The ash was still warm beneath Kai's back.
Nayomi's bite throbbed at his neck—a sharp, possessive mark—and for a brief moment, the storm inside him stilled. Around them, the silence wasn't peace. It was aftermath. The kind that clung to your skin, coated your lungs, whispered that this wasn't the end.
Because it never was.
Kai sat up slowly, feeling the echo of divine energy still vibrating in his bones. The shattered remnants of Orias's sword glittered like starlight across the floor, humming with the memory of what almost was—a severance that would've torn him apart.
[System Notice: Residual Warden Energy Detected – Unstable Anomaly Forming]
Lyra was the first to notice. Her blades spun to her hands on instinct, nostrils flaring. "The fuck is that?"
A pulse of white light rippled outward from the epicenter of Orias's death. The ashes rose, unnaturally, forming a swirling spiral—tighter, brighter, angrier.
Selis narrowed her eyes. "That's not just residual energy. That's a construct."
Zaria stepped back. "Someone's trying to reclaim the Warden's death essence. That's forbidden—unless... unless they're preparing a reanimation."
Kai's blood went cold.
[System Alert: Emergency Subroutine Detected – Entity: "Erinys – Daughter of Balance" Now Manifesting]
Nayomi turned, lips curled in a snarl. "Another fucking Warden?"
"No," Selis said. "Worse."
The light twisted into a figure—tall, female, cloaked in a veil of justice threads. Her hair was woven from golden code, her eyes two galaxies locked in collapse. Where Orias was a judge, Erinys was something else.
She was judgment.
[New Trial Initiated – System Administrator Override: Erinys, Daughter of Balance]
[Trial Class: Divine Compensation]
[Objective: Pay the Price for Overriding a Warden Judgment]
[Consequence: One Member Must Bear the Burden – Permanently]
Kai stood, instinctively placing himself between the party and the new threat. His bond-link still thrummed from the last override, the threads humming like violin strings drawn too tight.
Erinys's voice was wind and razor. "You broke the trial. You defied severance. Balance demands recompense."
Nayomi rolled her shoulders. "Then try and take it. I dare you."
Erinys didn't blink. Didn't flinch. "You misunderstand, Fragment-Bonded. This is not a combat trial. This is a sacrifice."
A ring of energy etched itself into the floor, glyphs in Old Systemic script spiraling outward. Each word pulsed: Choice. Burden. Balance.
Kai's head snapped toward the system feed.
[One Bonded Must Accept a Permanent System Mark: "Bearer of Guilt"]
[Effects: Emotional Vulnerability +300% | System Penalties in Group Trials | Immunity to Expulsion]
[Warning: This Mark Cannot Be Removed or Shared]
[Time Remaining: 60 seconds]
Zaria stepped forward. "I'll take it."
"No," Selis said. "I've been marked before. I'll survive another."
Lyra's eyes blazed. "Fuck that. I'm the expendable one. We all know it."
Nayomi's expression didn't shift, but her voice turned lethal. "None of you take it. This is about him. This is his fight."
All eyes turned to Kai.
He didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Because he was watching something they weren't.
The threads.
The bond-lines between them all... were fraying. Not snapping, not breaking—but unraveling. The system wasn't bluffing. If no one took the burden, they'd all suffer.
But if someone did...
They'd be unprotected. Vulnerable. Open to emotional bleed, system interference, and worse—loss of self.
Kai's fingers curled into fists.
[30 Seconds Remaining]
Erinys watched silently. Not cruel. Not kind. Just inevitable.
Then Kai stepped forward.
"I'll take it."
The others surged in protest—four voices, all angry, all afraid.
But Kai held up a hand. And when he spoke, it was with the weight of every trial they'd survived.
"No one else gets hurt for my choices."
[Confirmation Detected – Mark of Guilt Transferring]
[Applying to User: Kai Draven]
[Caution: Mark Incompatible with Current Class Progression – Forced Divergence Triggered]
That line stopped him.
"What?"
[Your class "Apex Bondcaller" is incompatible with "Bearer of Guilt"]
[Reclassing to "Martyr-Linked" – All Bond-Based Skills Will Now Transfer Pain Instead of Power]
[Class Archetype Updated: Controller → Sacrificial Nexus]
Nayomi's voice was thunder. "Undo it."
But it was done.
The glyphs embedded themselves in Kai's skin like molten brandings. His chest lit up, veins turning silver-black. The bond threads reversed direction—no longer feeding him strength, but drawing his stability instead.
Kai fell to one knee.
Zaria caught him.
But it was Nayomi who screamed.
Not in pain.
Not in fury.
But in a sound that split the very idea of submission and turned it to wrath.
"You fucking SYSTEM BITCH," she roared at Erinys, voice cracking like whipfire. "He was the one holding us together. You think guilt can be managed like data? You want balance?! I'll burn your balance."
Erinys tilted her head.
"Unacceptable response logged. Additional punishment triggered—"
She never finished the sentence.
Nayomi lunged.
And for the first time... a fist hit Erinys.
The Administrator recoiled—not in pain, but in shock. Her face flickered. Glitched.
[Anomaly Detected – User Nayomi Interacting with Administrator Layer]
[Searching... Source Identified: Hidden Code Signature – "Dominion Protocol: Variant-Null"]
Selis gasped. "That's not possible."
Lyra's knives dropped. "She's not just bonded to Kai. She's... linked to the root."
Zaria swallowed. "She's a null-variable."
Kai tried to rise, tried to warn them—but his body refused. Every thread that once empowered him now leeched strength away, feeding the group's cohesion at the cost of his own will.
Erinys looked down at Nayomi, expressionless.
"This plane cannot sustain your presence," she said flatly. "You are not from this Tower."
Nayomi smiled.
And it was not sane.
"I'm not from any of them."
[Emergency Protocol Triggered – Transference Event Scheduled]
[Warning: Party Will Be Relocated to Unknown Floor]
[Time Until Shift: 10 Seconds]
Selis activated defensive glyphs.
Lyra yanked Kai upright, throwing him over her shoulder with a snarl.
Zaria began a barrier chant.
But Nayomi?
She didn't move.
She just leaned down to Kai's ear, her voice calm despite the chaos.
"You're not paying alone," she said. "Next floor, I'm breaking every rule."
The world collapsed around them.
Light twisted.
Reality folded.
[System Update: Entering Floor ??? – Rules Undefined – Danger Class: Absolute]
To be continued…