The storm tunnels whispered like a graveyard.
Nymera knelt beneath a cracked archway, her hands stiff with cold and ash, as she unrolled the last scroll they'd stolen from the Royal Vault. Around her, the ancient walls dripped with old water and secrets. The lantern Lucien had lit flickered against damp stone, throwing dancing shadows across their faces.
She unsealed the wax.
The parchment crackled like it remembered being hidden too long.
And there, in dark violet ink — newer than the rest, written in a practiced royal hand — were the words that froze her spine:
> Subject Log: Prototype Host #7
Name: [Redacted by Command]
Codename: Crownless Spark
Host Status: Suspended for Emergency Activation (Pending Core Rupture or Failover Trigger)
There was no personal history. No backstory like the others. Just a list of glyphs and compatibility charts. Glyphs used in system branding. Host-link anchoring.
Nymera's eyes scanned them — and stopped on one.
No.
It couldn't be.
But she'd seen it before.
Worn on a signet ring. Etched into a sword hilt. Sewn into golden embroidery of military robes that glittered just a little too perfectly under the light.
A spiral-crescent glyph.
Caelan Vireth's glyph.
---
For a moment, Nymera couldn't breathe.
A rush of half-memories collided in her chest — of the so-called "Hero of Light" standing before the kingdom, smiling through fire, too flawless, too clean. Of how the war ended when it should've broken all sides. Of how easily he'd been loved.
Because he was designed that way.
> [System Instability Detected. Latent Host Signature Located: Vireth, Caelan.]
[Probability of Activation: 48%. Current Status: Dormant Hostline.]
Lucien was still reading over her shoulder.
When he saw the glyph, he stilled. His face didn't twist or break — but his silence was loud.
"You recognize it," she said.
He nodded once. "He wore it as a child. His mother claimed it was an old house mark."
Nymera rolled the scroll closed, clutching it in her hand like a blade. "It was a system brand. A sleeper key."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "So… if you fail, if I fail…"
"They activate him," she finished.
A new "hero." A pre-coded host.
One the court could control.
One the Sovereign Houses built as a backup plan.
---
The bile in Nymera's throat tasted like betrayal and blood.
"I fought to save him," she whispered, more to herself than anyone. "On the battlefield. I bled to give him a second chance."
"And he never needed saving," Lucien growled. "He was part of the script."
Nymera shook her head. "No. Worse. He is the script."
---
> [System Dissonance Spike: Warning — You are now aware of active failover candidates. Emotional suppression recommended.]
"Shut up," she snapped aloud.
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
"The system?" he asked.
She nodded tightly.
Lucien ran a hand through his dark hair, still damp from the tunnel mist. "We have to confront him. You can't leave a live backup untouched."
"No," Nymera said sharply. "We don't reveal anything."
Lucien blinked.
"Not yet," she added. "Not until I know exactly how deep this rot goes."
---
She stood slowly, every movement stiff with rage.
"If we accuse him now, they'll shut us out. Lock us down. Or worse — accelerate his activation."
Lucien stood too. "You want to play him."
"I want to study him," Nymera corrected. "Up close. As a friend. As an ally. He won't know he's already failed."
She turned to face Lucien fully.
"If Caelan Vireth is truly the seventh host, then I'll be the one to decide if he ever gets activated. I want him to know who holds that choice. And fear it."
---
The tunnel shook once, far in the distance — a reminder that above them, the kingdom woke for another day of lies and illusion.
Lucien pulled a dry cloth from his belt, wiping dirt from his hands.
"What's the plan, then?" he asked. "We walk into the next court assembly smiling?"
Nymera's voice was steel wrapped in velvet.
"We walk in like nothing's changed. We smile. We curtsy. And we make them believe the game is still theirs."
She slipped the scroll into the lining of her cloak, sealing it shut with magic.
"Then," she said, "we burn them from the inside."
---
> [Quest Branch Unlocked: "The Seventh Host"]
[Objective: Monitor Caelan Vireth. Status: Dormant. Warning: May Self-Activate If Threatened.]
[Reward for Completion: Unknown.]
---
The light flickered out behind them as they exited the storm tunnel — into shadow, into sunlight, into war disguised as peace.