The whisper did not come from the walls.
It did not come from the floor.
It came from Alia.
Her lips parted slowly, breath shallow, eyes still closed — yet her voice slipped through the ward like a knife drawn across silk.
A single name.
Soft.Broken.Wrong.
It was not a language any of them knew.
It bent strangely in the air, as if the sound itself refused to settle.
The runes flared violently.
Saphine felt her Echo recoil.
Aerin staggered back a step.
Even Eris stiffened — just slightly.
"Did… did anyone understand that?" Seloria whispered.
No one answered.
The name lingered for a heartbeat longer…then vanished.
And that was when Lyssandra moved.
"Enough," she snapped, eyes sharp, posture suddenly lethal."The thing we're worried about isn't outside the barrier."
Her gaze swept the room.
"It's here."
Meline's blades slid halfway free.
Aerin's grip tightened on his spear.
Korrin stopped pretending to nap.
Eris turned slowly, Akasha humming at a pitch only he could hear.
Lyssandra continued, voice steady.
"The pressure's wrong. Too focused. Too… polite."She smiled thinly."Whoever it is, they're hiding behind familiarity."
Her eyes locked onto a shadow near the far pillar.
"Come out."
Silence.
Then—
A chuckle.
Soft. Amused.
The shadow twisted, folding in on itself like wet ink pulled upward, until a familiar figure stepped forward, clapping slowly.
"Impressive," the man said."Most people never notice me until it's far too late."
Saphine's breath hitched.
"…Janus."
Eris's eyes narrowed.
So it was him.
The one who had appeared before.The one who had watched when Saphine stood before the fragment book.The one who had never interfered — only observed.
Janus smiled.
"Ah. So you remember me this time."
Lyssandra spat, "You were there in the Hollow."
"Yes," Janus agreed cheerfully."And before that. And before that."
Aerin's voice was cold."What are you?"
Janus tilted his head."Curious."
The air warped.
Eris stepped forward, voice calm but carrying a dangerous edge.
"You marked the Saintess's daughter."
Janus shrugged lightly.
"I brushed against something precious. I didn't think it would scream so loudly."
Alia stirred, brow furrowing.
Eris's presence sharpened instantly.
Janus noticed — and laughed.
"Oh relax. I'm not your enemy."
That made things worse.
"Then why are you here?" Saphine demanded.
Janus's gaze slid to her — not predatory, not mocking.
Almost… fond.
"Because this arc has reached its end."
The ward trembled.
Eris understood first.
"You're not here to take Alia," he said quietly."You're here to leave something behind."
Janus's smile widened.
"Exactly."
He snapped his fingers.
The pressure vanished.
The shadows recoiled.
And for a brief, impossible moment, everyone felt it —
A thread, snapping loose from reality.
Janus stepped backward, already fading.
"Next time," he said lightly,"try to understand the question before chasing the answer."
And then he was gone.
No explosion.No clash.
Just absence.
Eris exhaled slowly.
"This isn't over," he said.
"No," Seloria agreed."But that chapter is."