Kael expected questions.
He expected interrogation, scrutiny, maybe even punishment.
What he didn't expect was a lesson.
The room Selene brought him to wasn't hidden underground or sealed behind heavy wards. It sat openly within Argentinis' upper district, inside a structure that blended seamlessly into the city—stone walls, tall windows, soft light.
A place meant to look harmless.
Which meant it wasn't.
Kael stood near the center of the chamber, hands relaxed at his sides, senses restrained by habit now rather than fear.
Selene faced him across a long table.
"You survived your first mission," she said calmly. "And more importantly, you didn't destabilize the city."
Kael nodded. "That felt intentional."
"It was," Selene replied. "Because now you're allowed to know what actually governs Argentinis."
She gestured toward the window.
"Not just Paths," she continued. "But institutions."
The Churches
Selene raised her hand, and faint projections shimmered into the air—symbols, sigils, architectural silhouettes.
"Argentinis is anchored by Churches," she said. "Not religions in the traditional sense. They are Path-aligned authorities."
Kael studied the symbols carefully.
"Each major Path," Selene explained, "has at least one Church that regulates advancement, doctrine, and behavior. Some Paths have multiple sects. Others are tightly monopolized."
She pointed to a sigil shaped like an interlocking circle and line.
"The Church of Order maintains reconstruction efforts, urban stability, and large-scale rituals that keep the city functional."
Another symbol appeared—fractured, asymmetrical.
"The Church of Chaos exists," Selene said flatly, "despite their protests to the contrary. They call themselves reformists. The city calls them dangerous."
Kael frowned. "They're allowed to exist?"
"They're tolerated," Selene corrected. "Because chaos, unmanaged, tears reality apart. Chaos, guided, becomes… innovation."
That unsettled him.
A softer sigil appeared next—hands clasped around a faint glow.
"The Church of Healing and Regeneration controls medical infrastructure, battlefield recovery, and resurrection permissions."
Kael's gaze sharpened. "Permissions?"
Selene met his eyes. "Resurrection is not free. Not morally. Not politically."
That alone told Kael enough.
"Other Churches exist," she continued. "Endurance. Destruction. Creation. Elemental branches. Death."
Her tone hardened.
"And then there are Churches that deny being Churches at all."
She dismissed the projections.
"The Ivory Circle is one of them."
The Royal Family
Selene turned away from the table.
"Above the Churches," she said, "stands the Royal Family of Argentinis."
Kael stiffened slightly.
Royalty meant legacy.
Legacy meant ancient Paths.
"They are not symbolic rulers," Selene continued. "They are binding authorities."
She looked back at him.
"The royal bloodline does not walk a single Path. They possess something older."
Kael felt the threads tighten faintly at her words.
"They hold the Crown Mandate," Selene said. "A relic-system that allows them to enforce consensus on reality within the city."
Kael's breath slowed.
"Meaning?" he asked.
"Meaning when the Royal Family declares something law," Selene replied, "the world agrees."
That wasn't domination.
That was enforcement at a conceptual level.
"The Churches answer to them," Selene added. "The Orders negotiate with them. Even Chaos paths hesitate to cross them directly."
Kael thought back to being excluded, deprioritized, quietly erased.
"So when I was being suppressed," he said slowly, "that wasn't just an organization."
Selene nodded once. "It was policy."
Silence filled the chamber.
Where Kael Stands
"Why tell me this now?" Kael asked.
"Because you're no longer a variable," Selene said. "You're a factor."
She stepped closer.
"You've been noticed by Churches who don't know where to place you. Orders who can't predict you. And a city that hasn't decided whether to absorb you… or correct you."
Kael felt no fear.
Only clarity.
"And the Royal Family?" he asked.
Selene paused.
"They haven't spoken yet," she said quietly. "Which is far more dangerous than open hostility."
Kael nodded.
Control.
Timing.
Awareness.
The rules of the world weren't hidden anymore.
They were just… heavy.
As he left the chamber later, the city of Argentinis stretched endlessly before him—alive, structured, watching.
Kael understood something new then.
Paths determined how people changed.
But Churches and Crowns decided whether they were allowed to.
And if he wanted to survive long-term—
He wouldn't just need power.
He would need position.