"Let it crack."
Zamira didn't raise her voice.She didn't challenge the night.
But the moment the words touched the thin line holding the two layers together,the world trembled.
The air beyond the window rippled.A line—never meant to be seen—shivered across the sky from end to end.
The bond was no longer theirs alone.It had begun to seep into the world itself.
Zamira pressed her hand to her chest.The pulse of that thin strand of light was still there.
Nayel's voice spread through the darkness, soft yet heavy:
"Tonight wasn't just a choice.It was… a beginning."
And the room expanded, breathing with two worlds at once.
In another realm, balance broke.
There was no alarm.No scream.
Only the unmistakable sensation of something being wrong.
Taru felt it first.
His golden-lit eyes darkened.His anger was never hidden—it was sharp, immediate.
"The bond has opened," he said."And it was answered."
Darius stepped forward, voice stripped of emotion.
"Human-layer bonds are sealed by law.This one is not."
Liliana remained silent.Yet she felt it—the resonance was not dark.
That frightened her most.
Sirius closed his eyes.Calculated.Measured.
"If this continues," he said,"the structure will fracture."
Cebrail said nothing.
But he lifted his head—and recognized the light.
Nayel did not flee when summoned.
He emerged from the shadows, form steady, expression bare.Not defiant.Only alone.
"I formed the bond," he said."And I will not sever it."
The punishment was subtle.
His visibility was restricted.
He could see the human world—but could not fully reach it.
Whenever he neared Zamira, his form blurred,his presence fractured,his voice echoed unnaturally.
Not separation.
But closeness without touch.
Zamira felt it without knowing why.
In her room, near midnight, something hollowed in her chest.Nayel's presence—faded.
She looked into the mirror.Saw herself.
And something deeper.
This was not collapse.It was a call.
"They did something to you," she whispered.
When Nayel answered, his voice trembled.
"No," he said."Not yet."
But she understood.
This bond was not one-sided.
And she would not remain a witness.
She focused on her heart—not instinctively, but consciously.
The crack of light widened.
Held.
"I can't bring you back," she breathed."But I can protect you."
She crossed not with her body,but as light.
Taru stepped back.Darius froze.Liliana's eyes filled.Sirius stopped calculating.
Cebrail bowed.
Zamira reached Nayel.
For the first time, they saw each other clearly.
She reached out.
Did not touch.
But an unseen shield wrapped around Nayel—the punishment intact,the pain gone.
"You will not harm him," Zamira said."That is all."
In the human world, power failed.
Electricity vanished in her district—without cause.
Some saw shadows where none should be.Some felt watched.
The doors did not open fully.
But darkness noticed her.
When Zamira returned, she was exhausted—but standing.
Nayel's voice echoed within her:
"You are no longer only in my world."
She answered:
"I never was."