The hall of the House of Echoes pulsed with tension. Students pressed against the walls, eyes wide as Kael stood before the girl who had walked out of the Abyss.
Nyra's bare feet made no sound as she entered. Shadows followed her like obedient pets, curling around her ankles and dissolving before they touched the floor. Her presence wasn't violent—it was inevitable, like a truth you didn't want to hear but couldn't ignore.
Kael studied her with calm intensity. "Why are you here?"
Nyra tilted her head, black hair slipping like ink over her shoulder. Her eyes—those endless voids—gleamed with something that wasn't malice, but wasn't innocence either.
> "Because you changed the rules."
The words struck harder than any weapon.
"You broke the Loom," she continued softly, walking past Lyra without fear, "and in doing so, you gave the Abyss something it has never had… possibility."
The shadows in the room quivered as if alive. Even the air thickened with her presence.
Lyra's bow remained drawn, her voice sharp. "That sounds like a threat."
Nyra smiled faintly, and the temperature dropped.
> "It's an invitation."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Invitation to what?"
"To choose," Nyra whispered. "The Abyss no longer seeks to devour. It seeks to… become. But to do that, it needs a guide."
Her gaze lifted to him, and for a breath, Kael felt something cold and intimate coil inside his chest.
"You, Kael. The First Catalyst. The one who taught the Loom how to break. You opened the door… will you walk through it?"
Lyra stepped between them, bow crackling with starlight. "Not happening. Whatever you are, you're not taking him."
Nyra's smile didn't fade, but her shadows recoiled slightly as if respecting Lyra's strength. "You misunderstand. I am not here to take. I am here to offer."
"And if we refuse?" Lyra challenged.
The girl's voice turned to velvet laced with steel:
> "Then the Abyss will learn on its own. And when it does, this world of freedom you love will drown in choices it cannot bear."
The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush breath.
Kael's mind raced. Every instinct screamed to reject her… but deep within, the entity stirred—not in anger, but in agreement.
> "She speaks truth. The Abyss is awakening. Without harmony, it will consume all."
Kael finally spoke, his tone calm yet edged.
"What do you want from me?"
Nyra stepped closer, her voice soft as a blade sliding into silk.
> "Teach me what it means to be free."
And for the first time since the Loom fell, Kael felt fear—not of destruction, but of what it would cost to grant that wish.