The Shard of the Hearth was the structural center of the Architecture, yet it felt like the edge of the world. It was a cavernous, circular hall built of the same weathered oak as the Epilogue, but the walls were lined with thousands of empty niches—alcoves waiting for a "Meaning" that hadn't been assigned.
In the very center of the hall sat the Hearth. It was a massive, circular pit of cold, gray cinders. Sitting on the edge of the pit was the Empty Protagonist. He was a blur of a man, his features shifting between every hero Kael had ever heard of, yet settling on none. He was the "Generic One," the placeholder who never became a person.
"I have been here since the First Draft," the figure whispered, his voice a dry rustle. "The Authors used me to test the lighting, to test the dialogu
