◆ Scene 1 – After the Storm
Smoke lingered in the crater at the heart of Sector 9.
Ash swirled in the air, carried by a wind that smelled of burnt stone and ozone.
Ares sat on a broken step, staring at his hands.
They were trembling.
Not from fear.
From the echo of something far older than him.
He looked at his reflection in a puddle.
“Three pupils…”
The memory of Ellis’s eyes—wide, afraid—haunted him.
Behind him, footsteps.
Chris stood still for a moment before sitting beside him.
“You felt it, didn’t you?”
Ares didn’t answer.
Chris continued.
“Something inside you moved.”
“And it wasn’t your Neva.”
Ares looked up, voice low.
“I think it was… him.”
“The thing sealed in me.”
“The Sword Holder.”
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◆ Scene 2 – Nir’s Confession
Far beneath the Citadel, Nir stood before
