After the audience ended the king dismissed the court with a single wave of his hand Guards escorted Evan Serin Myra and Arilon to a smaller chamber deeper inside the palace where tall white walls glowed faintly with enchantments.

Waiting inside were five men and women robed in deep sapphire blue each wearing an insignia of swirling lines shaped like a spiral. Their expressions varied curiosity irritation pride skepticism but all shared one thing a sharp dangerous intelligence.

Arilon whispered “These are the Royal Arcanists They study magic at its highest level They do not like being proven wrong”

Evan winced “Fantastic Just what I needed”

The eldest arcanist stepped forward a tall thin man whose voice crackled like electricity “You are the outsider who teaches mages to breathe like children We have questions”

Evan sighed gently “Of course you do”

Another arcanist a woman with hair braided into tight coils said “Your rules are interesting but incomplete Our tests show exceptions to your second rule Explain why sound placement fails for high tier lightning spells”

Evan blinked “It doesn’t fail You do”

The room froze.

Serin choked internally
Myra facepalmed
Arilon whispered “Evan please”

But Evan continued calmly “High tier lightning requires high tongue elevation not forward placement If your tongue height is wrong the spell direction collapses This is not an exception It is a different category of sound Your lightning spells use high vowels not front vowels”

Silence
Then confusion
Then grudging acceptance

The oldest arcanist narrowed his eyes “Your rhythm rule destabilizes certain earth spells They crack the ground unevenly Explain this”

Evan walked forward without waiting “Show me the chant”

The arcanist spoke “Dor ven kallor”

Evan shook his head “Your rhythm is wrong because the spell carries a built in syncopated beat You paced it evenly when it must break on the second syllable Earth spells follow natural ground rhythm not human pacing”

He tapped the floor “Listen Dor VEN kallor not Dor ven kal LOR”

The arcanist tested it
The spell struck the ground
A perfect straight crack spread across the floor

The room grew warmer with tension.

Another arcanist stepped forward quickly “Your resonance rule increases mana capacity but damages the throat If overused it burns the voice Explain how to prevent injury”

Evan nodded “You need grounding technique Chest resonance without throat compression Do not push down instead lift the resonance up Let the ribs expand not the throat”

He guided the arcanist through the posture
The man inhaled correctly
Spoke a short spell

The resonance increased
The mana expanded
But his voice remained intact

Whispers burst through the chamber.

The eldest arcanist spoke once more his tone more controlled “Your rules seem effective but theory is incomplete You have not presented a unified principle Something that binds the rules into one structure Without it your system is technique not science”

Evan inhaled slowly “You are right”

The arcanists stiffened.

Serin frowned “Evan”

Myra whispered sharply “Do not provoke them”

Evan raised his head “There is a unifying principle but it is not ready for demonstration It is not confirmed yet”

The eldest arcanist stepped closer “Then state the hypothesis”

Evan felt something in the room shift
As if the walls leaned closer
As if the castle itself listened

He said quietly

“All four rules follow one idea Magic is the world responding to human resonance The world was built on sound On vibration On ancient rhythm We do not shape magic Magic answers the way we speak it”

The arcanists froze
Even Arilon held his breath
Serin looked at him like she had never seen him before

Evan continued “The unifying theory is simple The world has a voice And magic is its reply”

The chamber fell silent
Thick
Electric
Reverent

The eldest arcanist finally spoke “Evan Hartley Your theory threatens every magical assumption this kingdom has ever held You realize that”

“Yes” Evan answered softly “But it is true”

The arcanist exhaled a long tired breath “Then tomorrow we test it Not with beginner spells Not with academy mages With us The Royal Arcanists will attempt to break your theory If it survives it will become the foundation of a new era”

Arilon whispered “Evan you do not have to accept this They will push you harder than anyone else has”

Evan shook his head “No I have to Because if the world is speaking I need to understand its voice completely”

Serin muttered “I knew you would say something like that”

Myra whispered “Please do not die in this chamber tomorrow”

Evan gave a shaky smile “I will try not to”

But inside
He felt the truth
The arcanists would push his theory to the limit
And somewhere deep inside the kingdom
The world itself waited for his answer