Arhaan's body felt like broken glass. Each step back to his quarters was a war in itself, the crimson-gold glow of his chains fading to a dull ember beneath his skin.
He collapsed onto the floorboards, his breath ragged. Sweat and blood soaked his robes.
For a long while, he simply lay there, staring at the ceiling beams. His mind was a storm. The vision of the First Prisoner still echoed inside him, each word carved into his soul.
Fragments of his chains… mine?
Then… what am I really?
The door slid open.
---
Selene Appears
Moonlight spilled across the room as Selene stepped inside, her veil brushing softly against her shoulders. She moved with that same calm grace, as though she had not just witnessed a disciple tear through heaven's judgment.
"You lived," she said simply.
Arhaan's chains rattled faintly, instinctively wary.
"You saved me from the elders' judgment. Why? What do you want from me?"
Selene tilted her head, studying him like a puzzle piece sliding into place.
"Want? No. That implies greed."
Her eyes glimmered behind the veil.
"What I seek… is proof. And you are beginning to provide it."
---
The Question
Arhaan sat up slowly, grimacing through the pain.
"Proof of what?"
Selene stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"That heaven is not unbreakable. That the lattice of chains binding this world can be shattered. That fate itself… can bleed."
Her words cut sharper than any blade.
Arhaan's heart pounded. His instincts screamed that she was dangerous—more dangerous than the elders themselves. And yet… part of him leaned toward her words, because they echoed the fire he had felt in that void.
"…And what happens if I refuse?" he asked.
Selene smiled faintly beneath the veil.
"Then you will still walk the path. Because it has already chosen you. Whether you want it or not."