Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Eryx looked at each of them.
Mira.
Ashar.
Soren.
"…We don't follow its rules," he said.
Ashar answered immediately.
"You already are."
Eryx clenched his fists.
"No. I changed things before."
Ashar nodded.
"Inside the system."
A pause.
"This is beyond that."
Mira stepped forward.
"Then I'll stay."
Eryx turned instantly.
"No."
She didn't hesitate.
"I've already made the wrong choice once."
Silence.
Eryx's voice dropped.
"…This isn't the same."
Mira shook her head.
"It is."
A pause.
"If I let you go alone again…"
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I don't know what I'll become."
Eryx didn't respond.
Because he understood.
Too well.
💀 THE TRUTH
Soren stepped forward slightly.
"…It won't accept just anyone," he said.
All eyes turned to him.
"What do you mean?" Mira asked.
Soren's voice stayed calm.
"The system doesn't just take a sacrifice."
A pause.
"It selects one."
The Observers moved slightly.
Closer.
Watching.
Ashar exhaled slowly.
"…Then it's already decided."
Eryx felt it.
Something in the air shifted.
Not random.
Focused.
On one of them.