The archway snapped shut behind them with a deep, echoing thud.
Silence followed.
Not the eerie, breathing silence of the Ruins — just silence. Natural. Normal. The kind that existed in untouched forests before anyone lived there.
Rafe exhaled.
He didn't realize how tightly he'd been gripping Mara and Lyn's hands until they loosened their fingers.
Selene steadied herself on her staff, her breathing unsteady, her aura flickering in unstable waves.
But there was air.There was sky.There was wind.
And for the first time in hours — maybe days — they were outside.
The Ruins of Arath'Sei had spat them out into a narrow overgrown ravine surrounded by ancient stone slabs, moss, and tangled roots.
Mara stretched her shoulders.
"Ugh… I never want to go into a breathing building again."
Lyn nodded vigorously.
"N-Never…"
Rafe looked around.
"…Are we safe?"
Selene didn't answer immediately.
She pressed a hand against the Ravine wall, her eyes glowing faint blue as she scanned for mana signatures. Her brow furrowed.
Finally, she lowered her hand.
"We're… not being hunted right this second," she said. "That's the best I can give you."
Mara groaned.Lyn whimpered.Rafe exhaled.
Then Selene turned to him.
And froze.
Rafe blinked.
"…What?"
Selene stepped closer — not touching him, but studying him as if he were a complex spell circle she needed to understand.
"Show me your hands," she whispered.
Rafe hesitated.
"Why?"
"Rafe," she said, voice tight, "show me."
He extended his hands slowly.
Selene inhaled sharply.
Because underneath his skin, faint traces of mana flowed like two intertwined rivers:
White-gold light on the left.Soft black shadow on the right.But no conflict.No volatility.No burn.
Even Mara noticed.
"Whoa… that's new."
Lyn reached out timidly, touching Rafe's wrist with a trembling finger.
"It… feels warm."
Rafe swallowed.
"I didn't do anything," he said. "The Ruins—"
"No," Selene cut in sharply. "The Ruins couldn't have done this."
He stiffened.
"…What do you mean?"
Selene stepped back.
"Rafe… show me your aura."
He frowned. "How?"
"Don't control it," Selene said."Just breathe."
He obeyed.
A slow inhale.A slow exhale.
And his aura unfolded around him like a ripple in water.
Selene staggered back.
Mara's eyes widened.
Lyn gasped and pressed herself against Rafe's side.
"What—?" Rafe whispered, choking. "What's wrong?"
Selene pressed a shaking hand over her mouth.
"That's not an aura," she whispered."That's not Light or Shadow.""That's—"
She stopped.
Rafe's pulse hammered.
"Selene. Tell me."
Her eyes met his.
"…That's a Primordial imprint."
The world tilted.
Rafe felt the ground lurch beneath him.
"A—what?"
Selene's voice was tight with fear, anger, confusion — all at once.
"The Primordial didn't just mark you," she said. "It touched your core inside the Ruins."
Mara stepped forward, fists clenching.
"So you're saying he's—?"
"No," Selene snapped. "He is not becoming one. Not yet. But the Primordial… it's fused something with him."
Lyn whispered:
"Is he going to disappear… like in the void…?"
Rafe grabbed her hand instantly.
"No. I'm right here."
She nodded, but her hand shook in his.
Selene exhaled shakily.
"I need you all to listen carefully. The Primordial did something I didn't think was possible."
She pointed at Rafe's chest.
"It anchored part of itself inside him — not in a dangerous way, not like possession. But like…"
She struggled for words.
"…like it chose him."
Mara grimaced.
"I don't want him chosen by anything."
Rafe swallowed hard.
"I felt it," he whispered. "In the third trial."
Selene's eyes sharpened.
"You spoke to it?"
Rafe nodded slowly.
"It called me 'little flame.' It said it wanted to see if I'd burn. And then it asked me what I chose."
Selene stared, horrified.
"And what did you answer?"
Rafe looked at his hands.
Light and shadow pulsed faintly under his skin, gentle — almost peaceful.
"I said I want to be stronger than what I fear."
Selene pressed her fingers to her forehead.
"…Rafe, that's not a declaration. That's a pact."
Mara's head snapped up.
"A WHAT?!"
Lyn froze.
Rafe stiffened.
"Explain," he demanded.
Selene lowered her hand.
Her voice was quiet.Serious.Terrified.
"A pact of intent," she said. "A Primordial listened to your desire… and acknowledged it."
Mara grabbed Rafe's collar.
"Is that bad?!"
Selene hesitated.
Rafe's heart pounded.
"Selene—tell us."
She finally answered:
"It means the Primordial isn't just watching you anymore."
She pointed at Rafe.
"It's invested in your growth."
Rafe's stomach dropped.
"But… what does that mean?"
Selene looked at him with an expression he had never seen before.
A teacher's fear.A parent's fear.A mage's fear.
"It means," she whispered,"that every step you take from now on… something ancient may push the world to react."
Rafe's skin crawled.
"So Hunters… creatures… magic… everything might start coming for me because—"
"Yes," Selene said.
Mara's jaw clenched.
Lyn's arms wrapped tightly around Rafe.
And Selene finally said the words:
"Rafe… you might be standing on the path toward becoming something the world has no rules for."
Rafe felt the air leave his chest.
Slowly, he whispered:
"Then… what do I do?"
Selene lowered her staff.
And answered with devastating simplicity:
"You live, Rafe. And you grow. And you don't let the Primordial decide what you become."
Mara nodded fiercely.
"Yeah. You're ours. Not some ancient monster's pet."
Lyn hugged him harder.
"You're Rafe…"
He inhaled slowly.
"I'm Rafe," he repeated.
The ground trembled under their feet.
Selene's head snapped up.
"No. No, no—this isn't the Ruins. Something else—"
The cliffside above them cracked.
A shadow leaped down.
Not a Primordial.Not a monster.
A Fate Hunter.
But this one was different.
Smoother.Faster.Humanoid.
With a single glowing blue eye-core staring directly at Rafe.
Selene's voice cracked:
"…They found us."
The Hunter straightened.
And spoke.
"Target reacquired."
Mara grabbed Rafe's arm.
Lyn hid behind him.
Selene lifted her cracked staff.
Rafe inhaled.
And for the first time—
His Light and Shadow didn't fight.
They rose.
Together.