Layer 5 was not like the others.
Root stepped into the corridor and instantly knew: the Rift hadn't designed this place for him.
It was clean.
Polished.
Symmetrical.
Too perfect.
The walls glowed with soft white veins, the floor etched with golden script that pulsed in slow, rhythmic intervals—like a controlled heartbeat. The air smelled faintly of static and something sweet, like burnt incense.
It felt watched.
But not by the Rift.
By something… older.
[ Rift Layer 5: Interim Core Loop ]
Purpose: Cross-domain calibration & anomaly balancing
Status: Partially Sealed. External Pressure Detected.
[ Warning: Active Entity Detected Ahead – Classification Pending ]
Root moved slowly down the corridor, Veyr at his side.
"This isn't Hollow-coded," Root said, frowning.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
Veyr's mask gleamed in the white-gold light.
"Celestial-class architecture. This layer doesn't suppress you. It corrects you."
Root's eyes narrowed.
Ahead, the corridor opened into a vast chamber.
The ceiling arched like a cathedral—walls humming with silent glyphs shaped like stars, orbiting fragments of broken laws. At the center stood a platform shaped like a sun dial, its lines drawn not in chalk but in constellations.
And someone was standing there.
Tall.
Back turned.
Clothed in ceremonial black and white, trimmed with glowing gold. Not armor—robes. One hand held a silver staff. The other… was empty.
But their presence was full.
Too full.
Root felt the pressure shift in his chest. Not gravity.
Judgment.
[ Anomaly Detected – Rift Identified: "The Second" ]
Title: Awaiting Confirmation
Signature: Celestial | Summoning Type – Crownbound
Status: Unaware of You (For Now)
Root stepped forward, hand near his blade.
Veyr didn't move.
"He's new."
Root's voice was low. "So was I."
"Yes." Veyr's tone flattened. "But he's not broken yet."
The robed figure slowly raised his head.
The stars overhead pulsed.
And for the first time, Root wasn't the only mistake the Rift had made.
The robed figure stood motionless at the center of the constellation platform.
His silver staff rested lightly in one hand, the other behind his back. He didn't turn.
Didn't speak.
But the air bent around him—gentle pressure pressing against Root's lungs, like the room itself had bowed in reverence.
Then:
"You're the Hollow one."
The voice was smooth.
Polite.
Young—but not unsure.
Root said nothing.
The Second turned, slowly.
His face was pale, symmetrical, unscarred. Too perfect. His eyes glowed faint gold—not natural, but assigned. Symbols danced in his pupils. One for command. One for purity.
"I knew I'd meet you here," he said.
Veyr stepped forward—silent, unreadable.
The Second's gaze flicked briefly to him. His tone sharpened.
"And your summon… it still has a name. That's dangerous."
Root's jaw tightened. "You know about Veyr?"
The Second smiled. Not smug. Trained.
"We're anomalies. I was given your file."
He lifted his staff slightly.
A pulse of light radiated outward from the center of the platform, revealing faint throne sigils beneath their feet—clean, gilded. Aligned in a circular network.
Not fractured like Root's world.
Perfect. Ordered. Celestial.
[ Crown Loop Activated – Throne Sync: Crownbound (Pending Mastery) ]
[ Subject: "The Second" – Elevated User Status Confirmed ]
This anomaly is on track for full system integration.
Root stepped forward.
"You think you're going to take the Rift?"
The Second tilted his head.
"Not take."
"Restore."
"You're the breach. I'm the seal."
Root didn't blink.
"Funny. The last thing that tried to seal me up isn't breathing anymore."
The Second studied him for a moment. Then nodded—like a teacher grading a paper.
"It's not time yet."
"But it will be."
He turned slightly, stepping back onto his side of the platform.
"We both want to survive this, Hollow-Eater. The difference is, I'm building something that will outlast us."
He raised his staff.
A golden throne glyph shimmered beneath his feet.
"You're just trying to avoid being forgotten."
The golden throne sigil beneath the Second shimmered like liquid geometry—refracting light in shifting, impossible angles. Not a weapon. Not a defense.
A claim.
Veyr's presence dimmed beside Root, his mask lowering just slightly.
"This isn't a throne," Veyr whispered.
"It's a declaration."
Root stepped forward, scanning the glyphs beneath the platform.
They were structured. Aligned. Modular.
Not Hollow-born.
Not chaotic like his own.
These were designed—and they wanted to be understood.
[ Crown Loop Class: Celestial Authority ]
Subfunction: Legacy Preservation, Summon-Based Contractual Control
[ Throne Type: Memory-Sovereign ]
This user's throne records and replays entire Rift segments. They can learn every outcome… before it happens.
Root tensed. "He can simulate futures?"
"Not futures," Veyr said.
"Branches. Possibilities. He's already run this conversation five ways."
The Second lowered his staff.
"Six," he corrected calmly.
Root's grip on his blade tightened.
"So what—this layer is yours?"
"No." The Second's eyes glowed faintly brighter. "This layer is shared. But you don't belong here."
Root took a slow step forward. "I belong everywhere the Rift breaks."
The two anomalies stared across the constellation platform—one built to control.
The other built to corrupt.
"I'm not your enemy yet," the Second said.
"But if you keep feeding your system—if you keep unlocking titles meant to stay buried…"
"Then I'll be forced to choose."
Root looked down.
His own reflection stared back—etched into the tile as a faint Hollow echo, the title SIGIL-EATER pulsing faintly beneath his feet.
"Good," Root muttered.
"I was getting bored of the Rift sending me corpses."
The Second didn't flinch.
But the light behind him dimmed, just for a second.
And Root knew:
He wasn't the only one climbing thrones anymore.