Four years after the curse broke, Brother Ignatius appeared at Rhys's art studio.
"I have news," the monk said without preamble. "About Pryce."
Rhys's stomach clenched. He'd deliberately not thought about the ghost in months. "Is he—did something happen?"
"The Void Lord contacted me. Pryce has requested an audience with you."
"Absolutely not."
"Hear me out." Brother Ignatius sat down. "He's been in isolation for four years. The Void Lord says he's... changed. Genuinely changed. And he wants to apologize. Face to face."
"He can apologize to the void."
"Rhys." The monk's voice was gentle. "I'm not saying you owe him anything. You don't. But sometimes closure requires confronting the past one final time."
"I have closure. I'm happy. I don't need to see him."
"Then don't do it for him. Do it for yourself." Brother Ignatius stood. "The Void Lord will allow one meeting. Supervised. Pryce will have no power over you. You'll be completely safe. And afterward, you never have to think about him again."
Rhys wanted to refuse. Wanted to keep Pryce buried in his past where he belonged.
But a small part of him—the part that still wondered, still remembered—needed to know: had the monster learned anything?
"I need to talk to Liam first."
Liam's response was immediate: "Absolutely not. You're not going anywhere near that ghost."
"It would be supervised. Safe."
"He violated you for weeks! Murdered six people! Rhys, he doesn't deserve five minutes of your time."
"I know." Rhys took Liam's hand. "But I need to see if isolation changed him. Need to know if justice actually works, or if some people are just irredeemable."
"And if he's still the same monster?"
"Then I walk away knowing I was right to send him there. But if he's genuinely changed..." Rhys struggled for words. "Maybe that's worth knowing too. That even the worst people can grow."
Liam was quiet for a long moment.
"I'm coming with you," he finally said.
"Liam—"
"Non-negotiable. If you're confronting your abuser, I'm there. As support, as witness, as the person who will absolutely murder a ghost if he tries anything."
Despite everything, Rhys smiled. "You can't murder a ghost."
"Watch me."