Night fell over Havenford like a held breath.Lanterns flickered in windows, but the streets stayed empty. Word of the mirror had spread fast—too fast. People who usually lingered at Merra's until closing now hurried home, casting glances at the sky.I sat at the edge of my bed, staring at the Lobby door.It pulsed.Not welcoming.Warning.[First direct contact imminent.] MMA said. [Higher-order entity confirmed inbound. Authority level: above local demons. Below full Admin.]"Define 'confirmed inbound,'" I thought.[The observer from the mirror got coordinates. Your bloodline is too loud now. They want a closer look.]The door shimmered violently, lines of stress cracking across its surface."Is Rhea safe?" I asked.[Her relay just went dark. Emergency lockdown on her end. Smart.]A knock at my actual door—not the Lobby one."Kai?" Aria's voice, low but urgent.I opened it.She stood there in travel robes, the cloth-wrapped mirror shard under one arm, eyes shadowed."Shrine went dark," she said without preamble. "Lights out. Spirits silent. First time since the priests left."My stomach dropped."Show me," I said.We moved fast, up the shrine steps under moonlight that felt too bright, too clean against the fractured sky.The offering table was cold.The bell hung still.Aria placed the shard in the center.Nothing.No hum.No resonance.Then the air... thickened.Not like before.Like something massive had just noticed the room.The shard pulsed once.A voice spoke.Not aloud.Not in my head.Everywhere.Bridge.The word carried weight. Layers. Echoes of other words in other tongues.I felt Aria tense beside me.She heard it too.Number One walks early. Awakens loud.The shard cracked further.We watch the cracks you mend. The doors you open. The names you collect."Who are you?" I said aloud.The presence circled, not hostile but immense.Observers. Archivists. Those who log the unraveling. Your bloodline was meant for later. For the true collapse."Not a fan of early service?" I asked.A ripple of... amusement? Cold, distant.Efficiency demands sequence. You skip steps. Connect what should stay siloed.Aria gripped the table edge."You're the ones leaving the fractures," she said.No. We map them. Others exploit. You interfere.The air shimmered.A figure coalesced—not fully solid, more like a silhouette etched in static and starlight.Tall. Cloaked. Face hidden in shifting geometries.Show us your Lobby, Bridge. Prove your anomaly.I felt the pull—an invitation that was also a command.[Don't.] MMA warned. [They're probing access levels.]But the door in my room wasn't the only connection.The presence had locked onto the shrine's resonance.Here.Now."No," I said.The silhouette tilted its head.Refusal logged.The pressure increased, air turning to glass around me.Compulsion authorized.My bloodline flared instinctively.Priority Authority surged—not to attack, but to deny."I said no."The silhouette flickered.You cannot—"I can."The compulsion shattered.The Observer recoiled, silhouette distorting.Anomaly confirmed. Escalation protocol.It vanished.The shard crumbled to dust.The shrine's hum returned, faint but angry.Aria exhaled hard."What... was that?" she asked."Management," I said. "Middle management, unhappy with unscheduled maintenance."She stared."You're serious.""Unfortunately."The sky above rumbled—not thunder, but deep resonance.[They're cutting off casual access.] MMA said. [No more casual pings. No more merchant mirrors. Direct contact now requires your initiation.]"Good," I thought. "I prefer house calls on my terms."Aloud: "Aria, can you reinforce the shrine? Keep it from... echoing too loud?"She nodded, already pulling incense and chalk from her pouch."Already on it," she said. "But Kai—""Yeah?""If they come again," she said, "don't antagonize them alone.""Noted," I said. "Next time, full party."She almost smiled."Go check your space station friend," she said. "And your Guild team. They're your advantage now."Back at the inn, the Lobby door hung dark, sealed.I touched it.Locked.[They're blocking uncontrolled access.] MMA explained. [You can still reach stable links, but wildcards are grounded.]"Rhea?" I thought.[Try.]I focused, bloodline threading toward S-07.The door flickered.Blue shimmer.Rhea stumbled through, hair wilder than usual, a faint burn mark on her sleeve."Alive," she said by way of greeting. "Barely. Your management friends decided to stress-test my entire segment.""They introduced themselves," I said.She grimaced."Yeah. 'Observer breach' doesn't cover it. My relay overloaded, fried three backup systems, and now Central thinks I'm hiding a weapon.""Sorry," I said."Not your fault," she said. "But they're playing dirtier now. No more peeking. They want the full tour.""Declined," I said."Good," she said. "Because I'm not letting station command anywhere near a door to fantasy land."She paced the Lobby, studying the now-dark threads."Options?" she asked."Reinforce what we have," I said. "Eldoria side: stabilize nodes, build alliances. Your side: same, but with tech.""And the Lobby?" she asked."Turns into our fortress," I said. "Safe space. Command center. No uninvited guests."She nodded."I like castles," she said.[Worldline Access locked to stable connections only.] MMA reported. [Observers escalated to 'active monitoring.']A new notification flickered:——————————
SYSTEM WARNING
HIGHER-ORDER ATTENTION: ELEVATED
NEW OBJECTIVE UNLOCKED:
"Prove the Anomaly"
– Demonstrate bloodline utility beyond interference.
– Or force Observer withdrawal.REWARDS:
– Full multiverse transit.
– Admin-level insight.PENALTY:
– Localized collapse acceleration.
——————————"Great," I muttered. "'Perform tricks or we break your toys.'"Rhea peered at the floating text."Classic bureaucracy," she said. "Make them regret paying attention."Downstairs, the Guild team waited.Harven, Rel, Sara, Lyse.Lena hovered nearby with tea.Aria slipped in last.I laid it out: the mirror, the Observer, the escalation.Silence.Then Lyse grinned."So we have cosmic accountants mad at us," she said. "Excellent."Harven rubbed his jaw."They threaten the town?" he asked."If I fail their test," I said.He nodded once."Then we don't fail," he said.Sara squeezed my hand briefly."You're not alone," she said quietly.Rel clapped my shoulder."Silver rank sticks together," he said.Lena set a cup in front of me."Multiverse or not," she said, "you still need to eat."Aria met my eyes across the table."Shrine stands with you," she said.Rhea's voice echoed faintly from the Lobby, unhearable to others.Ring stands ready.I looked around the table.Around the worlds."Alright," I said.The Number One Bloodline wasn't just mine anymore.It was ours.And the Observers had just made their first mistake:They'd given us time to get organized.