Zeno's ears rang.
He wasn't even sure if it was the sound of her voice or just the silence afterward that thundered in his head. But either way, the words were too clear to mishear.
"Only one Rennis can bypass the system and stay here. No more. No less."
He stood frozen for a moment, long after Ari had finished speaking. His gaze dropped to the floor as the implications wrapped themselves around his chest.
Only one. Just one.
That meant—it was already decided.
He slowly lifted his head to look at her again. She looked so human now. Zeno guessed it was because she was meant to belong here rather than in Avalis.
She was the chosen one.
Then what was all this for? Those words echoed in his mind.
The new system. The transcendence.
He had spent weeks trying to understand it—thinking, maybe, he could live past his 25th mission.
That there was a loophole.
There was, but it wasn't meant for him.
He was just the setup. The fool.
