Aria held the figure’s gaze as its words settled deep inside her, and for the first time, the fear she felt was no longer about the system or the power inside her, but about the truth that had been kept from her.
“What do you mean it replaces what it cannot control?” she asked, her voice steady even though her thoughts were moving too fast to settle.
The figure studied her carefully before lowering its hand and taking a measured step back, not out of fear, but as if it understood that pushing closer would only make her react.
It removes what fails, it said, its tone uneven but clearer than before, “and builds something stronger from what remains.”
Aria’s stomach tightened as the meaning became clear without further explanation, and the weight of it settled heavily in her chest.
They d
