The weight of Xeron’s demand settled heavily on Kael, a challenge that went beyond code or combat. It was a test of faith, a demand to justify his very vision. Lyra’s hand tightened on his arm, her eyes wide with apprehension. She understood the true magnitude of Xeron’s words. Kael had to not just fight for freedom, but truly prove its intrinsic value to a man who had only ever seen the dark underbelly of power and the brutal pragmatism of survival. The clock was still ticking, seventy-two hours shrinking with every passing second, and now, an impossible philosophical battle stood between them and the survival of Aethernia.
Kael met Xeron’s glowing gaze, the augmented fingers with their sharp talons still hovering inches from his face. The air in the cavern crackled with Xeron’s barely c
