---
He checked the rune alignment. He checked the chamber seal. He checked the barrel interior with a thin light thread. Everything clean.
Then he looked down at his own palm.
His void sense hummed.
He whispered inside, careful.
Nyx.
The bond-thread answered.
Nyx did not come out yet.
John hesitated.
This was risky.
But today he needed to know something.
If the amplification was unpredictable, he needed to understand why.
And Nyx's skill window had included "Residue Trace" and "Digest Convert."
If Nyx could observe patterns, maybe it could learn.
John opened a small void slit in the air above the table.
Not large enough for anyone else to see from outside.
Just enough.
Nyx stepped out.
Palm sized. Quiet. Black shell with faint star specks.
It moved like a shadow that had learned to walk.
John watched it carefully.
Nyx did not wander.
