Lyle jolted awake on the stone floor of the chamber above the Well.
His chest heaved. His eyes burned.
The Codex floated in front of him, glyphs rearranging constantly, even as the pages bled steam and light. He tried to sit up—
Juno was already there, gripping his shoulders.
"You were gone for two days," she said.
His vision blurred. "Two…?"
"I couldn't follow you. I tried." She pointed at the Codex. "That thing went still and cold. I thought you were—"
"I wasn't alone," he whispered.
The Codex glowed brighter.
> [Architect Glyph Integration: Tier 1 complete]
Warning: Dimensional echoes have extended beyond Codex network.
Shadow system disturbance detected: Outer City "Kretham" no longer responding.
---
Juno stood, boots crunching against the brittle stone.
"Kretham?" she echoed. "That's—"
"One of Quinn's outer cities," Lyle said, slowly rising. "A monitoring outpost for dimensional activity. Mostly silent. No known gates."
> Now offline.
---
They left the chamber quietly. But it wasn't just silence that followed them—it was the absence of presence. The guards who normally trailed them? Gone. The shadow tendrils that flickered across the city's architecture? Still.
Too still.
Even Quinn's domain held its breath.
Lyle turned his hand.
The ring pulsed faintly.
And the Codex showed a flickering map, marked in deep red:
[City of Kretham – Blackout Confirmed]
Overlaid on the ruins was a single word, scorched into the ground, visible only through Codex scan:
Lyle.
---
When Quinn summoned him, the air was razor-thin.
The great throne hall had emptied. No advisors. No sentinels. Only Juno and Lyle stood before him, the echo of boots ringing like drums.
Quinn did not sit.
He stood at the edge of the map table, hands braced on its surface.
"Three thousand souls," he said.
Lyle's throat tightened.
"I didn't do this."
"I know," Quinn said darkly. "You're not strong enough yet."
Then he turned to face him. "But whoever did—wanted everyone to think you are."
---
He waved his hand, and a hologram shimmered to life.
A figure cloaked in shimmers. Masked. Surrounded by twisted glyphs—not Shadow. Not Architect. Not any known system.
They walked through Kretham's streets untouched by flames.
They stopped in front of the largest spire.
And they wrote a single word across the stone with living ash.
> "Greenbottle."
---
Juno whispered, "This is a setup."
"No," Quinn murmured. "It's a message."
Lyle clenched his fists. "They want me to chase them."
Quinn looked him dead in the eye.
"No. They want you to be seen chasing them. Because the moment you break my protection, every enemy you don't know you have will see you for what you are."
Lyle met his gaze. "And what am I?"
Quinn stepped closer, voice low and certain.
> "A pivot point. Between systems. Between blood and flame."
"A throne someone thought they'd never have to defend."
---
Juno touched Lyle's shoulder. "So what do we do?"
Lyle opened the Codex again.
A new thread appeared.
Not a destination.
Not a spell.
A choice.
> [Trace Origin – Pursue Echo Signature "Kretham"]
High risk. Target identity unknown. Codex stability reduced during long-range use.
[Delay Trace – Remain under Bloodwalker protection. Integrate fully before pursuit.]
He stared at the options.
But didn't choose yet.
Instead, he looked at Quinn.
"If I stay, you'll protect me."
"Yes."
"And if I leave?"
Quinn's jaw flexed. "Then you better hope the Architect left you more than just words."