Chapter 25 — The One They Avoid
The chamber bent.
Not shaking. Folding. Corners pulling inward, walls stretching thin like fabric under too much weight. The tear in the stone widened further, and the darkness behind it spilled out, slow and deliberate.
The eyes inside blinked—out of order.
Lira backed up until her shoulder hit the wall. "Kael… that's not part of the system, is it?"
Kael didn't answer right away. He was busy trying not to breathe too fast.
"No," he said finally. "This feels… older. And annoyed."
A low chuckle rolled out of the tear. "Annoyed is generous."
Something leaned closer from the dark. Not fully forming, just enough to suggest a shape. Tall. Lean. Wrong in subtle ways, like its outline didn't match itself.
"The system hates variables," the voice continued. "But it fears exceptions"
The pressure spiked.
Kael felt that second heartbeat slam hard against his ribs. The lines he'd seen before—those invisible connections—flickered in his vision like afterimages.
"So you're what," Kael said, forcing the words out, "the punishment?"
Another chuckle. Softer this time. "No. I'm what happens when punishment fails."
The darkness crept farther into the chamber. The walls near it lost their shape, smoothing out, forgetting angles.
Lira hissed, "It's eating the room."
"It's not eating," the voice corrected gently. "It's reclaiming."
One of the eyes focused on Kael.
"Tell me," it said, "does it hurt yet? Being permitted?"
Kael clenched his fists. "You felt the alignment."
"Yes," it replied. "Like a bad note in a quiet song."
The tear widened again.
The thing was coming through now. Slowly. Carefully. Like it didn't want to break anything too fast.
Kael stepped forward.
Lira grabbed his arm. "Don't."
He didn't pull away. "If it wanted us dead, we'd already be gone."
The eyes narrowed slightly. "True."
The darkness paused.
"Interesting," it said. "You're learning faster than most."
The chamber let out a long, strained groan.
From somewhere far above, something answered.
Not a voice.
A warning.
The system text flashed, unstable.
UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY PRESENT
CONTAINMENT ADVISED
The thing laughed. This time it sounded sharp.
"Oh," it said. "Now you notice."
The tear spread to the ceiling.
Kael felt the ground under his feet begin to give.
Whatever this was, it wasn't here to test him.
It was here to see whether Kael was worth stealing away from the system entirely.