The next shift didn't come from the grid.
Lucas noticed that almost immediately, and that alone put him in a worse mood.
He had spent half the walk to breakfast expecting another variation of the same problem. A faster sequence. A tighter margin. A new way for the projection system to punish hesitation without rewarding recklessness. Something mechanical. Something clean.
Instead, the training hall looked ordinary.
No strange overlapping grids. No delayed lighting. No instructors standing around with that particular kind of stillness that meant a new layer was about to drop on them.
People were warming up.
Talking.
Stretching.
A few were even laughing.
Lucas slowed near the entrance and frowned.
"I don't like this."
Raisel, already a few steps inside, glanced back at him. "Because it looks normal?"
"Yeah."
"That's fair."
