Reality didn't shatter.
It divided.
Not into pieces
Into sides.
A line formed between them.
Not drawn on the ground.
Not visible in the way a boundary should be.
But felt.
Absolute.
Uncrossable.
Victor felt it first.
A pressure in his chest, like something was trying to decide where he belonged.
"This is new," he said under his breath.
Dante didn't move.
His gaze stayed on the original.
"I didn't do this."
The girl looked around, unsettled. "Then who did"
The answer was already in front of them.
The original.
Standing alone on the other side.
Perfectly still.
Perfectly certain.
"You require resolution," it said.
"So I created one."
Victor's jaw tightened. "By splitting the field?"
"By forcing choice."
The word landed heavier than anything else.
Choice.
Again.
Always that.
But this time
It wasn't abstract.
It wasn't internal.
It was physical.
Real.
The girl took a cautious step and immediately stopped.
Not because she wanted to.
