She stood in silence, her red eyes glowing softly beneath the strange light of the Ysilith Tree. Her form was tall, regal, draped in robes that shimmered with stardust and fragments of broken code. Her skin bore shifting patterns—glyphs, equations, and runes that never stayed still—constantly rewriting, living.
Elias stared at her, unsure whether to kneel, speak, or raise his weapon. His instincts screamed at him. This woman was not human. Not a system. Not even a god.
She was something older.
"I've seen you before," Elias said, breath still heavy from the fight. "In my dreams. When I was reborn. You whispered to me..."
The woman smiled gently. "I did more than whisper, Elias. I placed the flame inside you. I gave you the system."
Elias narrowed his eyes. "Then what are you?"
She stepped forward, her presence bending the space around them like gravity.
