PHOENIX NEST – MAIN OFFICE
Merlin took a step forward, reducing the distance between the two, without taking her eyes off him for even a second.
"The whole world…" She tilted her face slightly, her voice lower now, but still firm. "…isn't moving."
"Then say it already." Riser tilted his head slightly, crossing his arms while keeping his gaze fixed on her. "Did you like it or not?"
Merlin didn't answer immediately. Her eyes were still locked on him, analyzing not only what she had seen, but what it meant in practice. Her hand still held the cup, but now without tension, just firm enough not to spill.
"You want praise." She took a short step forward, reducing the distance between them even more. "So I'll give it to you."
Riser slightly raised his chin, the corner of his mouth lifting in a controlled way.
"It better be good."
Merlin let out a small breath through her nose before continuing, adjusting her posture and keeping her gaze steady.
"I can stop time." She slightly raised the cup, rotating her wrist as if recalling her own technique. "But that's localized, limited, and requires constant control." She made a brief pause, her eyes returning to him with more intensity. "What you did… has no comparison."
Riser didn't interrupt.
"You didn't stop a space." She slightly tightened her fingers around the handle. "You stopped the entire world, without failure, without resistance, and without visible effort." Her gaze narrowed a bit more. "That is… absurd."
Riser let out a brief, low chuckle.
"Finally." He uncrossed his arms, resting one hand on the side of the table while leaning his body slightly. "That's what I wanted to hear."
Merlin watched the movement without stepping back, simply following it with her eyes.
"You already knew that." She tilted her head slightly, without losing focus. "You just wanted to hear it from someone else."
"Of course." Riser shrugged, simple, direct. "What's the point of doing something at that level if there's no one to recognize it?"
Merlin didn't respond with words immediately. The corner of her lips moved slightly, almost a restrained smile, before disappearing.
"You're ridiculous." She said the line without changing her tone. "But you're right."
The silence that followed wasn't empty. It was brief, controlled, like a natural space between two changes of subject. Merlin took a deep breath once, organizing her next question before moving forward.
"What are you going to do now?" She adjusted her footing, keeping her body steady. "With this level of power."
Riser didn't answer immediately. He turned his face slightly to the side, looking toward the window for a second before turning back to her. The movement was small, but enough to show that the answer wasn't automatic.
"It was just a test." He placed his entire hand on the table now, his fingers spreading across the surface. "I wanted to confirm how far it goes."
Merlin narrowed her eyes slightly.
"And how far does it go?"
Riser slowly exhaled through his nose.
"As far as I want." He didn't raise his voice, but he didn't soften the answer either. "There's no practical limit to this."
Merlin absorbed the statement without reacting in an exaggerated way. Her gaze remained steady, analyzing more the intention than the words themselves.
"And what are you going to use it for?"
Riser fully uncrossed his arms and stepped away from the table with a short step, standing directly in front of her.
"To leave."
Merlin didn't interrupt.
"This world is already over for me." He tilted his head slightly, keeping his gaze fixed. "It was useful, it was interesting… but there's nothing left here that holds me."
She remained silent for a second, absorbing the weight of the decision before responding.
"So you're leaving."
"I am."
The answer came without pause.
Merlin took a deep breath once more, her gaze dropping for an instant before returning to him.
"And me?"
Riser didn't look away.
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask." He crossed his arms again, this time without tension. "What do you want to do?"
Merlin kept her eyes on him, without hesitation, but also without answering immediately. The question wasn't complex, but the answer carried direct consequence.
"You can stay here." Riser continued, without changing his tone. "Or you can come with me."
She slightly tightened her grip on the cup again, her fingers adjusting the pressure before relaxing.
"Another world…" She repeated softly, almost to herself.
Riser took a step forward.
"I'm not giving you an order." He stopped less than a meter from her. "I'm giving you a choice."
Merlin remained still for a moment, her eyes fixed on him, but without answering. Her hand still held the cup, but the strength in her fingers diminished, as if her attention had been completely pulled to something else.
The word echoed.
Choice.
She had never stopped to think about it.
'Choice…?'
Merlin slowly drew in a breath, her chest rising more than usual before releasing it. Her body didn't step back, but it didn't move forward either. She just stood there, processing something that had never been necessary before.
"I…" She started, but stopped midway, her eyes drifting for a second before returning to him. "I've always done what needed to be done."
Riser didn't interrupt.
"From the moment I was summoned…" She adjusted her fingers on the cup, slightly rotating her wrist. "My role has always been clear." Her gaze became firmer. "Take care of you. Serve you."
She took a short step, reducing the distance even more.
"There was no doubt." She kept her tone steady. "There was no alternative."
Riser watched in silence.
"So when you talk about choice…" Merlin tilted her head slightly, her gaze analyzing the idea more than him. "It doesn't change anything for me."
Riser slightly raised an eyebrow.
"It doesn't change?"
"No." She answered without hesitation, adjusting her posture and keeping her gaze firm. "Because, with or without choice…" her hand fully relaxed around the cup. "…I already know what I'm going to do."
Riser slowly uncrossed his arms.
"Then say it."
Merlin didn't answer immediately. She took a deep breath once, stabilizing her body before giving the answer clearly.
"I'm going with you."
The silence that followed wasn't empty. It was brief, dense, as if that answer had closed something even she didn't know had been open.
"It doesn't matter where." She kept her eyes on him. "It doesn't matter what world." Her posture didn't change. "My place is with you."
Riser held her gaze for a second longer, evaluating not the answer, but the way it had been said. There was no doubt, no hesitation, no need for reinforcement.
It was direct.
It was final.
He let out a small breath through his nose.
"I already expected that." He tilted his head slightly, his tone calm. "But even so… I wanted to ask."
Merlin didn't look away.
"Why?"
Riser took a step to the side, moving slightly away from the direct line between them, as if reorganizing his own position before answering.
"Because you're not just another piece." He rested his hand on the table again. "You've been with me since the beginning."
Merlin remained silent.
"Longer than a lot of people." He continued, without changing his tone. "More consistent than a lot of people."
She pressed her lips slightly, but didn't speak.
"So yeah." Riser turned his face slightly, looking back at her. "I wanted to give you that."
Merlin took a deep breath once more.
'First time…'
She remained still for a moment, her fingers still resting on the cup as the thought organized itself without interruption, direct, continuous.
'I was lucky… very lucky. Out of all the possibilities, I was created to serve someone like him. He doesn't know it, but in the end… he is the reason for my existence. I'm not the Merlin from that other world. I have no ties to anyone there. Just scattered memories. I was made from nothing… and the only thing that truly matters to me is him.'
"…"
"Merlin are you okay ?" Riser tilted his head slightly, keeping his eyes on her while noticing the longer pause than usual.
"Yes." She answered without hesitation, adjusting her posture and planting her feet more firmly on the ground.
"Are you sure?" He took a short step forward, reducing the distance between them even more. "You went quiet all of a sudden."
"I'm fine." She slightly raised the cup, as if confirming her own control. "I was just thinking."
"Thinking about what?"
"About you."
Riser slightly arched an eyebrow.
"That's vague."
"Not for me." She kept her gaze steady, without looking away. "I was just organizing things."
"Organizing what?" He crossed his arms again, waiting for the answer without pressing.
"My place." She answered directly, without pause. "And that's already settled."
Riser didn't comment.
The silence lasted only long enough for her breathing to fully stabilize. Merlin adjusted the position of the cup once more, this time only as a neutral gesture, before fully focusing back on him.
"So…" She tilted her head slightly, her tone calm, but direct. "Where are we going?"
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