No one answered Arjun's question.
Not because they didn't want to.
Because the truth itself felt dangerous.
The council chamber remained silent.
Heavy.
Uneasy.
The glowing projection above the table flickered violently as more cracks spread across the Outer Gate.
White light pulsed through the fractures like veins beneath skin.
Every pulse shook the city.
And every shake reminded Noctis of one terrifying reality:
The prison was failing.
The Silence Breaks
Vael finally spoke.
Slowly.
Carefully.
"As long as the gate remained sealed…"
His blind eyes turned toward Arjun.
"…your existence stayed incomplete."
Arjun crossed his arms.
"And if it breaks?"
This time—
the Veiled One answered.
"Then the seal finishes collapsing."
Her voice stayed calm.
Too calm.
"And the rest of your authority returns."
The chamber temperature seemed to drop instantly.
Several faction leaders stepped backward.
Mordren's grip tightened around his weapon.
Kael rubbed his face again.
"…I'm really starting to hate every new answer."
Fair.
The Truth About the Seal
Arjun stared at the projection.
"So this entire city…"
He glanced around the chamber.
"…was built on top of me?"
Vael nodded once.
"Noctis was constructed around the Origin Seal."
The old man's voice carried exhaustion older than the city itself.
"You were already beyond containment."
A pause.
"So we hid you instead."
Arjun let out a quiet laugh.
Not amused.
Just tired.
"Great plan."
Seraphine finally spoke again from her seat.
"It worked for centuries."
Her crimson eyes studied him carefully.
"Until you woke up."
Fragments of a Forgotten Age
The mark on Arjun's hand burned again.
Harder this time.
His vision blurred slightly—
and another memory surfaced.
A battlefield beneath a black sky.
Gigantic structures floating in darkness.
Armies made of light descending from above.
And himself—
standing alone before them.
Not afraid.
Angry.
The memory shifted suddenly.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Breaking.
"Sleep… before they erase everything."
Darkness swallowed the vision immediately.
Arjun blinked sharply.
Breathing uneven for half a second.
The Veiled One noticed instantly.
"What did you see?"
Arjun looked at her carefully.
"…Who are you?"
The question changed the atmosphere instantly.
Because for the first time—
there was suspicion in his voice.
Real suspicion.
The Veiled Truth
The Veiled One stayed silent for several seconds.
Then finally—
"I was once your blade."
The chamber froze.
Even Vael looked unsettled hearing her say it aloud.
Arjun stared at her.
"What does that even mean?"
Her black eyes didn't leave his.
"It means…"
A pause.
"…before the fall, I stood beside the throne."
Another fragment hit him instantly.
A shadow-covered battlefield.
A woman beside him—
face hidden beneath black veils—
holding a blade dripping silver light.
The same eyes.
The memory vanished again.
But this time—
something else remained.
Trust.
Old trust.
Ancient trust.
Dangerous trust.
The Prison Starts Breaking
Suddenly—
a deafening sound echoed across Noctis.
BOOOOOOM
The chamber shook violently.
Several pillars cracked.
People fell to the floor.
The projection shattered entirely—
then reformed in distorted fragments.
And everyone saw it.
The Outer Gate.
Now covered in massive glowing fractures.
Entire sections had collapsed inward.
Beyond the cracks—
white structures floated in endless brightness.
Watching.
Waiting.
Preparing.
Kael whispered,
"…They're already inside the outer layer."
Lyra's expression hardened immediately.
"We're out of time."
The Overseers Speak
Then—
the white light inside the projection moved.
And a voice echoed through the chamber itself.
Not from speakers.
Not from magic.
Reality.
"Return the Sovereign."
The entire room froze.
The voice continued.
"Final correction authorized."
Fear spread instantly.
Not panic.
Something deeper.
Existential.
Because the Overseers no longer sounded distant.
They sounded close.
Very close.
The Council Breaks Apart
One of the faction leaders stood immediately.
"We surrender him."
Others nodded desperately.
"We cannot fight them!"
"This city must survive!"
Mordren slammed his weapon into the ground.
"And after they take him?"
Silence followed.
Because nobody truly believed the Overseers would spare Noctis afterward.
Fear just wanted compromise.
Even impossible compromise.
Arjun watched all of it quietly.
People willing to sacrifice anything—
as long as it delayed their own fear.
Human nature rarely changed.
Even across centuries.
Kael's Question
Kael looked toward Arjun carefully.
"…Would it work?"
The chamber turned toward him instantly.
Arjun frowned.
"What?"
Kael swallowed once.
"If you leave…"
His voice lowered.
"…would they stop?"
Silence followed.
Because now—
everyone wanted the answer.
Even the people too afraid to ask it directly.
Arjun looked upward toward the broken projection.
Toward the light pressing through the gate.
Toward the endless presence beyond it.
Then—
he answered honestly.
"No."
The room went cold again.
Because deep down—
they already knew.
The Real Target
The Veiled One stepped beside Arjun.
"The Overseers do not fear destruction."
Her voice echoed sharply through the chamber.
"They fear contradiction."
She looked directly at the council.
"He should not exist."
Vael lowered his head slightly.
"And yet he does."
That—
that was the real crime.
Not rebellion.
Not war.
Existence itself.
The Decision Begins
The system appeared again.
More stable now.
Less like a tool.
More like recognition.
DING
Sovereign Authority Synchronization:
41%
Another line followed.
Gate Integrity Linked to Sovereign Stability
Arjun stared at it.
Then slowly understood.
The gate wasn't merely breaking because the Overseers attacked it.
It was reacting to him waking up.
The stronger he became—
the weaker the seal became.
The prison could not contain a king returning to himself.
And eventually—
it would fail completely.
Lyra Steps Forward
Lyra suddenly moved beside him.
Hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
"If the gate falls…"
She looked directly at Arjun.
"…then we fight."
Several council members stared at her in shock.
"You would side with him?"
Lyra's eyes hardened instantly.
"I side with Noctis."
A pause.
"And right now…"
Her gaze shifted toward the cracking gate projection.
"…he's the only thing standing between this city and extinction."
That changed the room.
Because Lyra was respected.
Trusted.
And people listened when warriors stopped fearing death.
Final Scene
Far above the city—
beyond the cracking gate—
massive white towers floated in endless light.
And at the center of them—
a colossal figure slowly opened its eyes.
Larger than the Overseer that had descended before.
Older.
Far more terrifying.
Its voice echoed across the fractured gate.
"Prepare the Thronebreaker."
Back inside Noctis—
the shadows around Arjun slowly rose behind him like living wings.
And somewhere deep beneath the city—
something ancient began awakening with him.
🔥 [End of Chapter 36]