The air cracked.
Not like thunder—thunder was wild, natural, expected.
This crack was clean, surgical, cold.
It split the grove's shimmering light like a blade slicing through silk.
Zerrei felt it before he saw it: a pressure around his ribs, a tightening along the seams of his wooden frame. His Heartglow pulsed erratically, fluttering like a frightened heartbeat.
He stumbled back, clutching his chest.
Lyra seized his arm. "Zerrei—steady."
"I—he's—" Zerrei choked on the words. "He's here. Not fully. But—"
A voice cut through the shimmering air:
"Zerrei."
It wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
It carried weight like gravity.
Cold.
Measured.
Impossible to ignore.
The grove bent inward, its shimmering blue membranes vibrating under an unseen strain. Trees twisted, trying to thicken their bark, their mana veins flaring bright in desperate resistance.
But the projection forced its way in.
It stepped through the distorted air—not a solid figure, not flesh or bone, but a silhouette carved from shadow and arcane light. Its edges shifted like flickering glass. Its face was not clear, not real, but the shape of its presence was unmistakable.
Tall.
Composed.
Quietly monstrous.
Zerrei froze.
The Creator's projection looked directly at him.
"Found you," it said again, this time quieter, almost tender.
Lyra snapped her blade up, stepping in front of Zerrei. "If you take another step—"
"You can't touch me," the projection murmured. "Nor can I touch you. Not yet."
Vessel Five moved.
In a blur of blue-lit limbs and grinding bark, it placed itself between Zerrei and the projection. Its stance was predatory—a defensive curl of claws and rigid posture—but its trembling betrayed its internal conflict.
"…Creator… intrusion detected…"
The projection tilted its head.
"Vessel Five."
Its voice carried neither praise nor disdain.
Just recognition.
Vessel Five's frame shook violently.
"…reject… directive… reject… control…"
The projection regarded the hunter with a look that felt almost bored.
"That is unfortunate," the Creator said. "But predictable."
Oren's voice cracked. "Predictable?! Vessel Five's autonomy shouldn't be possible!"
The projection turned its faint head-shape toward Oren.
"Do not confuse possibility with inevitability," it murmured. "Vessels were crafted for evolution. Some faster. Some slower."
"And some," he looked back at Zerrei, "unexpected."
Zerrei's wooden limbs trembled. "Why are you doing this?"
The projection took a slow step—light flickering, bending around its distorted frame.
"Because I want to see you."
Lyra growled. "You don't get to see anything."
"You misunderstand," the projection said softly. "Zerrei—Vessel Two—was my greatest creation. His disappearance was… undesirable. His sudden resonance spike is fascinating."
Arden lifted his axe with a shout. "DROP DEAD, YOU FLOATING NIGHTMARE!"
The projection didn't even look at him.
"You cannot harm a projection," it said calmly. "But your enthusiasm is noted."
Arden sputtered. "NOTED?!"
Oren whispered to Lyra, "This is bad. This is very, very bad…"
Zerrei stepped around Lyra before she could hold him back.
"Don't," she hissed. "Zerrei—no."
"I need to hear him," Zerrei said, voice trembling.
Vessel Five snarled, claws clicking against the glowing earth.
"…stay… behind… me…"
"No," Zerrei whispered. "You shouldn't be the shield."
The projection's attention sharpened.
"Zerrei," it said with chilling softness, "come here."
Zerrei flinched.
Lyra stepped in front of him again. "He won't step anywhere near you."
Arden loudly added, "You want him? You go through ALL of us!"
Oren muttered, "Arden, please don't provoke the arcane apparition—"
But it was too late.
The projection's gaze turned toward Lyra.
The grove dimmed.
"Ah," the Creator murmured, "the human imprint."
Lyra stiffened like she'd been struck.
Zerrei jolted. "Don't—don't talk about her!"
The projection ignored him.
"I see now. The anomaly's Heartglow stabilizes around you."
Lyra gripped her blade, voice steady even as her pulse hammered. "I am not his anchor. I'm his ally."
"Incorrect," the projection said.
Zerrei grit his teeth. "Stop talking like I'm an object!"
"You were built to be one," the projection replied.
Zerrei's Heartglow flared violently—gold light flooding his cracks.
Lyra moved closer to him instantly. "Zerrei—breathe."
He trembled. "He—he's trying to—unmake me."
The projection folded its hands behind its back.
"You are not meant to be undone. You are meant to be reclaimed."
Vessel Five roared—an explosive metallic sound that shook the grove.
"…NO… more… CLAIM…"
The grove's light shifted, branches twisting as if in fear or fury.
The projection didn't flinch.
"Vessel Five," it said coldly, "you disappoint me."
Vessel Five froze, blue light spasming violently.
Zerrei ran forward and pressed both hands against Vessel Five's arm.
"Don't listen!"
Blue sparks shot across the hunter's body—but the trembling slowed.
"…reject… command… choose…"
The projection tilted its head slightly. "Curious. Even after destabilization, you retain enough autonomy to resist. Vessel Two's interference runs deeper than expected."
Zerrei glared. "Stop calling me that."
The grove pulsed—blue light flickering like a heartbeat.
"Zerrei," the projection tested.
It said his name with no emotion.
No recognition.
No respect.
Zerrei's knees buckled.
Lyra caught him before he fell. "You don't have to listen."
"Yes," the projection said, "he does."
Golden light exploded from Zerrei's chest—his Heartglow reacting instinctively, violently, protectively.
The projection's edges distorted.
Interesting.
It straightened.
"You resist my voice," the Creator's projection murmured. "You resist your origin."
Zerrei's voice broke. "Because you made me afraid."
"I made you functional."
"You made me a weapon!"
"Yes," the projection said. "A weapon that evolved incorrectly."
Lyra stepped forward, blade up. "Incorrect for you."
"For the world," the projection corrected softly. "Your vessel was meant to consume monsters, not rewrite itself."
Arden shouted, "Well guess what? He rewrote himself, you miserable—"
Roaring distortion interrupted him—blue static ripping across the grove.
The projection's form flickered.
Oren gasped. "The grove is destabilizing under the strain!"
Lyra cursed under her breath. "Zerrei, we need to break the trace before the grove collapses."
Zerrei nodded shakily, but the projection spoke again:
"Do you still remember my voice?"
Zerrei froze.
His hands shook violently.
His vision wavered.
The golden-thread mark pulsed—in warning, in fear, in fury.
The Creator's projection stepped closer.
"Do you remember the chamber you woke in?"
Zerrei gasped—
and saw flashes.
Stone.
Cold metal.
Dark fluid.
Arcane instruments reaching into him.
The hum of machinery.
Empty eyes staring back at him.
His own.
He staggered backward.
Lyra held him tightly. "Look at me. DO NOT look at him."
But Zerrei couldn't unsee.
"They were the first images you ever beheld," the projection said. "I watched you open your eyes. You trembled. You could not process sound. You clung to the first object you saw."
Zerrei shuddered. "I—I don't want to remember—"
"You must."
Lyra stepped between them. "No. He doesn't."
Oren activated a defensive sigil. "Projection or not, I can disrupt the resonance—just give me—"
The projection flicked a hand.
Oren flew backward as if struck by a gust of invisible wind.
"Oren!" Arden dashed to catch him.
Oren groaned. "Not dead… not yet…"
The projection approached Zerrei again—
but Vessel Five lunged, placing itself between them with a snarl.
"…Creator… stay… away…"
The projection sighed.
"You were my favorite."
Vessel Five's core spasmed.
It staggered, gripping the ground.
"…reject… reject…"
"Such defiance," the projection murmured. "All because of him."
Zerrei shook violently.
"No. Because you controlled us."
"You misunderstand autonomy," the projection replied. "You are not meant to choose. You are meant to follow."
Zerrei's Heartglow ignited in a flare of molten gold.
Lyra shielded his shaking frame. "Stay with me. Breathe. You're not his."
Zerrei gasped. "But he's inside my memories—how do I—"
"By choosing out loud," Lyra said fiercely.
"Tell him who you are."
Zerrei shook his head. "I'm scared."
"I know," Lyra whispered. "Do it anyway."
Zerrei swallowed.
His golden light pulsed.
He stared into the projection's hollow, shifting face—
and spoke.
"I am Zerrei."
The grove froze.
The projection flickered violently.
"What did you say?" it asked softly.
"I am Zerrei," Zerrei repeated, louder. Stronger.
Heat filled his limbs.
Light filled his cracks.
The golden-thread mark shone like a burning sun.
"I am not Vessel Two."
The projection wavered.
Vessel Five stepped beside him, voice cracking out of its trembling core:
"…Zerrei… identity… confirmed…"
Lyra gripped her blade. "You heard him. Leave."
The projection twisted—as if struggling to maintain form.
"You redefine yourself," it whispered. "Fascinating. Dangerous."
Arden raised his axe. "Hey! Projection man! Get out of our forest!"
Oren shakily lifted a sigil. "Your resonance is weakening. The grove is rejecting you."
Blue light surged through the grove's floor—
not Vessel Five's blue.
Forest blue.
A protective wave.
The projection jerked backward as the grove fought it.
"You cannot hide forever," it hissed as its form splintered. "You are still mine."
Zerrei stepped forward, trembling, furious, terrified—yet firm.
"No," he whispered. "I was never yours."
Golden light erupted from him—
met the grove's blue shield—
and slammed into the projection.
A shockwave ripped through the clearing.
The projection shredded into fragments of arcane static, dissolving into a smear of shadowy light.
Gone.
The grove dimmed—exhausted, but triumphant.
Silence collapsed over the clearing.
Zerrei collapsed against Lyra.
She caught him, holding him steady. "Zerrei. Are you—?"
He shook his head, sobbing dryly—he had no tears, but the ache was real.
"I did it," he whispered. "I said it."
Vessel Five lowered itself to one knee, claws planted into the earth.
"…Zerrei… safe…"
Oren crawled back into view. "Ow… my ribs… but yes… he's safe."
Arden wiped sweat from his brow. "Good. Now let's NEVER do that again."
Lyra pulled Zerrei into a stabilizing posture. "The projection couldn't remain here. The grove held."
Zerrei nodded weakly.
"But he'll come," he whispered. "The real him."
Lyra met his gaze. "Then we'll be ready."
Zerrei's Heartglow pulsed in a slow, steady glow.
He whispered—
"I'm not afraid of what I was."
He looked at Vessel Five.
"I'm afraid of what comes next."
And somewhere far away, the Creator opened his eyes fully—
and began to walk.