I had just crossed into the boundary where the outer convergence roads gave way to the central district when I felt it. A faint vibration in the air hit my senses. It came from my storage ring.
I stopped mid-step, my perception immediately shifting inward toward the source. Nothing within the city had changed. There was still no Essence anywhere in this place, no hidden presence stirring beneath the surface. The disturbance was not external.
It was mine. Surprised, I raised my hand and willed the object out. A book appeared in my palm.
The same book I had obtained in the chained realm.
Its surface was exactly as I remembered: crimson, dark, and cold, its cover bearing no title, no inscription, nothing to identify its origin. Yet I knew what it was. This was the artifact that had shown me the vision of the boy.
Theras.
Theras Prime.
For a moment, I simply stared at it.
The last time I had opened this book, it had only allowed me to see the first page. The image of the vertical eye had appeared beneath the title, The Beginning, and no matter what I had attempted afterward, the next page had refused to turn. It had not been a matter of physical resistance. The page had simply remained fixed, as though the next page did not exist.
But now it had reacted on its own.
Slowly, I opened it.
The first page revealed itself immediately.
The vertical eye stared back at me, perfectly drawn, its pupil elongated and unnatural, its presence carrying a strange sense of awareness even though it was nothing more than an image. Above it, the title remained unchanged.
"The Beginning."
I reached forward.
This time, when my fingers touched the edge of the page, there was no resistance.
It turned.
The second page revealed itself.
An image of a sword.
It was embedded at the peak of a mountain, its blade driven deep into stone. Clouds obscured the upper reaches of the mountain, but the sword remained clearly visible, standing alone at the summit.
Above it was a single word.
"Brother."
The moment I saw it, understanding settled into place. This was another vision. And this time, I could access it.
I moved instantly.
In less than a second, I flashed into one of the intact buildings nearby, selecting an empty interior chamber large enough to remain undisturbed. The Naga’s unconscious body floated beside me, still bound and completely helpless. I froze him in place with a thought.
Then I sat down.
Violet Essence formed around me, creating a layered shield that isolated me completely from the external environment. Even though there was no Essence here, the shield served its purpose. It would prevent interruption. It would stabilize my consciousness while I entered the vision.
I opened the book again and placed my hand against the image.
My senses brushed against it.
And instantly—
The world disappeared.
I stood somewhere else. I was not present physically. I had no body here. I existed only as an observer, my awareness anchored to the scene unfolding before me.
Theras stood ahead.
He was no longer the child I had seen before. He was older now. Someone in his twenties. His frame was fully matured, his posture relaxed but steady. His skin was ashen grey, smooth and unblemished. His hair was white, falling loosely around his shoulders, and behind him extended a pair of black wings, folded neatly against his back.
His eyes were red. Not glowing. Simply red.
He stood at the base of a mountain.
Its peak rose high into the sky, disappearing into dense clouds. The path upward was narrow and steep, carved directly into the rock. And at the very top—
The sword.
Even from this distance, its presence was unmistakable. Theras was not alone. Two men stood beside him. I could see their forms, their silhouettes, but their features were blurred, obscured as though the vision itself refused to reveal them. Their existence was secondary.
This moment belonged to him.
All three of them stared at the sword.
The man on Theras’s left stepped forward slightly.
"Theras," he began, his voice calm but layered with meaning, "for the past ten years, I have deliberately prevented you from using your talent. Not because you lacked the ability, and certainly not because I doubted what you were capable of becoming, but because I knew there would come a moment when restraint would matter more than power."
Theras did not turn to look at him. His red eyes remained fixed on the distant sword embedded at the mountain’s peak, his wings still, his posture relaxed in a way that suggested neither impatience nor obedience, but simple certainty.
The man continued, watching him carefully.
"You have always been difficult to contain," he said. "Even as a child, there was something in you that rejected boundaries. You sought freedom in its purest form, without compromise, without hesitation. You called it freedom, but what followed in its wake was often destruction. Entire regions destabilized. Those who stood in your path learned quickly that your will was not something that could be redirected once it had settled on a course."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"I saw it all. The chaos. The consequences. The fear you inspired even among those who stood beside you."
Theras remained silent, his expression unchanged.
"And yet," the man went on, "I chose to restrain you. Not because I wished to break that nature, but because I understood it. Power without purpose is indistinguishable from ruin. Freedom without direction becomes indistinguishable from annihilation. You did not need more strength. You needed something worthy of it."
His gaze shifted briefly toward the sword.
"That is why I held you back. That is why I denied you the right to fully awaken what already existed within you."
He stepped slightly closer.
"But today is different."
The wind moved faintly around them, carrying fragments of dust along the mountain path.
"If you can reach that sword," he said, his voice firm now, "if you can conquer it, then there will be nothing left for me to restrain. No reason to limit you. No justification to stand in your way."
Theras’s lips curved faintly, though his eyes never left the mountain.
The man continued, his tone lowering slightly.
"You must understand what stands before you. That sword is not something our kind created. It does not belong to our lineage, nor does it follow laws we fully comprehend. We have studied it. We have tested it. We have sent others to claim it."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"And we have lost every one of them."
Theras’s expression did not change.
"They did not fail because they were weak," the man added. "They failed because the sword rejected them. Because whatever resides within it does not accept power alone as justification."
He let out a slow breath.
"The prophecy speaks of it clearly. The one who carries that blade will be the one who ascends. The one who claims the empty throne. The one who defines what comes next."
He turned fully toward Theras now.
"I do not know whether you will succeed," he admitted honestly.
Silence stretched between them.
Then his voice softened, losing its restraint.
"If you reach that sword, Theras... you will never have to answer to anyone again. You will never have to ask permission. You will never have to be contained."
He paused.
"You will be free to become whatever it is you have always sought to become."
Theras finally reacted.
He stepped forward, passing between the two men without hesitation, his wings shifting slightly behind him as his feet reached the base of the mountain path.
He did not speak. He did not acknowledge them.
A wild grin spread across his face. He did not look back. He simply began walking toward the mountain.
Step by step.
His movements were steady.
Certain.
As though there had never been any doubt. As though this had always been inevitable.