Aurora stood before him, unmoving.
Her golden form radiated soft light, but it did nothing to ease the oppressive stillness surrounding the chained figure. The void remained vast and indifferent, its silence so complete that even her presence felt like an intrusion.
The chained being did not lift his head. His posture remained slumped, long, unkempt hair veiling his face. Crimson chains drifted around him, their slow movement almost idle, as though time itself held no urgency here.
After several seconds, he exhaled.
"It’s your mess," he said quietly. "You handle it."
Aurora inclined her head, accepting the rebuke without resistance.
"We have," she replied. "Every projection indicated stability. His progression remained within expected thresholds."
A faint chuckle escaped him. It carried no amusement.
"Expected thresholds," he murmured. "You speak as if you understand what you’ve created."
Slowly, he raised his head.
His face emerged from shadow.
"You rushed it."
Aurora met his gaze. She did not answer immediately.
"The sequence followed all required conditions," she said at last. "Activation occurred only after the candidate met the necessary thresholds."
He studied her in silence.
"And yet," he said, "he was not ready."
Aurora’s expression did not change, but something quieter entered her voice.
"There was a 0.003 percent probability of destabilization."
The chains shifted faintly as he laughed under his breath.
"Such faith in numbers," he said. "Such certainty."
His gaze drifted past her, toward something distant and unseen.
"And he broke them anyway."
Aurora did not deny it.
"Yes."
Silence returned.
It stretched longer this time.
"You do not understand what you are dealing with," he said.
Aurora chose her words carefully.
"It was a calculated risk. The System determined sufficient understanding to proceed."
His eyes returned to her.
"No," he said simply. "You understand patterns. You understand outcomes. But you do not understand him."
Aurora did not retreat.
"The candidate has exceeded every measurable threshold. His soul density, law comprehension, and growth rate surpass all prior records at his stage."
He listened without interruption.
"And yet," he said again, quieter now, "he was not ready."
Aurora held his gaze.
"The destabilization resulted from variables outside projected models. Theras was not expected to regain functional presence."
His expression darkened slightly.
"And still," he said, "you trusted the model."
It was not a question.
"You built a prison around something you did not fully understand. And you trusted probability to hold it."
Aurora accepted the weight of it.
"We trusted the sequence."
The chains shifted softly as he leaned back.
"The boy was not meant to face him yet," he said. "Not before he understood what he carries."
Aurora did not hesitate.
"Then help us."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You want my intervention."
"Yes."
"If I act," he said, "the path changes. It will no longer follow your design."
"That may already be unavoidable."
His gaze sharpened further.
"If I act, he will accelerate. He will reach thresholds far sooner than intended."
Aurora did not look away.
"That may be necessary."
He watched her for a few seconds then exhaled.
"I will help you but there will be a condition."
Her eyes lifted slightly.
"He will not reach Saint," he said. "Not until I permit it."
The words settled heavily between them. Aurora understood what he was claiming. She remained silent for several moments, her consciousness extending far beyond the void.
Then she nodded.
"The System agrees."
The chains stirred faintly.
"Good," he said.
*******
Far away, deep within the inverted mountain, Theras’s finger rested gently against my forehead as a soft white radiance began to gather at the point of contact. His eyes closed slowly, his expression calm and assured, and I felt his presence extend inward with deliberate precision.
It did not feel like force, but like an overwhelming inevitability, as though something vast and ancient had turned its attention fully upon me. His will pressed against the deeper layers of my existence, searching for entry, reaching toward my soul space.
Before that presence could fully cross the threshold, the Dawn Core reacted.
At the center of my inner world, the isolated island that had long remained hidden behind the black veil stirred in response to his intrusion.
I felt it before I understood it, a subtle shift that passed through the Essence within me, like something ancient awakening from stillness. The surface of the island rippled outward, disturbing the perfect balance that had existed until now, and from within that concealed region, a crimson chain emerged.
It passed through my body as though I were nothing more than a boundary it did not need to acknowledge.
The chain struck Theras directly in the center of his chest.
The impact released a violent shockwave that surged outward, distorting the air and shaking the very structure of the chamber. Ancient runes carved into the surrounding stone flared instantly, igniting with brilliant intensity as they absorbed and contained the force before it could spread further. Theras’s eyes opened at once, and for the first time since I had seen him, his composure broke.
His body was thrown backward, and his wings spread wide as he fought to stabilize himself, the effortless control he had displayed moments earlier replaced by sudden resistance.
At the same time, I felt the invisible hold that had bound my body vanish completely, as though whatever authority he had exerted over me had been severed without permission.
He was no longer looking at me.
His gaze had fixed itself on the crimson chain that now floated between us, suspended in open space.
As I watched, the chain began to dissolve, each link separating and breaking apart into fine crimson particles. Those particles did not scatter randomly, nor did they fade away. Instead, they lingered in the air, suspended and waiting, before gradually beginning to move together, drawn by a force I could not see.
The white-tiled half of the hall rippled outward, its surface shifting as darkness spread across it. The crimson particles gathered near its edge, condensing and taking form. I watched as the outline of a head emerged, followed by shoulders and the shape of a torso, until a complete figure stood beside me.
It was a shadow just like the ones I had faced before.