Russ stood rigid, every fiber of his being coiled. Silas Vore radiated calm power, the kind that didn't need to boast. The man's presence bent the air around him, like gravity itself wanted to kneel.
Kala remained between them, claws flexed, wings flared wide. "Take another step, Vore, and I'll rip out your spine."
Silas chuckled. "Relax, little Seraphim. If I wanted him dead, I'd have done it before you smelled me."
"I've had enough of riddles and theatrics," Russ snapped. "Say what you came to say."
Silas's smile faded. "Very well. You're not Quinn's mistake, Russ. You're the Void's contingency. A hybrid bred not to obey, but to survive. To conquer."
Russ shook his head. "No. I'm not your weapon. I'm not anyone's."
"You think your rebellion makes you free?" Silas asked, voice quiet. "You're already marked. The pulse responded to you because you carry the First Seal—origin energy from before the Systems. That power wants to be used. And whether you like it or not, the other Seals will call to you soon."
"The Seals?" Kala asked. "That's myth. Pre-System garbage."
"Is it?" Silas raised a finger, and a violet sigil shimmered in the air—ancient, complex, and somehow familiar to Russ. "This is the second. I've carried it for 600 years. You want answers? You'll need all of them."
Russ stared, the sigil pulsing in rhythm with his own heart. "Why are you showing me this?"
"Because unlike Quinn, I believe in preparing the next generation," Silas said. "War is coming. Not just for systems or planets—but for existence itself. And when that war begins, you'll either sit on the throne… or be buried beneath it."
He tossed a crystal orb onto the ground. It hovered, glowing softly. "That contains coordinates to the Obsidian Cradle—where I awakened the Second Seal. Follow it, or don't. But when your nightmares start whispering in languages older than time, remember this moment."
With that, Silas turned and vanished in a blink, leaving behind only swirling shadows and a bone-deep chill.
Russ stood still for a long time, staring at the orb.
Kala exhaled sharply. "You're not seriously considering—"
"I don't know," Russ muttered. "I just… when he said I'm a contingency, it felt true."
Kala lowered her wings. "He's manipulating you. That's what Silas does. He feeds on doubt."
"Maybe," Russ said. "But what if I need to understand this power to control it?"
She stepped close, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Then I'm going with you."
He looked at her, surprised. "Even if this leads straight into the mouth of the Abyss?"
"Especially then," Kala said, smiling grimly. "Because I'm not letting you become the thing you're afraid of."
Russ nodded. He picked up the orb. The moment his fingers touched it, a whisper tickled the edge of his thoughts—a voice older than memory.
"Seek the Third beneath the Forgotten Moon."
He blinked. "I didn't say anything," Kala said, reading his expression.
"I didn't either," Russ replied. "But the Void just did."