Chapter 964 — The Fractures of the Heart
The Hollow breathed with life again — the forges glowed, the air shimmered with laughter, and Eris watched it all through new eyes.
Every day, her senses widened. Every day, she felt something new.
And every day, she found herself further from what she once was.
Kael was buried in the Spirit Project again, working with Selina and the scholars to refine the process. But Eris spent much of her time outside the laboratories, among the people. Kael had encouraged her to see the Hollow — to learn from its people as much as from its books.
At first, she moved like a shadow — quiet, curious, observant.
But in time, they began to greet her by name.
One afternoon, Eris stood in the small square where merchants gathered to sell their goods. The scent of roasted grain and warm metal filled the air. A child stumbled while chasing a hoop, tripping and scraping his knee.
The mother rushed over, flustered, but before she could reach him, Eris knelt.
The boy stared up at her with wide eyes — not fearful, but uncertain.
"You are hurt," she said softly. "It will mend."
She tore a strip from her cloak, pressed it gently to the boy's knee, and focused. A faint hum of energy passed from her fingers. The wound closed into a faint red mark.
The boy blinked in awe. "You're like the King!"
Eris tilted her head. "I am not like him. I am still learning what it means to be."
The mother thanked her, voice trembling with gratitude.
As they left, Eris felt something strange swell within her chest — pride, perhaps. Or… warmth.
She walked aimlessly for a time, lost in that new feeling.
When she told Lyria later, she said, "I helped someone. I didn't calculate. I chose. And for a moment… I wanted to feel it again."
Lyria smiled, her gaze soft. "That's compassion, Eris. That's the best kind of strength."
Days passed. Eris began offering quiet help where she could — organizing repairs, lending her strange energy to mend broken tools, even listening to those who simply needed to speak.
But then, came the dilemma.
A small family had been accused of hoarding medicine meant for the sick — a crime that stirred anger among the townsfolk. The guards detained the father, his wife weeping as their children clung to her skirts.
Kael had not yet arrived, and the crowd was growing restless.
Eris stepped forward, her calm presence drawing the eyes of many.
"Let him speak," she said, her tone level. "Truth cannot be known through noise."
The guards hesitated, looking to her — she was not Kael, but she bore his authority in how she carried herself.
The man's story was simple: he had kept medicine for his youngest child, too frail to make the daily journey to the infirmary.
Eris processed it — logic said the law was clear, the medicine was communal property.
But emotion — that new, heavy, foreign thing — whispered differently.
She stood silent for a long moment.
Lyria, who had just arrived, watched her carefully.
Finally, Eris spoke.
"Law preserves order," she began, "but mercy preserves unity. Let him go. Have him serve the infirmary for a week to repay what was taken. The Hollow gains no peace from punishing need."
The guards exchanged glances — then obeyed.
As the crowd dispersed, Lyria approached, her eyes filled with quiet wonder. "You made the right choice."
Eris turned to her, voice lower. "I do not know if it was right. Logic said one thing, emotion another. The outcome is peace, but my reasoning feels… clouded."
Lyria smiled faintly. "That's what makes it human, Eris. Logic will tell you what's efficient. Your heart will tell you what's right."
That night, Eris sat beside Kael in the quiet of his study. The faint glow of the hearth painted her silver hair in gold.
She had not spoken in some time, only staring into the flames.
"Kael," she said finally, "when you lead, how do you choose? Logic or emotion?"
Kael looked up from the notes before him. "Both. I use logic to see clearly, but I let emotion remind me why I fight at all."
Eris nodded slowly. "I think I understand now. I used to guide you with perfect clarity, and yet it made me… empty. Now, I am unclear, uncertain — and yet I feel alive."
Kael smiled, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "That's the price and gift of humanity, Eris. You lose certainty, but gain meaning."
Eris turned to meet his eyes. "Then I will bear it — no matter how heavy."
Her voice trembled slightly on that last word, a subtle waver of feeling she could not yet name.
Kael watched her quietly, realizing that what he had created was no longer just a being of order and chaos — but a spirit who was slowly, irrevocably becoming alive.
And in the soft quiet of the Hollow, as night settled and peace held,
Eris — the once-voice of reason, born from chaos — felt her heart beat for the very first time.