The sky above January was no longer stable.
The crack in reality widened slowly, pale light spilling through it like liquid dawn. The city trembled beneath the pressure.
People ran through the streets.
Guards shouted orders no one followed.
But Aren Vale did not move.
He stood in the center of the ruined street, staring upward.
The mark on his wrist burned hotter with every second.
System Alert:
Higher Entity Manifestation Detected.
Lyra grabbed his arm. "Aren, you need to move."
He shook his head.
"No."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"If I run now, it will follow."
Above them, the fracture stretched wider. Something vast pressed against the boundary of the world. Even from this distance, its presence made the air heavy.
Aren felt it.
A mind older than mountains.
A power that treated the world like a fragile toy.
Lyra whispered, "You can't fight that."
Aren's eyes hardened.
"Maybe not."
He slowly stepped forward into the empty street.
"But it came here because of me."
The ground cracked beneath his boots.
"So it will face me."
The burning mark on his wrist spread across his arm like living fire.
System Override Initiated.
Aren clenched his fist.
For the first time since leaving the pit…
He let the power inside him rise.