Chapter 957 — A Soul Without Shape
The forge-fires of the Hollow burned brighter than ever. From the high tower window of his workshop, Kael could see the warm orange glow spilling across the valley floor, reflecting in the veins of obsidian that cut through the mountain. Hammers struck metal in rhythm with the night's heartbeat, and each echo carried the same thought that had kept him awake for days — Eris would soon have a body.
He stood over the great iron table in the center of the room, blueprints, runes, and sketches scattered across its surface. The newest design — the Eris Vessel, as Selina called it — was delicate and complex, almost alive even in its incomplete form. It was carved from a lattice of enchanted silver and chaos glass, each piece tuned to channel Eris's unique frequency within his mind.
Kael traced one of the sketched lines absently, his mind half lost in thought.
"You're obsessing again," Eris said, her voice a silvery hum behind his thoughts. She sounded almost amused, but there was an undercurrent to it — uncertainty.
He smiled faintly. "Progress needs obsession. Besides, this is for you."
"That's precisely what I don't understand," she murmured. Her tone softened, curious. "Why would I need this? I exist as I am — complete, efficient. You said yourself that I guide you better from here, in your mind, than I ever could out there."
Kael paused, resting his palms flat on the table. The sound of the forges below drifted faintly through the stone floor — the world of the living, of creation, of form.
"Because," he said slowly, "existence is more than function, Eris. You think, reason, and act on your own. You question, you feel. Even if you can't put a name to it — that's what life is."
There was silence in his mind for several heartbeats, then a whisper.
"But I don't feel. I only observe. I learn patterns. You call it emotion, but to me, it's just… noise."
Kael shook his head. "No. You feel, Eris — you just don't recognize it yet. When you saw me hurt, you panicked. When you failed to give me answers, you were frustrated. When I said I wanted you to have a body, you questioned me — not because it was illogical, but because it made you uncomfortable. That's emotion."
Another pause. This one longer.
When Eris finally spoke again, her tone was quieter, more uncertain.
"Then if that's emotion… why does it frighten me?"
Kael looked down at the half-built vessel on the table — its empty chest cavity, where the chaos shard would rest like a heart. The answer came to him softly.
"Because it means you're becoming alive."
Later that day, Kael met with Selina and the engineers within the new science hall. The building still smelled of fresh polish and hot metal, but the spirit project's chamber already pulsed with magic. Runes climbed the walls, feeding power into the containment field where the new body was slowly taking form.
Selina was in her element, tail flicking with excitement as she explained the next step. "The shard's harmonics have stabilized beautifully. Once we bind the core to the vessel's frame, we can begin essence infusion."
Kael nodded, studying the faintly glowing silhouette within the containment circle — the body that would soon house Eris. It was only a shell now, like a sculpture waiting for its soul.
"You're really doing this," Eris whispered. There was something in her voice — not quite fear, but not awe either. Something fragile. "Kael, what happens if you succeed? What if I hate it? What if I lose myself?"
He didn't answer immediately. He walked closer to the containment ring, the air warm and humming around him. "Then we'll start over," he said simply. "As many times as it takes."
Selina shot him a glance but said nothing. She could tell he wasn't talking to her.
"You'd risk that much?" Eris asked softly.
Kael smiled faintly, the kind of smile that came from a place of quiet certainty. "You've been my voice of reason since the day you were born in my mind. I'd risk anything for you to see the world as I do — even if you end up finding it unbearable."
Eris was silent for a long while. When she finally spoke, her tone was almost a whisper.
"I don't know if I can ever understand you, Kael. But I'll trust you. For now."
Kael exhaled, feeling the faintest pulse of warmth in the back of his mind — like a heartbeat not his own.
Outside, the Hollow lived and worked, oblivious to the quiet miracle taking shape deep beneath their feet.
And though Kael could not see it, far beyond their walls, the Church's silence was beginning to fracture — whispers of movement in the east, where banners once burned in holy fire.
The calm before the next storm.