam in the world.
Cassian drew the black card from his sleeve and held it upright.
The card's glow deepened.
The air ahead rippled.
A veil parted.
And an entire territory stepped into existence.
"This branch was not always hidden," Cassian said as the Voidcraft slowed. "We used to stand openly."
Lucien's gaze stayed on the revealed land, but he listened.
"In the old years, the East Branch looked like an academy from the outside," Cassian continued. "A place where sects could send their young to learn technique, footwork, coordination, and the habit of thinking before swinging."
A faint smile touched Cassian's mouth.
"We built reputation deliberately. We helped only those who did not make cruelty their doctrine. We traded instruction for trust, and trust for stability."
