The glow wouldn't stop.
It pulsed beneath my skin—bright, rhythmic, alive. I crouched low on the rooftop, fingers clenched so tightly my nails bit into my palms, but the light still seeped through, like cracks in a dam threatening to burst.
The orphanage bell tolled below. Curfew. Lights in the common hall flickered out one by one. No one looked up. No one noticed the Codexless stray glowing like a dying star overhead.
I should've felt triumphant.
Instead, I trembled.
Varn and his crew had crawled away—or maybe they didn't. I hadn't checked. I'd just walked, dazed and silent, until my feet found the rusted ladder behind the old dormitory tower. The rooftop had always been my retreat, a place to pretend the stars meant something. Now, they felt like eyes.
Watching.
Judging.
Or waiting.
The Nexus was awake. And it *knew* me.
I touched the crystal shard, now embedded into my sternum, half-fused with flesh and pulse. The once-clear surface had darkened to a stormy hue, shot through with iridescent veins. I could feel it breathing—if such a thing was possible. And with every breath it took, my body shifted in subtle ways: bones knitting tighter, muscles humming with potential, vision sharpening like a blade.
"Adaptive," I whispered to the sky. "Reactive. Sovereign."
I didn't even know what those classifications meant. All I knew was that I wasn't Codexless anymore. Or if I was… I was something *worse*.
Or better.
Or both.
The door to the rooftop creaked open behind me.
Instinct snapped through my limbs. I pivoted fast, hands raised, power pooling in my core.
It was only Mara.
She froze in place, silhouetted by the faint hallway glow. "Kaien?"
I didn't answer right away. Couldn't. The light in my veins dimmed, flickering like a candle in wind, then vanished altogether. Just like that.
"Kaien, what happened?" she asked, stepping forward. "They said you picked a fight with Varn."
"They picked a fight with me," I muttered.
"And you won?"
I shrugged.
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't play coy. The courtyard's buzzing. Said he got *wrecked.* You know what kind of monster he is. And yet—here you are. No bruises. No limping. Nothing."
I turned away, but she stepped closer.
"I heard your voice," she said, softer now. "When you scream, Kaien… it's not human."
Silence pressed between us.
She wasn't wrong.
"I didn't want this," I said finally. "I just wanted to eat. And now…"
Mara's gaze dropped to my chest. "You're glowing again."
I looked down. The shard throbbed faintly beneath the skin, like a heartbeat echoing mine.
"Where did you get that?" she asked.
"My mother," I said. "Before she died."
Something flickered in Mara's expression—recognition, or fear, or both. "Your mother was… from Elarion, right?"
I nodded.
"Kaien," she said slowly, "you have to leave."
I blinked. "What?"
"You can't stay here. You activated something tonight, something ancient. Something people would kill to possess."
"They already did," I muttered.
"Then they'll come again. For you this time. This place—this orphanage—they won't protect you. The warden would sell you for a silver crest if the price was right."
I knew she wasn't wrong. The way they looked at me here had always been transactional.
"But where would I go?" I asked. "I have nothing."
"You have the Nexus," Mara said. "And something tells me that's more than enough."
I should've felt bolstered. Inspired. But all I felt was the weight of what I'd taken in that alley. Power I hadn't earned. Codices ripped from bodies. Was I even still… me?
Before I could answer, the sky shivered.
That was the only way to describe it.
A ripple of energy swept over the city. Lights flickered. Dogs howled. Wind twisted through alleys like a warning.
Then I felt it—them.
Three signatures.
Far stronger than Varn. Not muscle-for-hire thugs.
These were true cultivators.
And they were coming this way.
"They found me," I whispered.
Mara backed away. "Then go. Now."
"What about you?"
"I'll cover you. Lie. Say I sent you to the market for medicine. Just move."
I didn't wait.
My feet hit the iron ladder before I even thought. The city stretched below, cold and vast, but at least it had shadows. I ran into them, feeling the Nexus guide my steps, senses widening like a web.
The cultivators landed behind me seconds later. I felt the pressure—like the world was holding its breath.
One of them spoke. "Subject 117. Confirmed trace activation. Nexus resonance matches Elarion prototype."
Another voice—female, sharp. "Orders are clear. Secure. If resistance—terminate."
They called me Subject.
I gritted my teeth. Kept running.
Down the alleys. Over the fences. Through the carcass of a ruined shrine.
My breath ragged. My limbs burning.
But I ran.
Until I reached the old aqueduct, where the city's forgotten waterworks vanished into the hills.
I ducked into the tunnel, wading through cold muck, the sound of pursuit fading behind.
Only when I reached the other side—hours later, maybe—did I collapse.
Mud-covered. Soaked. Alive.
The Nexus pulsed faintly.
I curled against the stone wall, eyes heavy, heartbeat slowing.
And in the dark, I dreamed.
Not of fire.
Not of screams.
But of cities I'd never seen. Stars I couldn't name. Armies kneeling. A throne of crystal and smoke.
And a voice, quiet, ancient, certain.
Heir located. Nexus stabilization in progress. Phase One unlocked. Begin Codex synthesis.