The ruined Academy burned.
Fire made of memory crackled through broken towers.
Stone bled from shattered walls.
And across the courtyard, Lyle stood.
Not the one who trembled.
Not the one still learning.
But the version the ring wanted him to be.
The Bloodwalker before his time.
---
This Lyle was taller.
Sharper.
Clad in crimson-black armor that drank the light.
The Codex floated behind him, its pages bound in living shadows.
His eyes…
They were Quinn's eyes.
And they looked straight through him.
---
"You're not real," Lyle said quietly.
Blood-Armor Lyle smiled.
"Not yet."
He stepped forward.
The Codex behind him flared, casting glyphs across the stone like living runes.
"You came here hoping to understand what you've found."
He spread his arms.
"I am that understanding."
---
Lyle's fists clenched.
The true Codex at his side pulsed weakly—
Stuttering.
Afraid.
> [Warning: Mental Overlap]
Identity divergence approaching critical threshold.
"If I'm you," Lyle said, "then you know I'll never let this happen."
Blood-Lyle tilted his head.
"I don't think you understand how close you already are."
---
With a flick of his hand, shadow blades rose from the ground.
Not aimed at Lyle.
Aimed behind him.
At Juno.
At the real world beyond the trial.
"If you keep the ring," Blood-Lyle said, "she dies.
If you use it to protect her… you become me."
Lyle stared at the blades.
They didn't move.
Not yet.
But the choice was there.
Fight.
Protect.
Lose something either way.
---
The glyphs swirled around his feet.
The flames rose.
The ring burned.
And suddenly—Lyle understood.
This wasn't a trial of strength.
It was a trial of restraint.
---
He stepped forward.
Didn't draw the Codex.
Didn't summon glyphs.
He looked himself in the eye and said—
"No."
---
Blood-Lyle froze.
"No?"
"I'm not you," Lyle said. "Because I don't need to win. Not like this."
He reached out—
Not to fight—
But to touch the Codex hovering behind the Bloodwalker.
And the moment his fingers brushed the page—
Everything collapsed.
---
He fell to his knees on the obsidian platform.
Gasping.
Soaked in sweat.
Juno was beside him in a heartbeat.
"You're back—what happened?"
He looked up to see Quinn standing across from them, arms folded, expression unreadable.
"You passed."
Lyle breathed in, slow and steady.
"…What was that?"
Quinn's voice was quiet.
"That was you, without me here to guide you."
---
The shadows retreated from the platform.
The Hall began to fade.
And for the first time since stepping into this world,
The Codex did something on its own.
> [Shadow Integration: Phase I Complete]
Access to Bloodwalker techniques unlocked.
Shadowstep (Rank I) acquired.
Thread Veil activated.
---
Juno helped him to his feet.
"You alright?"
Lyle smiled faintly.
"I think… I'm starting to understand why the ring chose me."
---
Far above, in the highest tower of Quinn's city,
A shadow detached itself from the wall.
It did not bow.
It did not speak.
But Quinn turned to it and said:
"Begin his training."