Moonlight glinted off damp stone walls as Leon Seres led Nora and a small band of Canglan veterans deeper into the palace's hidden catacombs. The air was thick with dust and echoes of dripping water. Behind them, Jorin–his face lit by torchlight–hauled a wheeled case of mobile labs and empty purge capsules.
“Nearly there," Leon whispered, voice low but urgent. “The old servants' tunnel branches into the southern sewer beneath the capital. Once we breach the grate, we can ferry the mobile labs up to the city center."
Nora pressed a finger to her lips. “Marwyn said patrols are light this hour, but we must move quickly. Any guard alerted to Canglan glyphs risks panic." She crouched by a rusted conduit and pulled out a vial of amber reagent. “I'll seal the entrance behind us."
Ahead, Elsa W
