"Adapt…"
A step forward.
Or…
"Be left behind"
The words settled over them like a verdict.
For the first time… the Outer Gods did not move.
Not because they were restrained.
But because something within them... did not understand.
"…Adapt?" one of them spoke at last, its form trembling as it struggled to stabilize. "We are gods, Dafient. We are beyond form… beyond limitation. We did not rise by bending. We did not exist by lowering ourselves"
Its presence twisted, forcing defiance into existence.
"And now… You tell us to change? To reduce ourselves… for scraps?"
Silence.
Then... Taufik laughed.
Not loudly.
Not mockingly.
Just… once.
"You misunderstand," he said.
His voice was quiet.
Absolute.
"I did not ask"
He stepped forward as if space itself had agreed to hold him.
"I did not suggest…"
Another step.
"Never... What I did was define the condition for your continued existence"
The pressure deepened.
Not crushing.
Clarifying.
