The East Forest stood unnaturally still.
No birds.
No rustling leaves.
No wind.
Only a towering silhouette standing at the tree line, motionless as a statue carved from night.
Lyra walked beside Zerrei as the guild approached the ridge.
Arden flanked him on the other side, sword already drawn.
Oren followed close behind, clutching his notes despite the shaking in his hands.
Scouts and adventurers surrounded the group in a semi-circle formation.
Everyone stared at the figure ahead—
Vessel Three.
Tall.
Broad.
Standing effortlessly straight.
His shape was humanoid like Zerrei's, but far less refined—
sharper angles, reinforced joints, spikes of obsidian jutting from his shoulders and spine.
Where Zerrei's runes were soft curves of blue and gold—
Three's runes were jagged red cracks glowing like embers.
His face was a mask of carved black slate with no mouth—
only a single vertical red line where the mouth should be.
But worst of all—
His eyes.
Twin slits of crimson light, narrow and unblinking.
When he finally moved—
he did not turn his head.
He rotated his entire torso.
Smooth.
Inhuman.
Wrong.
His gaze fixed directly on Zerrei.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Zerrei froze.
His glow dimmed.
"…cold…" he whispered.
Lyra gripped his hand tightly.
"Zerrei. Look at me."
He couldn't.
His gaze stayed locked forward, trembling.
"…Master…"
Oren whispered:
"No.
This one's different.
Its mana is… colder than Vessel Two."
Arden stepped forward.
"Hey! If you want to stare, do it at me!"
Vessel Three ignored him completely.
Instead, he lifted his arm—
slowly, mechanically—
and pointed at Zerrei.
The red glow pulsed.
And he spoke.
But not with a voice.
The sound vibrated through the air like a metallic echo, broken and overlapping.
"VESSEL ONE."
Lyra shivered.
The voice wasn't a voice.
It felt like knives scraping stone, vibrating directly inside her bones.
Zerrei flinched violently.
He hugged himself with one arm.
"…no…"
Vessel Three continued:
"YOU HAVE STRAYED FROM PURPOSE."
Arden stepped in front of Zerrei.
"Try saying that without sounding like a demon chimney, you metal freak."
Three did not respond.
Instead, his runes shifted—
elongated—
and a sigil burned across his chest like a brand.
Oren gasped.
"Lyra—Arden—fall back!"
Arden's eyes narrowed.
"Why?!"
"That sigil—
that's a command seal!"
Lyra's heart dropped.
Zerrei staggered backward.
His body trembled violently.
"…no… no… no…"
Lyra grabbed his face with both hands.
"Zerrei. Look at me. You don't obey that anymore."
His glow stuttered.
Cracks appeared faintly along his arms from the strain.
"…Lyra…"
"I'm here."
He leaned forward until their foreheads touched.
His voice was a whisper of agony.
"…help Zerrei choose…"
Lyra cupped his cheeks.
"You choose me."
His glow spiked.
"…yes…"
Vessel Three's body jerked,
as if registering resistance.
His runes flared brighter.
"COMMAND OVERRIDE: FAILED."
A low ripple of red mana surged outward.
Arden gritted his teeth.
"Here we go—"
Three's torso rotated again, and his arms extended straight outward.
His hands unfolded like blades splitting open.
Lyra took a sharp breath.
"No… that looks like—"
Oren finished her sentence:
"A synchronization link."
Arden cursed loudly.
"A WHAT?!"
Oren explained quickly:
"Vessel Three is attempting to force a mindlink with Zerrei—
to pull him back into the network of control!"
Lyra's heart pounded.
"No—he can't—!"
Zerrei dropped to his knees.
He clutched his head.
His glow flickered wildly.
"…stop… stop… stop…"
She grabbed his face again.
"Zerrei, focus on me—"
He cried out.
Not loud—
but in pure, silent agony.
His runes spasmed.
His limbs shook.
His chest glowed erratically.
Arden lunged.
"That's it—!"
Before he could take a step, a wave of red mana slammed into him like a wall—
BOOOOOOM—
And Arden was thrown backward into the dirt.
"ARDEN—!!" Lyra cried.
"I'm—gh—fine!" he spat, struggling to stand.
Oren shouted:
"Three isn't here to physically fight—
he's here to forcibly retrieve Zerrei!"
Vessel Three took one step forward.
The ground cracked beneath his heel.
His voice scraped through the air again:
"RETURN.
VESSEL ONE."
Zerrei shook his head violently.
"…no… no… no… Lyra…"
Lyra hugged him tightly.
"I'm right here!"
His arms wrapped around her—
painfully tight—
desperate—
as if she were the only thing stopping him from shattering.
"…choose Lyra… choose Lyra… choose—"
His glow dimmed to almost nothing.
Lyra sobbed into his shoulder.
"Stay with me, Zerrei—please!"
Three spoke again:
"ANCHOR DETECTED."
Lyra froze.
Randall (a nearby mage) shouted:
"Oh no—he's targeting the anchor!"
Before anyone could react—
Vessel Three moved.
Not slowly.
Not stiffly.
Fast.
In an instant—
He appeared directly in front of Lyra.
Arden's eyes lanced wide.
"LYRA—!!!"
Oren shouted:
"Barrier—!"
Zerrei gasped:
"…LY—!"
But there was no time.
Three raised his hand—
edges opening like a blade—
aiming straight for Lyra's chest.
Lyra's heart stopped.
Zerrei screamed—
A sound that wasn't human.
A sound of pure, furious instinct.
And from his chest—
light erupted.
White.
Gold.
Blue.
All at once.
It blasted outward—
throwing Three backward across the clearing—
and shattering every rune in his core.
The shockwave rippled the trees for miles.
Lyra clung to Zerrei as the light dimmed—
and Zerrei whispered, trembling fiercely:
"…Lyra… not hurt…
Zerrei… protect…"
She held him tighter.
"I'm here. I'm okay. I'm okay."
Arden stared in shock where Vessel Three had been slammed into the earth.
Oren whispered:
"Oh gods…
that wasn't just evolution energy."
Arden looked back.
"What was it?"
Oren swallowed.
"That was a resonance burst.
Triggered by emotional panic."
Arden blinked.
"So… Zerrei just blasted a vessel across a field with his feelings?"
Oren nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Arden sheathed his sword.
"Oh, we're definitely dead when the Creator comes."
Lyra ignored them both.
She held Zerrei, who trembled violently, his voice barely audible.
"…Lyra… stay… please stay…"
She pressed her forehead to his.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Behind them—
Vessel Three stood.
Slowly.
Silently.
And whispered:
"INTERFERENCE DETECTED.
REVISING PROTOCOL."
Lyra shivered.
Zerrei held her tighter.
And in the distance—
A deeper, colder pulse of mana echoed from the forest.
The Creator was getting closer.