A low murmur had begun to spread across the Grand Induction Hall as the newly formed cohorts turned inward, voices rising in cautious conversation, introductions overlapping in a quiet swell of anticipation. Light from the great crystal above continued its slow, measured rotation, casting drifting constellations across the gathered candidates as they spoke among themselves.

It did not last.

A single, clear chime rang through the chamber.

The sound was soft, yet absolute. Conversations faltered, then stilled entirely.

[center][b]Proctor Roffimières[/b][/center]
[center][img]https://ik.imagekit.io/maxxo/Roffimi%C3%A8res.png[/img][/center]

Roffimières had not raised his voice, yet attention returned to him all the same.

[color=0054a6]“The examination will begin immediately.”[/color]

There was no flourish to the announcement. No pause for final preparation.

The crystal at his side brightened, and the sigils beneath the candidates’ feet stirred in unison, their slow drift quickening into deliberate motion.

[color=0054a6]“Cohorts will be transferred directly into the Astral Vestibule. You will remain within your assigned groups. Proceed with clarity.”[/color]

For the briefest moment, as the light began to gather around the platform, something shifted high above.

Among the upper balconies, where shadow pooled between the observation galleries, a figure stood where no one had stood before. Draped in dark, indistinct layers, her presence did not interrupt the light so much as absorb it. She did not move. She did not speak. Yet her attention was unmistakably fixed below.

[center][b]???[/b][/center]
[center][img]https://ik.imagekit.io/maxxo/Umbra%20-%20Copia.jpg[/img][/center]

Then the light surged.

Space folded without violence, the marble floor dissolving into threads of pale brilliance that wrapped around each candidate in turn. The Grand Hall vanished in a breath.

When sensation returned, it did so gently.

The Magenta group found themselves standing upon a wide circular platform of translucent crystal, suspended within a vast, open expanse. There was no sky, no ceiling, only a deep, quiet void filled with drifting motes of light that moved like distant stars caught in slow current.

Ahead, a broad archway stood embedded in a curved wall of polished crystal.

Beyond it lay the first chamber.

Stepping through, the space opened into a grand circular hall, its scale immediately apparent. The floor gleamed beneath their feet, smooth and glasslike, faint veins of light tracing delicate patterns through its surface. Along the walls, tall mirrored panels stood in careful arrangement, each framed in fine silver sigils that pulsed faintly in time with the ambient hum of the room.

At the center, suspended in the air, a large prismatic crystal turned slowly upon its axis. Its soft light scattered outward in shifting beams, catching across the mirrors and breaking into countless refracted strands that danced across the chamber.

Opposite the entrance, a sealed archway of interlocking crystal plates stood silent and unmoving.

Nothing stirred. Nothing threatened.

The room was calm. Beautiful.

And waiting.