The jet sliced through a cold ribbon of sky, its windows dimmed against the rising sun. Inside the cabin, the atmosphere was thick with tension, hushed whispers of uncertain futures, and the quiet hum of a Doctrine still evolving.

Emma Carter sat in the rear compartment, her eyes scanning the updated coordinates pulsing across her encrypted tablet. The third lock had appeared—hidden beneath the ruins of Montségur, France. A Cathar stronghold from centuries past, long since lost to time and ...