The bell above the door didn't chime
it rang with a cold, mathematical precision.
A man stepped into the office. He didn't have the void-like absence of the Collector, nor the shimmering starlight of Vaelen. He was, in every sense, "too much."
His suit was a grey so neutral it hurt the eyes to focus on it.
His skin was flawless, like polished porcelain, and his eyes were the color of a clear, winter sky beautiful, but devoid of any heat.
He didn't look at the shelves of umbrellas.
He looked at the air itself, as if reading a ledger only he could see.
"Item 001," he said.
His voice was melodic but lacked the "Spirit Note" vibration Adriana was used to.
It sounded like a recording of a voice rather than a soul speaking.
"Adriana...
I believe you are in possession of property that does not belong to this sector."
"Who are you?"
Adriana asked.
She felt the First Memory in her chest tighten.
Inside her, Vaelen's echo gave a sharp, warning chime a discordance she had never felt before.
"I am an Auditor of the Blueprint,"
the man replied, adjusting his cufflinks.
"My name is Caius.
You have caused a significant 'error' in the local reality.
The destruction of the Siphon has led to a 42% increase in unauthorized empathy across the city.
This is... inefficient."
Adriana stepped back, her hand grazing the oak counter.
"The Siphon was a machine of misery.
People are remembering who they are.
That's not an error."
"Memory is noise, Adriana," Caius said, walking toward her with a measured stride.
"Noise creates friction.
Friction leads to heat, and heat leads to entropy.
The Architect designed this world to be a smooth, silent machine.
You have introduced a virus: Wonder."
He stopped at the counter and placed a hand on it.
Beneath his touch, the wood didn't just grow cold
it turned white.
The grain of the wood smoothed over, becoming a sterile, plastic-like substance.
He was literally "standardizing" the world around him.
"I am here to reclaim the First Memory," Caius continued calmly.
"It is the original 'Source Code.' It belongs in the Vault of the Architect, where it can be stored in a vacuum, safe from the messy hands of humanity."
"You'll have to take it from me," Adriana said, her violet eyes flaring.
"Oh, I won't take it by force," Caius smiled, a terrifyingly perfect expression.
"Force creates more noise.
I am going to make you want to give it up.
I am going to show you that a world without pain, without loss, and without 'found' items is much more comfortable than the one you are trying to build."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, silver coin.
He flipped it onto the counter.
It didn't bounce
it landed with a dead thud.
"Look around you, Adriana.
The people you 'saved'
they are waking up to their grief. They are waking up to their debt. Are you sure they thank you for the burden of being alive?"
At that moment, the door burst open.
It was the young man the one Adriana had given the violet marble to.
He looked frantic.
"Adriana!
Help! I... I can't stop feeling it!"
he cried.
"I remember my father now, but I also remember how much I hate that he's gone.
It hurts too much!
Make it stop!
Give me back the Static!"
Caius looked at Adriana, his blue eyes shimmering with a cold triumph.
"The first customer has arrived. Will you heal him, Weaver?
Or will you admit that the Silence was a mercy?"