The canyon was empty when he arrived.
No sound.
No wind.
Just the cracked spiral etched into the cliffside, like a sigil forgotten by time itself.
The Retainer crouched, gloved fingers brushing over the stone.
Then stood.
He didn't knock.
Didn't open it.
He simply walked through.
The stone yielded.
Not like it obeyed him.
More like it recognized him.
And let him pass to avoid what came next.
---
Inside the ruin, the glyphlight was gone.
No orb.
No Architect.
Only dust.
And the faintest smell of blood that shouldn't have lasted this long.
He took six measured steps into the chamber.
Paused.
And placed a small stone down behind him.
A delay glyph—temporal lock. A common trick.
But in his hands, it became a prison.
> No one in.
No one out.
Not unless he allowed it.
---
Then something blinked in the dark.
Not light.
Code.
Script flowed briefly across the far wall.
Familiar.
Recognizable.
Except it didn't speak to him the way Codex text should.
It rejected him.
Scrambled.
Blurred.
Tried to retranslate itself into nonsense.
The Retainer's eyes narrowed.
"You're not supposed to be aware," he said aloud.
"To this degree."
The wall pulsed again.
Not as response.
As warning.
Then—
> [Counter-Echo Signature Detected – Authorization Level Invalid]
You are not a successor. You are a stopgap. Exit immediately.
He stepped forward instead.
"Send that warning again."
The wall hesitated.
> [Signature cross-read: Echo-Root Detected]
This unit was built to erase you.
The air began to hum.
All around him, reality tightened.
Glyphs ignited—ancient ones, unfamiliar even to him.
For the first time in years, the Retainer reached for the handle of his blade.
And whispered:
"So we're past pretending, then."
---
The trap snapped shut.
But not in time.
Because he was already moving.
The chamber burst into spirals of light.
And the last thing the Codex showed—before its interface burned out for a full two seconds—was one red phrase:
> [UNKNOWN EXCEPTION BREACHING CORE LAYER]
> [The Hound is inside.]
---
Far above, Lyle stirred.
He didn't know why.
Didn't feel pain.
Or fear.
Or pressure.
Just one sensation:
> The Codex was no longer alone.
And something had just broken in.