Within the First Manuscript, another page turned on its own, silver light illuminating fresh words that slowly appeared across its surface.
Second Lesson of the Reader, the heading read.
Beneath it, only one sentence, simple and profound.
Restore truth. Never impose it.
Aether finally understood, the weight of the lesson settling into him with quiet clarity. The duty of a Reader was not deciding what people should believe, was not choosing which version of history deserved to survive on his authority alone. It was making sure they still had the chance to choose for themselves, to weigh truth against lie and decide, with full awareness, what they would carry forward.
Far beneath the academy, in a section of the Mirror Archive that pulsed with far darker energy than the chambers above, Kael stepped into the central chamber, his footsteps echoing against ancient stone.
