Rafe woke up steady.
No gasping.No pressure creeping in from the edges of his thoughts.No missing time.
For the first time in days, the world felt… fixed.
He sat up slowly, testing himself.
Light responded cleanly.Shadow followed without delay.The Unassigned state was there—but quiet, restrained, held in place like a door bolted shut.
Stable.
He exhaled.
Then tried to regulate.
Nothing happened.
Rafe frowned and focused harder.
Still nothing.
The familiar sensation of thinning—of slipping between moments—refused to come.
"…So that's the lock," he murmured.
Stable didn't mean flexible.
It meant bounded.
The Academy convened before noon.
A formal hearing.
No students.No observers.Only instructors, administrators, and one presence that did not belong.
Selene stood alone at the center of the chamber.
Her posture was calm.
Her eyes were not.
Elyra spoke first.
"You enacted Absolute Anchoring without authorization," she said. "That is a capital violation under Academy charter."
Selene didn't deny it.
"I prevented a cascade failure," she replied. "The Unassigned state had entered autonomous escalation."
A murmur passed through the chamber.
"And you paid the price on his behalf," another instructor said quietly.
Selene met their gazes one by one.
"I paid a price," she corrected. "He paid the rest."
Silence followed.
Then the foreign presence spoke.
A figure projected in pale blue light.
Commission Liaison.
"Your actions are… appreciated," the liaison said smoothly. "They simplify the risk profile."
Selene's jaw tightened.
"You don't get to appreciate anything," she said. "You weren't there."
The liaison smiled faintly.
"Nevertheless, the result is acceptable."
Elyra snapped.
"You don't dictate our internal discipline."
"Correct," the liaison replied. "I dictate external consequences."
A sigil flared.
COMMISSION REQUEST: DIRECT ACCESS
Rafe felt it from across the Academy.
A pressure—not invasive, not hostile.
Expectant.
Selene felt it too.
Her fists clenched.
"No," she said flatly.
The liaison tilted its head.
"Then we escalate."
The word echoed.
Elyra's eyes flashed.
"What do you want?"
The liaison's gaze shifted, distant.
"A demonstration," it said. "Post-Anchor. Controlled. Documented."
Selene stepped forward.
"You already got what you wanted. He's stable."
"Yes," the liaison agreed. "Now we need to know what was lost."
Rafe stood in the Observation Ring again.
But this time, the air felt different.
He felt different.
He stepped forward and summoned Light.
It came easily.
Strong.Clean.Reliable.
Shadow followed, obedient and precise.
Applause murmured behind the wards.
"Excellent control."
"Output unchanged."
"Stability metrics improved."
Rafe clenched his jaw.
"Let me try regulation," he said.
Elyra hesitated.
Selene shook her head slightly.
"Rafe—"
"I need to know," he said quietly.
He tried.
Nothing.
The door didn't budge.
Rafe swallowed.
"So it's gone," he said.
The liaison's voice cut through the chamber.
"Not gone," it corrected. "Converted."
Rafe turned.
"Into what?"
"Into predictability."
The word felt heavier than any insult.
Selene's voice was sharp.
"He's not a tool."
"No," the liaison replied. "He's a model."
The ring dimmed.
The demonstration ended.
That night, Rafe sat by the window again.
The Academy lights shimmered as always.
But the space between moments felt sealed now—no cracks, no echoes.
No afterimages.
He pressed a hand to his chest.
"…So this is what I traded."
Not pain.
Not life.
Possibility.
Selene stood in the doorway, watching him.
"I would do it again," she said quietly.
Rafe nodded.
"I know."
He looked up at her.
"And I don't regret being alive."
Selene's shoulders loosened slightly.
"But," Rafe continued, "I won't forget what it cost."
Far beyond the Academy, the Commission updated its files.
VARIABLE STATUS: STABILIZEDGROWTH TRAJECTORY: LIMITEDTHREAT: MANAGEABLE
The Director read the report.
And smiled.
"Good," she murmured."Now we see what remains… when potential is removed."