I didn't sleep that night.
Not because of nightmares—though gods knew I had plenty of those to choose from—but because my heart wouldn't stop beating like it was trying to punch its way out of my chest.
The Grimoire of Patterns lay open before me, casting flickering cyan light across my quarters. The runes that had burned themselves into my chest earlier now mirrored markings scrawled across the pages—living, moving ink that shifted like veins beneath parchment.
New section.
Not one I unlocked through study.
This was a gift. Or a curse, depending on how you looked at it.
___
[Sealed Pattern: Drevash's Line]
Status: Dormant
Anchor: Host Bound
Cycle Detected: 1/5
Warning: Unauthorized Ascension Node Identified
___
Below the text was a diagram. No—a map. Of my own nervous system. Arteries, nerves, and mana circuits drawn like a spell array. Five nodes highlighted along my spine and chest.
I traced one with my finger.
Burning sensation. Vision flicker.
