The following morning, a runner arrived at their tent before the sun had fully risen.
He was young—no older than sixteen—with a crooked scar across one brow and armor two sizes too big. Despite his awkward appearance, his eyes were sharp, focused.
"The Council will see you now," he said.
Kieran and Riven exchanged a glance.
Neither of them had fully rested, but the weight in the boy's voice left little room for negotiation.
The council chamber was little more than a modified maintenance garage retrofitted with crude stone flooring and hastily welded steel doors. Several Codex users stood posted at key entrances—silent, armed, and very much alert.
The chamber was dim, lit by low-hanging lamps and a single open skylight, from which dust drifted in slow spirals. A long rectangular table stood at the center, surrounded by five makeshift thrones crafted from scrap and cloth.
The Council of Five.
They sat spaced evenly apart, each distinct in appearance, energy, and attitude.
Roth Darnell was there—his presence heavier in the daylight. His graying hair was tied back now, and his armor bore signs of maintenance and enchantment. Beside him sat a woman in black scale-plate with glowing tattoos on her forearms. Mira Kael, the elemental brawler and rumored second-strongest combatant in Sanctuary.
Opposite them sat a thin man with round spectacles and fingers stained with ink and soot. Caden Voss, Codex crafter, and engineer of the energy grid still keeping some lights operational.
Next to him, a sharp-eyed strategist—her Codex presence subtle, but potent. Lyra Quinn, who had supposedly once served as a government military analyst before the Fall.
And finally, at the head of the table, cloaked in crimson silk, a woman who radiated pressure that made even Kieran's Codex stir.
Myra Lorne.
Her hair was silver—not gray, silver—and cascaded in soft curls around a face that looked far too youthful for the reputation that preceded her. Her eyes were solid white, pupils replaced with faint mana rings. A living conduit.
She did not speak first.
Roth did.
"Kieran Vale. Riven Amari. You've been observed entering Sanctuary under safe passage. You've displayed multiple advanced skills, forged a weapon from Bloodsteel, and survived a Tier I Drone encounter alone."
Mira Kael's voice cut in—low and sharp. "And he survived a Gate."
Kieran said nothing.
Lyra leaned forward, fingers tented. "You understand how few Codex users have done that in the time we've been recording? You've progressed faster than any known survivor in the Northern Quadrant."
Riven tensed beside him.
"So why am I here?" Kieran asked calmly. "To be studied or recruited?"
Myra finally spoke.
Her voice was soft, but it carried an echo—like the Codex itself whispered through her.
"You're here because you've walked too far ahead, too quickly. The Codex is shifting more aggressively now… because of people like you."
Kieran met her gaze, even though it made his skin crawl.
"I didn't ask to be chosen."
"None of us did," she replied.
Caden tapped his fingers on the table. "Let's not waste time. We need to determine if you're a risk to Sanctuary, or a pillar."
"A pillar?" Kieran echoed, brow raised.
Roth nodded. "Someone we invest in. Someone we shield. Give access to shared resources, Codex records, gate tracking routes."
Lyra added, "And someone we expect full transparency from in return."
Ah. There it was.
Control.
He folded his arms. "And if I decline?"
Mira's hands sparked with visible red arcs. "Then we advise you leave. Before the Codex decides Sanctuary isn't yours to walk anymore."
Kieran stayed quiet for a beat.
"I didn't come here to take over. I came because I was told there was order here."
Myra leaned forward slightly. "Order is earned. Not inherited."
"And trust," Kieran said evenly, "is built. Not demanded."
That silenced the room for a moment.
Surprisingly, it was Caden who chuckled first. "He's not wrong."
Lyra sighed and tapped something on a metal tablet. "Proposal: conditional alignment. He gets access to the Shrine and the Codex terminal once he completes a trial under council observation."
"What kind of trial?" Riven asked cautiously.
Roth gestured toward the eastern wall. "There's a Codex anomaly reported in the Ravenspire ruins two kilometers from here. Mana spikes. Possibly a forming Gate or a corrupted one. You go there, investigate, survive—bring back whatever you find."
"And if I die?" Kieran asked.
Mira smiled coldly. "Then we'll know you weren't a pillar."
He met her gaze, not flinching.
Myra raised a hand, ending the discussion.
"You have until sunrise tomorrow to prepare. Roth will brief you. Dismissed."
Outside the chamber, the air felt thinner.
Riven exhaled. "They really like putting blades to throats, don't they?"
"They're scared," Kieran said. "This place is barely holding together. They see strength and want to chain it before it walks away—or burns them down."
"You're not walking away though, are you?"
He glanced at her. "No. Not yet."
Later that evening, Roth met him in a storage bunker near the perimeter.
He handed Kieran a folded map and a vial of shimmering green fluid.
"Mana suppressant," he explained. "The ruins are... unstable. You might attract things just by walking in with a high signature. This'll dampen you temporarily."
Kieran took it. "What aren't you telling me?"
Roth hesitated.
Then: "The last two people we sent didn't come back. We didn't find bodies. Just… black stone. Cracked like bone."
"Gate corruption?" Kieran asked.
"Worse," Roth said. "Something old."
As the moons rose once again, Kieran sat in the quiet of their tent, reviewing the map. Riven patched gear nearby in silence, humming softly—an old tune, out of place in this new world, but comforting.
[Codex Note: Objective Updated][Mission: Ravenspire Anomaly – Tier I Priority]
[Estimated Threat: Tier I–II][Suggested Loadout: Bloodsteel Edge, Bind skill, med-kit x2, suppressant vial]
[Reward: Council Favor + Codex Fragment]
He folded the map and looked over at her.
"You don't have to come."
Riven gave him a flat look. "You're not leaving me behind. Not after what we've survived."
He nodded.
Tomorrow, they'd walk into something no one else had returned from.
And for the first time since the Codex had awakened in him, Kieran wasn't afraid of the death waiting in the dark.
He was afraid of what he might bring back.