Mae's eyes swept the glowing script. Her lips moved without sound, tracing the symbols, letting the meaning sink in. It didn't read like a story. It didn't explain like a history book. It spoke. Not in words. In knowing. Her breath trembled as the lines shifted, symbols unfolding into shapes, memories not her own flickering at the edges of her mind. Names of species she recognized, some she didn't, flowed through the glowing text. Her pulse quickened. It knows everything.
Every species. Every origin. Every fall. Every rise. Every extinction. Every fracture. Every repair attempt. And her name, written nowhere. Written everywhere. She blinked hard, whispering to herself, "What, what does this mean?" The thought barely settled when a voice cut through her spinning mind, sharp, but curious. "What's it say?" Sethis. His tone wasn't rough, just edged in something between caution and intrigue.
The others leaned in slightly, tension climbing. Even Riven shifted forward from his seat, lips pressed tight. Kaine crossed his arms, his scowl thin but restrained. Mae wet her lips, fingers curling over the edge of the page as it pulsed softly under her touch.
"It, it lists everything." Her voice shook. "Every species. Every, every origin line. But then it," She swallowed. "It, it says I belong to none of them." Lucien blinked, standing straighter. "None?"
Riven frowned, brows knitting. "Void." Mae's hands trembled as she traced the last line at the bottom of the page, voice quieter now. "At the bottom, it says 'Claimed by none,'" Her breath caught. "'Bound to...'" But before she could finish Ashar spoke. Not loud. Not rushed. Not shaken. Just absolute. "Bound to existence." His crystalline voice rolled through the air, a vibration heavier than sound. His gaze locked on the page, but more than that, on her. "To creation and destruction."
His hand lifted, one finger dragging slowly along the same line her trembling fingers hovered over. "Not of any species. Not of any world. Not by blood. Not by origin."
He exhaled, slow, steady, as the next words slipped free. "But bound spiritually, to many." The room went deathly still. Every breath was held. Every glance snapped to him. Even Kaine, who never stayed quiet, stood frozen. Lucien's lips parted, but no sound came. Sethis tensed, his eyes flicking between Mae and Ashar like the words didn't quite compute.
Riven's jaw tightened, not out of defiance, but realization. A dawning understanding that settled like gravity made heavier. Bound spiritually to one. To him. The Codex pulsed once, bright. Confirming. Solidifying. Etching that truth into the air itself like it had waited eons to say it aloud. Mae's lips trembled. Her fingers clutched the edge of the page tighter, chest rising fast, shallow. Her gaze snapped up, colliding with Ashar's. Silent. Heavy. Unblinking. He didn't look away. Couldn't. Wouldn't.
And in the sudden, suffocating silence. The universe felt a little smaller. A little louder. And forever changed. Mae swallowed hard. Her fingers fidgeted against the Codex's edge, but the glow had faded, now settled, dormant. Waiting. The laughter and banter eased something in her chest, but not enough. Not enough to shake the cold reality wrapping tight around her ribs. Her gaze stayed low for a moment, pinned to the symbols burned into the pages, before slowly, carefully lifting.
"I don-" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again, louder. "I don't think you get it." The grin on Riven's face faltered, not vanished, but tempered. The others stilled again, attention pivoting to her. Mae exhaled shakily. "You, you think knowing what I am means something." Her fingers dug into her knees. "But it doesn't. It doesn't mean you know what I can do." Her eyes flicked toward them all. "I don't even know." Her voice rose, tight, sharp. "I don't know what I am. Or what I can do. Or, or what happens next. I-" Her breath hitched. "I shouldn't be trusted."
Silence. Again. But different this time. Heavier. More personal. Her hands trembled as she squeezed them tight into fists. "I can't even trust myself." Her gaze snapped to Ashar last, hard. "And you all shouldn't either." Ashar didn't flinch. Didn't look away. Didn't react at all. Sethis leaned forward slightly, chin resting on his fist, studying her with unsettling intensity. Lucien's brows knit together, arms crossed tight. Kaine shifted, jaw ticking, gaze sharp but unreadable. Riven's smile faded into something softer. Not pity. Not mockery. Something more honest.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "But, chaos bomb," He sat up, elbows on his knees. "None of us were exactly born trustworthy either." Lucien snorted. "Understatement of the century." Sethis hummed, low. "Speak for yourself." Kaine growled, "Void, he's not wrong." His fingers rubbed over his face. "Hell, I probably shouldn't be trusted most days either." Riven leaned back, pointing at Kaine. "Exactly. At least she hasn't tried to strangle anyone today."
Kaine glared. "Yet." A shaky, surprised breath escaped Mae's lips, half horrified, half almost amused. Her hands curled tighter, knuckles white. "But-" Riven's grin dropped, eyes serious now. "You get to decide that. Not them. Not some council. Not a Codex. Not even the fracture itself. You." Lucien nodded. "You've survived this long without breaking the world. That means something."
Sethis tilted his head. "Or it means the universe was waiting for the right moment."
"Helpful," Kaine deadpanned. But then Ashar finally moved. Slow. Deliberate. His hand lifted, just slightly, and for the first time, he spoke. "She's right." The room went still again. His gaze, crystalline and unreadable, stayed locked on Mae. "Knowing what you are, doesn't mean knowing who you are." A pause. Heavy. Unblinking.
"Or what you choose to become." Mae's breath trembled. Her throat burned. Her fingers curled tighter into her knees as her heart thundered, fast, loud, terrified. But even beneath that, a flicker. A single, stubborn ember of something she hadn't dared name yet. Choice.