(Just outside the vault door, Antonio's POV)
The gate hadn't even fully opened when Antonio stepped forward, crossing the threshold with the measured calm of a man trained to trust his instincts more than his eyes, as his transcendent gaze scanned the vault chamber in a slow arc, analyzing every flicker of movement, every shift in temperature, every trace of mana that lingered unnaturally in the air.
"Huh? Vice Guildmaster?" Leo asked, feigning surprise, his voice casual as he turned to face the older man with a half-smile, as though nothing in the world was remotely out of place.
Antonio didn't respond immediately.
His eyes swept the perimeter first, checking corners, checking shadows, checking for breath or heartbeat or heat signatures….. basically anything that would suggest the presence of a second body or clone, but he found nothing suspicious on the surface, which only made him more alert than before.
