The wound widened.
Not violently—gently, like a flower opening to the sun. Darkness spilled out, but it wasn't the darkness of the Collective or the Void Stalkers. It was the darkness of a starless night, soft and deep and achingly empty.
Careful, the First warned. Do not let it touch you directly.
"I know."
I stepped back as the darkness pooled on the stones of Jackson Square, taking shape. Not human—not anything I recognized—but present. Solid in a way shadows shouldn't be.
Hope moved beside me, her hands crackling with power. "Is it dangerous?"
"Not yet. But don't lower your guard."
The darkness coalesced into a figure. Tall, featureless, composed of shifting gray and black. No face, no features, but I could feel it watching. Waiting.
You came back, the images pulsed.
"I said I would."
No one has ever come back.
"Then let this be the first time."
---
The figure moved closer.
Klaus stepped forward, positioning himself between it and Hope. "Paradox, if this thing attacks—"
"It won't."
I will not harm you, the Forgotten communicated. I have hurt no one. I have only fallen.
"Then let's find a way to stop the falling."
I reached out my hand.
The Forgotten's shadowy form extended something like an arm. Not solid—I could see the stones through it—but warm. Warmer than I expected.
Thank you.
"Don't thank me yet. We have work to do."
---
We moved the Forgotten to the Abattoir.
Not ideal—Klaus made that clear—but the council needed to study it, understand it, figure out how to stabilize its existence. The cavern beneath the cemetery was too exposed, too close to the wound.
The Forgotten sat in the corner of the main hall, its form shifting slowly, like smoke in a gentle breeze.
This place is... loud, it observed.
"New Orleans is loud. You'll get used to it."
I have been in silence for eons. I am not sure I want to get used to loud.
Davina approached cautiously, her sketchbook in hand. "May I draw you?"
Draw?
"Capture your likeness. So you won't be forgotten."
The Forgotten stilled. Then, slowly, it nodded.
I would like that.
---
Vincent arrived with witch instruments—crystals, pendulums, dowsing rods. He circled the Forgotten, taking measurements, muttering to himself.
"It's not magical," he said finally. "Not in the way we understand. It's... conceptual."
"Conceptual?"
"A being made of absence. Of what was lost. Of the space between things." He shook his head. "I don't know how to help something like this."
"Then we learn."
"From who?"
"From the First. From the Forgotten itself. From trial and error."
Vincent sighed. "This is going to be messy."
"Probably."
---
The First spoke as I sat with the Forgotten that night.
It is strange, seeing my shadow given form.
"You didn't know it existed."
I did not. But I should have. Every dream casts a shadow. Every creation leaves something behind.
"Can you help it?"
I do not know. We are opposites—light and dark, creation and cost. Touching it might destroy us both.
"Or complete you both."
That is a risk I am not ready to take.
The Forgotten shifted, as if it had heard the First's words.
The dreamer fears me.
"It doesn't fear you. It fears what touching you might do."
Same thing.
I couldn't argue with that.
---
Hope sat with the Forgotten the next morning.
She'd brought her art supplies—charcoal and paper—and was sketching its form while it watched.
"Why do you want to stop falling?" she asked.
Because falling is lonely. Because there is no end. Because I am tired.
"Have you ever tried to land?"
There is no ground. Only the fall.
"Then we'll make you a ground."
The Forgotten tilted its head—an almost human gesture.
How?
"I don't know yet. But Paradox is good at figuring things out. He figured out how to help the First."
The First is light. I am shadow. Shadow cannot be helped.
"Watch us."
---
That evening, I convened a smaller meeting.
Klaus, Elijah, Davina, Hope, and the First—present through our connection.
"We need a way to anchor the Forgotten. Give it a place in this reality that doesn't involve falling."
"Can we give it a body?" Davina asked. "Like the First merged with Paradox?"
"The First already had a connection to me. The Forgotten doesn't."
Elijah spoke. "Could we create a connection? A ritual that binds the Forgotten to something—or someone—in this world?"
"Risky. If the Forgotten can't handle the connection, it could drag whoever it's bound to into the fall."
"Then we need a volunteer who can handle the risk." Klaus's eyes swept the room. "Someone with dimensional experience."
Everyone looked at me.
"Of course," I muttered.
---
The Forgotten resisted.
No. I will not bind myself to you. You have already sacrificed enough.
"It's not sacrifice if I volunteer."
You do not understand. The fall is endless. If I bind to you, you may fall with me.
"Then we fall together. And we find a way back up."
You are stubborn.
"Learned from the best."
The Forgotten was silent for a long moment. Then:
If we do this—if we bind—you must promise me something.
"Name it."
Do not forget me. Even if the binding fails. Even if I fall again. Remember that I existed. That I tried.
"Promise."
---
The ritual took place in the cavern beneath the cemetery.
Davina drew the circle. Vincent chanted the wards. Hope anchored the power. Klaus and Elijah stood guard.
And I sat at the center, facing the Forgotten.
Are you ready? it asked.
"Ready."
Then let us begin.
The darkness flowed into me—not like the First's light, but gentle. Tentative. The Forgotten was afraid, I realized. Afraid of hurting me. Afraid of being rejected. Afraid of failing.
I've got you, I thought.
The binding took hold.
[SHADOW BINDING: INITIATED]
[Entity: The Forgotten (Pre-First)]
[Host: Paradox (Stage 5+)]
[Compatibility: 70%]
[Risk: MODERATE]
[Potential outcomes:]
— Successful binding: Forgotten gains anchor, fall stops
— Partial binding: Fall slows but continues
— Failed binding: Both host and entity fall together
[Initiating...]
The darkness wrapped around my consciousness—not consuming, but connecting. I felt the Forgotten's endless fall, its eons of loneliness, its desperate hope.
Hold on, I thought.
I am trying.
[Binding: 25%... 50%... 75%...]
I can feel ground, the Forgotten said. Is this ground?
It's me. Hold on.
[Binding: 90%... 95%... 99%...]
[SHADOW BINDING: COMPLETE]
[Paradox — Stage 5++: Dimensional Being + The First + The Forgotten]
[Status: TRANSCENDENT (Dual Aspect)]
[The First: Light, creation, dreams]
[The Forgotten: Shadow, cost, memory]
[Balance: Achieving...]
---
The cavern was silent.
I opened my eyes. The Forgotten's form had changed—no longer a shifting shadow, but something more solid. More present. It had a face now, vaguely human, with eyes that held the depth of eternity.
Thank you, it whispered.
"You're welcome."
I am not falling.
"I know."
I am... standing.
I smiled. "Yeah. You are."
Hope rushed forward, hugging me. Davina followed. Even Klaus clasped my shoulder, something like awe in his expression.
"The binding worked," he said.
"It worked."
We worked, the Forgotten corrected. Together.
---
Later, after the celebrations, I sat on the roof of The Crossing with the First and the Forgotten sharing space in my consciousness.
This is strange, the First said.
Agreed, the Forgotten replied. Sharing a vessel with my other half.
"You'll get used to it."
Will we?
"Probably not. But that's okay." I looked at the stars. "You're not alone anymore. Neither of you. That's what matters."
The First and the Forgotten were silent.
Then, together:
Thank you, Paradox.
"Anytime."