The sound of locks turning echoed like a countdown.
One.
Two.
Three.
Each metallic click tightened the air inside the cathedral.
Zayden didn't take his eyes off Aria.
"…The first what?" he asked, voice low.
The footsteps beyond the doors multiplied.
Measured.
Disciplined.
The Order.
Aria's expression remained calm, but he saw the tension beneath it.
A crack in marble hidden beneath moonlight.
Lucien's smile returned, elegant and poisonous.
"Tell him," he said softly.
"He deserves to know what he tied himself to."
Aria's jaw tightened.
"Not now."
Lucien laughed.
"When, then? After they carve the contract out of him?"
The words sliced through the silence.
Zayden stepped closer to Aria.
Not threatening.
Not gentle.
Demanding.
"Answer me."
The cathedral doors shuddered.
A heavy impact.
They were trying to force their way in.
Aria exhaled slowly.
Then met his gaze.
"I was the first human used to create a living contract."
Silence.
Even Lucien's smile sharpened at the words.
Zayden stared at her.
The sentence landed like a blade.
"…Used?"
Her voice turned colder.
"The Order wanted a bridge between humans and entities."
A pause.
"So they built one."
His gaze darkened.
"They experimented on you."
Aria's eyes flickered once.
A silent confirmation.
Lucien's expression shifted into something almost reverent.
"They didn't build you," he said quietly.
"They awakened you."
Aria's voice snapped like ice.
"Don't romanticize what they did."
The doors slammed again.
Harder.
Cracks splintered across the old wood.
The footsteps outside had become voices now.
Murmurs.
Commands.
Lucien glanced toward the entrance.
"They're impatient."
Zayden's gaze stayed on Aria.
"So the contracts listen to you because…"
She finished the sentence for him.
"Because I was the first one bound to them."
A beat.
"The first living vessel."
The words settled heavy in the cathedral air.
Now everything made sense.
Why the hunters feared her.
Why the scouts recognized her.
Why his own contract paused when she touched him.
Zayden looked at the mark on his hand.
Then back at her.
"And my contract?"
Aria's expression changed.
Subtly.
Something darker.
"Yours was created from the same bloodline of symbols."
A pause.
"It answers to the original."
His voice dropped.
"And the original is…"
Her eyes met his.
"Me."
The doors burst inward.
The sound cracked through the hall like thunder.
Six figures stepped inside.
Black uniforms.
Silver masks.
Each marked with the insignia of the Order.
At their center stood a woman in a long white coat, silver hair braided tightly down her back.
Her eyes were pale and merciless.
Lucien's smile faded.
"…Evelyn."
The woman's gaze swept across the room.
Lucien.
Zayden.
Then Aria.
It stopped there.
Her voice was smooth and sharp as glass.
"Subject Zero."
The title hit harder than the wind rushing through the broken doors.
Aria's face went still.
Zayden turned toward her.
Subject Zero.
The first.
The woman stepped forward.
"Return with us willingly, Aria."
A pause.
"And we may spare him."
Zayden's expression darkened instantly.
"That's cute."
Dark smoke curled around his hand.
Evelyn's gaze shifted to him.
Unmoved.
"You are unstable."
A beat.
"Replaceable."
The word snapped in the air.
Lucien laughed softly from the altar.
"Well, this just became crowded."
Evelyn ignored him.
Her pale eyes stayed on Aria.
"You know what happens if the Crimson Contract reaches its third phase."
The cathedral fell silent.
Zayden's jaw tightened.
Third phase?
He turned sharply toward Aria.
She didn't answer.
That silence was answer enough.
Evelyn's lips curved faintly.
"You didn't tell him."
Lucien's smile returned.
"Oh, now this is interesting."
Zayden's voice came out colder than the rain outside.
"What third phase?"
Aria looked at him.
For the first time since they met, something close to fear flickered across her face.
Not fear for herself.
For him.
"If the contract evolves further," she said quietly,
"it will stop needing your permission."
The words struck like lightning.
His breath stilled.
The darkness around his hand pulsed once.
Then twice.
As if it had heard.
Evelyn took another step forward.
"Come with us, Aria."
Her tone sharpened.
"Or we'll trigger it now."
Zayden's gaze snapped toward her.
Lucien straightened from the altar, amusement fading.
Even he looked serious now.
Aria's fingers curled at her sides.
The silver runes beneath the cathedral floor began to glow.
Ancient.
Awake.
Evelyn raised one gloved hand.
A crystal pendant glimmered in her palm.
The moment Aria saw it, her expression changed.
Completely.
"No."
Her voice came out low.
Almost a warning.
Evelyn smiled faintly.
"You remember this, don't you?"
The crystal glowed brighter.
Zayden's mark exploded in pain.
He staggered back, one hand gripping the nearest pew.
The darkness surged violently.
His vision blurred.
The contract was reacting.
Aria moved instantly, catching him before he fell.
Her hand pressed against his wrist.
The pain lessened.
Barely.
Evelyn's smile widened.
"Yes."
A beat.
"Just like that."
Lucien's voice cut across the hall.
"Evelyn."
For the first time, it carried no charm.
Only danger.
"Put that down."
Evelyn didn't look at him.
"This is no longer your concern."
The crystal flared.
The cathedral lights burst into silver fire.
Zayden's eyes darkened completely.
Aria's breath caught.
No.
Not yet.
Not here.
Evelyn's voice echoed through the hall.
"Let's see what he becomes."