Lucian woke because the world felt **lighter**.
Not quiet.
Not peaceful.
Light.
He lay still for several breaths, afraid that moving would bring the pressure crashing back. When it didn't, he opened his eyes.
Stone ceiling. Natural light filtering in from a narrow vent. The smell of minerals and something faintly medicinal.
He inhaled.
No scream from his Core.
No crushing density.
Just… presence.
"…huh," he murmured.
That alone told him something was wrong.
Lucian pushed himself up slowly.
His body obeyed without protest. Muscles ached, but not catastrophically. His heartbeat felt steady, almost ordinary.
Too ordinary.
He reached inward.
The Monolith answered.
But not the way it had before.
Where there had once been layers of crushing density, there was now **structure**. Clean lines. Empty spaces. Gaps that felt intentional rather than missing.
Lucian frowned.
"I got hollowed out."
A voice answered from the doorway.
"Yes."
Kaelis stood there, arms folded, eyes sharp and exhausted and very much alive.
Lucian's breath caught.
"…hey."
She walked over and hit him in the shoulder.
Hard.
"Ow," he said reflexively.
"Good," she snapped. "You're solid."
He laughed weakly.
"You look terrible."
She smirked.
"Been awake longer."
Lucian studied her more carefully.
She stood straighter now. Not stronger—_decided_. The subtle edge of anticipation was gone from her posture, replaced by something heavier.
Command.
"What happened to me?" he asked quietly.
Kaelis's expression softened just a fraction.
"You vented a Monolith and lived."
Lucian winced.
"That's not an answer."
She sat beside him.
"The Arbiter didn't just take pressure," she said. "It carved."
Lucian felt a chill.
"…carved what?"
Kaelis met his gaze.
"Capacity."
Lucian closed his eyes again and focused.
She was right.
He could still compress. Still bleed. Still shape density.
But the _ceiling_ was lower.
Not locked.
Just… gone.
"I can't reach where I was," he said slowly.
Kaelis nodded.
"And you probably never will again."
Lucian exhaled.
"Permanent damage."
"Yes."
He was quiet for a long moment.
Then he shrugged weakly.
"…worth it."
She rolled her eyes.
"You don't get points for martyrdom."
"Wasn't trying to," he said. "Just didn't want a city erased on my watch."
Kaelis leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
"You saved them. The Accord confirmed zero cascading fallout."
Lucian smiled faintly.
"So the math worked."
"It always does," she said. "Eventually."
He glanced at her.
"And you?"
Her jaw tightened.
"I didn't lose anything new," she said carefully.
That told him everything.
"…but?"
"But what I lost before didn't come back."
Lucian swallowed.
"You don't feel the future."
"No."
"And leading like that?"
She looked at him.
"It's terrifying."
He nodded slowly.
"Still doing it?"
She smiled, sharp and tired.
"Someone has to."
They didn't give him long to sit.
The Null Accord woman arrived with two others—one older, one younger—neither carrying obvious weapons.
Lucian stood when they entered.
She waved him down.
"Save the effort. You're still under observation."
"Comforting," he muttered.
She didn't smile this time.
"What you did forced an Arbiter to log restraint."
Lucian frowned.
"That's… bad?"
"It's unprecedented," she corrected. "And it means every oversight entity just upgraded you from anomaly to _case study_."
Kaelis folded her arms.
"So we're popular."
"Yes," the woman said bluntly. "And we can't pretend neutrality anymore."
Lucian looked between them.
"How big is the Accord?"
The younger one answered.
"Bigger than you think. Smaller than we need."
The woman continued.
"We don't have armies. We have _nodes_. Shelters. Stabilizers. Worlds that don't want to be collateral."
Lucian's Core stirred uneasily.
"And now?"
"Now the Sovereign knows we'll intervene."
Kaelis exhaled.
"That means escalation."
"Yes."
Lucian met the woman's gaze.
"What's worse than an Arbiter?"
She didn't answer immediately.
When she did, her voice was flat.
"An **Executor**."
Lucian felt something go very still inside him.
"…define that."
"Arbiters judge," she said. "Executors _enforce_. They don't negotiate. They don't reassess."
Kaelis swore softly.
"And they're coming?"
The woman nodded.
"Soon."
Lucian looked down at his hands.
"I'm weaker now."
She corrected him.
"You're narrower."
Lucian frowned.
"…that's supposed to help?"
"Yes," she said simply. "Executors are built to overwhelm."
Lucian understood.
"And they don't adapt well to limits."
The woman nodded.
"Exactly."
Later, Kaelis stood before a group of Accord operatives and city liaisons.
No stage.
No banners.
Just a circle of tired people who had watched the sky judge them.
Lucian watched from the edge, still unsteady.
Kaelis spoke clearly.
"We don't know what's coming next," she said. "I won't pretend otherwise."
No murmurs. Just listening.
"I can't promise early warnings. I can't promise clean victories."
A pause.
"But I can promise this."
She looked around the circle.
"I won't sacrifice you without telling you why."
That did it.
People nodded.
Someone exhaled in relief.
Lucian felt something tighten painfully in his chest.
She had never needed foresight to lead.
Only honesty.
Afterward, she found him leaning against the stone wall.
"You were watching."
"Yeah," he said quietly. "You're good at that."
She snorted.
"I'm terrified."
He smiled faintly.
"Good leaders usually are."
Far away—
far beyond the Accord's reach—
The Sovereign stood within a chamber that did not exist in any one reality.
It observed a projection of Lucian and Kaelis.
**"Capacity reduced,"** it noted.
**"Behavior unchanged."**
A second presence spoke.
**"Recommendation: escalate force."**
The Sovereign considered.
Then shook its head.
**"Force creates martyrs."**
It turned toward another projection.
A world not yet touched by Monolith density.
Populated. Thriving.
Connected to Lucian by nothing more than coincidence.
**"We will correct behavior,"** the Sovereign said calmly.
**"By teaching consequence."**
The chamber darkened.
An Executor stirred.
Lucian felt it hours later.
Not pain.
**Pull.**
He stiffened, hand pressing to his chest.
Kaelis noticed instantly.
"…what?"
He swallowed.
"I think the Sovereign just picked a lesson."
Her jaw set.
"Where?"
Lucian closed his eyes.
"…somewhere innocent."
She didn't hesitate.
"Then we move."
Lucian nodded.
Despite the hollowed ceiling.
Despite the scars.
"Yeah," he said softly. "We do."
The world's name was **Vireth**.
Lucian learned it as they crossed the threshold, the syllables settling into him with an almost painful clarity. It wasn't a battlefield. It wasn't strategic. It was inconveniently beautiful.
Blue skies.
Wide rivers.
Cities grown outward instead of upward, built to breathe.
Kaelis stood beside him on a ridge overlooking the capital basin.
"…they picked this on purpose," she said quietly.
Lucian nodded.
"No Accord nodes. No Monolith history. No defenses."
A clean slate.
Perfect for an example.
The Null Accord team fanned out immediately, comms lighting up as local liaisons scrambled to understand why off-world evac protocols were suddenly activating.
Lucian felt the pull again.
Stronger.
Closer.
"It's already here," he said.
Kaelis exhaled.
"Positions."
Orders snapped out. Calm. Measured.
She didn't see the future anymore, but she _saw people_. Where they would bottleneck. Where panic would spread. Where lies would kill faster than weapons.
"Redirect traffic off the river bridges. Shut down the skyports first, not last. Tell them it's structural risk, not invasion."
Someone hesitated.
"That'll cause delays—"
"It'll save lives," Kaelis said flatly. "Move."
They moved.
Lucian watched her and felt something twist in his chest.
This was what leadership looked like without prophecy.
There was no sky-tear.
No announcement.
The air simply **forgot how to hold heat**.
Lucian staggered as cold rippled outward in perfect concentric waves.
Every living thing shuddered.
Birds fell silent mid-flight.
The river froze—not solid, but _still_, surface tension thickening until movement became effort.
Lucian's Monolith reacted instantly.
Not with resistance.
With recognition.
"…that thing isn't measuring," he whispered.
Kaelis's jaw tightened.
"It's enforcing."
The Executor manifested at the city's center.
Humanoid in shape only because that shape was efficient.
Black-white geometry wrapped around a core of blinding stillness. Symbols crawled across its surface, rewriting themselves constantly.
No curiosity.
No hesitation.
Just purpose.
The Executor spoke.
**"NONCOMPLIANT VARIABLE DETECTED."**
Lucian felt the words settle into the world like a verdict.
Kaelis whispered:
"…it's talking about _us_."
Lucian stepped forward.
"Then let's not let it talk to the city."
Lucian moved first.
Not fast.
**Accurately.**
He bled Monolith density in a narrow arc, shaping pressure into a funnel aimed away from populated districts.
The ground cracked under his feet as the Executor turned toward him.
**"SOURCE IDENTIFIED."**
Lucian grimaced.
"Yeah. That's the problem."
He struck.
Not with expansion.
With **shear**.
His compressed density slid sideways through reality, slicing instead of crushing.
The Executor reacted instantly, adapting its field.
Lucian felt the resistance spike.
His old ceiling would have shattered it.
This one—
Held.
Barely.
Kaelis shouted commands behind him, voice steady even as the sky dimmed further.
"Evac corridor three collapsing—reroute to five. Don't stop moving."
The Executor advanced.
Each step flattened probability. Lucian felt his footing weaken, traction vanishing.
He stumbled.
The Executor raised its hand.
**"ENFORCEMENT ACTION COMMENCING."**
Lucian braced—
And Kaelis screamed.
"LUCIAN—MOVE—!"
Too late.
The Executor struck.
The blow didn't hit Lucian.
It hit **the city**.
A district miles away went dark instantly.
Not destroyed.
Disconnected.
Power grids failed. Comms went dead. Transportation froze mid-motion.
People screamed as systems they relied on simply… stopped.
Lucian felt it like a knife in his gut.
"It's not attacking us," he gasped.
Kaelis's face went pale.
"…it's punishing _them_."
The Executor spoke calmly.
**"COMPLIANCE INCENTIVE APPLIED."**
Lucian roared.
"You sick—!"
The Executor turned slightly, acknowledging him.
**"DIRECT FORCE INEFFICIENT."**
**"INDIRECT PRESSURE OPTIMAL."**
Kaelis clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms.
"It's making us choose," she whispered. "Fight it… or let people suffer."
Lucian's Monolith flared instinctively.
Then stuttered.
He couldn't outscale it.
Not anymore.
He swallowed hard.
"…then we don't play its game."
Lucian stopped attacking.
The Executor paused, recalculating.
Kaelis snapped her head toward him.
"What are you doing?"
Lucian exhaled slowly.
"Something new."
He turned inward—not toward compression—
Toward **distribution**.
Instead of bleeding density outward, he **threaded** it. Thin strands, precise, weaving through the city's infrastructure like invisible veins.
Kaelis felt it through the bond.
"…you're reinforcing."
Lucian nodded.
"Stabilizing probability instead of fighting it."
The Executor reacted instantly.
**"ANOMALOUS RESPONSE DETECTED."**
Lucian's vision blurred as the strain skyrocketed.
"I can't hold this long."
Kaelis didn't hesitate.
"Then I'll shorten the window."
She turned to the Accord teams.
"All units, listen carefully. We have one opening. You move _now_."
Her voice carried across channels, across panic.
"Get them out."
The Executor advanced again, sensing threat.
Lucian's threads began to fray.
Sweat poured down his face.
"Kaelis—!"
"I know," she said sharply. "Stay with me."
She stepped forward, blade raised—not to strike—
To **mark**.
She drove the blade into the stone and shouted:
"THIS IS ON ME."
The Executor's attention snapped to her.
**"CO-MONOLITH ENTITY IDENTIFIED."**
Kaelis met its gaze, heart hammering.
"You want compliance?" she said hoarsely. "Then look at me."
Lucian felt the pull shift.
The pressure redirected.
The city breathed.
Lucian screamed as the strain doubled.
Blood streamed from his nose again.
Kaelis's hands shook as she held the Executor's focus, every instinct screaming that she was about to be erased.
The Null Accord evacuated thousands in minutes.
But not all.
Never all.
Lucian felt his threads snapping one by one.
"…Kaelis… I'm running out…"
She nodded, eyes never leaving the Executor.
"Almost done."
The Executor raised its hand.
**"ESCALATION REQUIRED."**
The sky darkened further.
Lucian felt something catastrophic align.
Then—
A pulse rippled outward.
Not from the Executor.
From **somewhere else**.
The Executor froze.
Its symbols flickered.
Lucian gasped.
"…that wasn't us."
Kaelis felt it too.
A presence.
Not Sovereign.
Not Accord.
Something older.
Watching.
The Executor hesitated.
For the first time—
It stopped.
The pulse faded.
The city stabilized just enough.
Lucian collapsed to one knee, gasping.
Kaelis ran to him, catching his weight.
"You okay?"
He shook his head weakly.
"Define okay."
The Executor slowly turned its gaze skyward.
**"…UNREGISTERED INFLUENCE DETECTED."**
The Sovereign felt it too.
Far away, its attention sharpened.
Something had interfered.
Something that was not supposed to exist.
Kaelis helped Lucian to his feet.
"…we're not the only ones pushing back," she whispered.
Lucian wiped blood from his mouth.
"Looks like the universe just got crowded."
The Executor did not leave.
But it did not strike again.
Not yet.
And that—
That was new.
The pulse did not repeat.
That was the most unsettling part.
If it had surged again, if it had flared or asserted itself, Lucian could have classified it. Power liked to announce itself. Even the Sovereign did, in its own sterile way.
This was different.
It was restraint.
Lucian stood unsteadily, supported by Kaelis, both of them staring at the sky as if waiting for it to blink.
The Executor remained frozen mid-motion, arm raised, symbols flickering like corrupted text.
**"…PROCESS HALT,"** it intoned slowly.
**"UNREGISTERED VARIABLE INTERFERENCE."**
Kaelis swallowed.
"It didn't attack."
Lucian nodded, breathing hard.
"It wasn't _stopped_. It was… corrected."
The Null Accord woman's voice crackled over comms.
"All units, continue evacuation. Do not re-engage. Do not look for the source."
Kaelis frowned.
"You know what that was."
The woman didn't answer immediately.
When she did, her voice was lower.
"I know what it _might_ be."
Lucian felt his Monolith stir faintly, not in alarm.
In recognition.
"…tell us."
"Not here," the woman said. "And not yet."
The Executor's symbols reassembled.
Its head tilted—not toward Lucian—
But toward the _absence_ where the pulse had originated.
**"INTERFERENCE NOTED,"** it said.
**"ESCALATION SUSPENDED."**
Lucian laughed weakly.
"That's a first."
Kaelis didn't smile.
"It's adapting."
The Executor did not withdraw.
Instead, it lifted its hand and pressed it gently to the air.
The city shuddered.
Not violently.
Deliberately.
Lucian felt his threads strain as probability thickened—not collapsing, not freezing—
**Compartmentalizing.**
"…it's partitioning the world," he whispered.
Kaelis's eyes widened.
"It's turning districts into isolated zones."
The Executor spoke again.
**"CONTAINMENT MODE INITIATED."**
Walls of invisible force slid into place, separating neighborhoods from each other like cells in a hive.
People trapped inside screamed as escape routes vanished.
Lucian clenched his teeth.
"It can't delete the world without authorization," he said. "So it's isolating damage."
Kaelis swore softly.
"And forcing us to choose _which_ parts we save."
Lucian's Monolith pulsed weakly.
He couldn't cover everything.
Not anymore.
He closed his eyes and made a decision that felt heavier than compression ever had.
"We don't chase the Executor," he said quietly.
Kaelis snapped her head toward him.
"What?"
"We outlast it," he continued. "We stabilize faster than it can isolate."
She stared at him.
"That's not how fights work."
"No," he agreed. "That's how _wars_ do."
Lucian moved again, but differently this time.
He didn't anchor himself in the plaza.
He walked.
Through the streets.
Through the damage.
Bleeding Monolith density in thin, controlled patterns that reinforced structures, equalized probability gradients, and dampened cascading failures.
Every step hurt.
But every step mattered.
Kaelis moved with him—not in front, not behind—
Beside.
She didn't anticipate danger.
She _responded_ to reality as it unfolded, voice snapping orders, hands steady, blade moving only when it had to.
The Null Accord followed.
Not as soldiers.
As infrastructure.
Lucian realized it as he watched them work.
"They're not a faction," he murmured. "They're a fail-safe."
Kaelis nodded grimly.
"For when gods misbehave."
The Executor watched them.
**"ANOMALOUS STRATEGY CONFIRMED."**
**"RESOURCE EXPENDITURE INEFFICIENT."**
Lucian looked up.
"Good," he muttered. "Then stop."
The Executor did not.
But it slowed.
Hours passed.
The city stabilized.
Not fully.
But enough.
Lucian collapsed against a stone wall, breathing shallowly.
Kaelis crouched beside him.
"You can't keep this up."
He nodded weakly.
"I know."
She hesitated.
"…but you could do it again."
Lucian met her gaze.
"Not like before."
She swallowed.
"What does that mean?"
He closed his eyes, feeling the shape of his Monolith now.
"I can't be a weapon anymore," he said softly. "I'm a _structure_."
Kaelis frowned.
"…that sounds worse."
He smiled faintly.
"It's different."
She leaned her forehead against his.
"Then I'll be the blade."
He laughed quietly.
"Fair trade."
Far away, the Sovereign watched Vireth stabilize.
Its projections flickered, recalculating again and again.
**"Executor compliance below threshold,"** it observed.
Another presence spoke.
**"Unregistered interference persists."**
The Sovereign narrowed its focus.
It replayed the moment of the pulse.
Again.
And again.
Its symbols shifted subtly.
**"…that pattern,"** it said slowly.
**"That is not Accord."**
The chamber darkened.
**"And it is not Monolith."**
For the first time since the war began, the Sovereign hesitated.
As night fell on Vireth, Lucian felt it again.
Closer this time.
Not pressure.
Not pull.
**Attention.**
He stiffened.
Kaelis noticed instantly.
"…what now?"
He swallowed.
"I think… whatever interrupted the Executor?"
She tensed.
"It's back."
The air beside them shimmered.
Not tearing.
**Opening.**
A figure stepped through—humanoid, but soft-edged, like a suggestion more than a body.
No symbols.
No aura.
Just presence.
It looked at Lucian.
Then at Kaelis.
And spoke, gently.
"You bleed carefully," it said.
Lucian's heart hammered.
"…who are you?"
The figure tilted its head.
"Someone who remembers what the world was like before it needed oversight."
Kaelis's grip tightened on her blade.
"Friend or enemy?"
The figure smiled—sad, old, tired.
"Neither," it said. "Not yet."
Lucian felt his Monolith resonate faintly.
"…you stopped the Executor."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The figure's gaze drifted toward the city lights.
"Because if Executors are allowed to decide mercy," it said quietly,
"then existence becomes a rounding error."
Silence stretched.
Kaelis asked the real question.
"…what do you want from us?"
The figure looked back at Lucian.
"To see if you survive what comes next."
Lucian exhaled.
"…that's not reassuring."
The figure chuckled softly.
"It's honest."
The figure stepped back toward the shimmer.
"Others like me are watching now," it said. "Some will help. Some will test."
Lucian frowned.
"…how many?"
The figure paused.
"Enough."
It vanished.
Lucian slumped against the wall.
"…great. Now we're a trend."
Kaelis snorted quietly.
"Could be worse."
He glanced at her.
"How?"
She smiled, sharp and tired.
"They could all agree."
Far above—
The Sovereign recalculated its strategy.
The Executor adjusted its protocols.
And something older than both began paying attention.
The war had outgrown its architects.
The shimmer did not fully close.
It thinned, like a door left ajar on purpose.
Lucian felt it again—attention, but now layered. Not one presence.
Several.
Watching through something that wasn't space.
Kaelis crossed her arms.
"…I hate when the universe starts forming committees."
Lucian huffed weakly.
"Same."
The air folded inward once more, gently this time. The same soft-edged figure returned, accompanied by faint silhouettes that did not fully resolve.
Observers.
Not hiding.
Not invading.
Waiting.
"You asked who we are," the figure said calmly.
Lucian straightened despite the ache.
"I did."
"We are called the **Remnants**."
Kaelis's eyes narrowed.
"That's not comforting."
"It shouldn't be," the figure replied. "We are what remains when systems fail and gods overcorrect."
Lucian felt his Monolith respond—not in alignment, not in rejection.
Recognition again.
"You existed before the Sovereign," he said quietly.
"Yes."
"And before the Executors."
"Yes."
Kaelis swallowed.
"…and you let all this happen?"
The figure didn't flinch.
"We tried intervention once," it said softly. "It ended with reality tearing itself apart."
Lucian absorbed that in silence.
"So now you watch."
"We intervene _surgically_," the Remnant replied. "When enforcement threatens existence itself."
Kaelis gestured toward the city.
"Like this."
"Yes."
Lucian nodded slowly.
"…you're not on our side."
"No," the Remnant agreed. "But you are interesting."
Kaelis snorted.
"Fantastic."
The ground trembled.
Not collapsing.
**Focusing.**
Lucian's head snapped up.
"…it's still here."
The Executor had not left Vireth.
It had finished calculating.
The sky darkened into a uniform slate as symbols locked into place around the city's perimeter.
**"CONTAINMENT FAILURE UNACCEPTABLE,"** the Executor intoned.
**"ALTERNATE RESOLUTION INITIATED."**
Kaelis's breath caught.
"What now?"
Lucian felt it immediately.
"…it's not isolating districts anymore."
The Remnant's expression sharpened.
"It's collapsing _choice_."
The Executor raised both hands.
The city's remaining evacuation corridors began to _vanish_, not closing but becoming statistically unreachable. Paths existed—but no one could successfully take them.
Panic erupted.
Lucian clenched his teeth.
"You're forcing inevitability," he growled.
**"CORRECT,"** the Executor replied.
**"ORDER REQUIRES OUTCOMES."**
Kaelis grabbed Lucian's arm.
"You can't stabilize that many variables."
Lucian nodded grimly.
"I know."
He stepped forward anyway.
Lucian did not bleed density outward this time.
He did the opposite.
He **anchored** it.
He compressed probability _locally_, not to dominate—but to _pin_.
Small zones.
Critical intersections.
Hospitals. Shelters. Transit hubs.
His Monolith screamed as he carved his remaining capacity into fixed points.
Kaelis felt it through the bond and gasped.
"Lucian—stop—you're hard-locking yourself—"
"If I don't," he said through clenched teeth, "it wins by default."
The Executor reacted instantly.
**"STRUCTURAL RESISTANCE DETECTED."**
It advanced.
Every step crushed probability around Lucian.
The strain spiked violently.
Lucian dropped to one knee.
Kaelis stepped in front of him without thinking.
"No."
The Executor paused.
**"CO-MONOLITH ENTITY NONESSENTIAL."**
Kaelis smiled grimly.
"Then you're about to learn something."
She drove her blade into the ground.
Not to attack.
To **declare**.
"I am not foresight," she said, voice carrying.
"I am response. And I'm done reacting."
Her Core flared—not faster—
**Deeper.**
Lucian felt it like a brace locking into place.
She wasn't amplifying him.
She was **supporting the structure**.
The Remnant's eyes widened slightly.
"…interesting."
Far away, the Sovereign observed the Executor's escalation.
Its calculations refined.
Then froze.
Lucian's new pattern did not converge toward collapse.
It stabilized.
Barely.
But consistently.
**"ANOMALY PERSISTENCE INCREASING,"** the Sovereign noted.
It made a decision.
A simple one.
**"AUTHORIZE FULL EXECUTION."**
That was the mistake.
The Remnant stiffened.
"…it crossed the line."
Lucian felt it too.
Not pressure.
**Permission.**
The Executor froze mid-motion.
Its symbols scrambled violently.
**"OVERRIDE DETECTED—"**
The Remnant stepped forward.
Not attacking.
**Withdrawing consent.**
The Executor's form fractured—not destroyed—
Disconnected.
It collapsed inward and vanished like a calculation erased mid-line.
Silence fell.
The city stood.
Alive.
Lucian collapsed fully, Kaelis catching him as the last anchor points dissolved safely.
The Remnant exhaled.
"Enforcement rescinded."
Kaelis stared at the empty sky.
"…you just overruled the Sovereign."
The Remnant nodded.
"Yes."
Lucian coughed weakly.
"…that seems… big."
The Remnant looked at him.
"It is irreversible."
Dawn broke over Vireth.
The city was damaged. Scarred.
But breathing.
Null Accord teams moved openly now, no longer pretending invisibility.
People looked at Lucian and Kaelis with something new.
Not hope.
Not fear.
**Understanding.**
Lucian lay back against the stone, exhausted beyond words.
"So," he murmured. "What happens now?"
The Remnant met his gaze.
"Now the Sovereign knows it is not absolute."
Kaelis snorted softly.
"Good."
The Remnant's voice softened.
"And now you become something dangerous."
Lucian closed his eyes.
"…we already were."
"No," the Remnant said gently. "You were anomalies."
A pause.
"Now you are _precedent_."
Kaelis squeezed Lucian's hand.
"Lucky us."
Far above—
The Sovereign recalculated with missing assumptions.
The Executor was gone.
The Remnants were visible.
And the Monolith War had crossed a threshold it could never retreat from.