Selene woke to darkness.
She was restrained—floating in a shimmering cage of golden light that bent space around her. Her limbs were locked by invisible chains, humming softly with Architect glyphs.
Lyra stood outside the cage, arms crossed, watching her with an unreadable expression.
"You should've stayed quiet," Lyra said softly. "They wouldn't have noticed you."
Selene glared, her silver eyes flickering weakly. "…So what now? Kill me?"
Lyra shook her head. "No. You're too valuable. You're coming back."
"Back… where?"
Lyra's crimson eyes gleamed with a faint sadness.
"To Origin. The true world. Where the Architects rule."
Selene laughed faintly. "And why would I go quietly?"
Lyra's gaze sharpened. "Because you don't have a choice."
With a snap of her fingers, the cage folded in on itself, compressing Selene into a small glowing sphere—her body, her power, her very essence compacted.
Lyra picked it up effortlessly.
Above them, a portal tore open—revealing a vast void filled with colossal structures of impossible geometry, glowing rivers of pure energy, and distant figures that looked like gods staring down.
Lyra whispered to herself, almost too quietly:
"She's not ready for what's coming…"
Then she stepped into the portal.
And the world Selene knew faded away.