Kiera's estate was an oasis of calculated elegance amidst Stone Maw's roughness. Behind a public tea house lay a private wing, and beneath that, a library that defied the Beast World's aesthetic.
The walls were lined with shelves of crystal tablets and data-slates, not scrolls. A soft, sourceless light illuminated murals that spanned the ceiling.
Echo stood before the largest mural. It depicted two immense, serpentine beings locked in an ouroboros of mutual destruction — one silver, one obsidian — consuming each other's tails. Between their jaws, at the center of the vortex, was a single, brilliant spark.
"The Serpents of Order and Entropy," Kiera said, her voice hushed in the chamber. "An allegory from the oldest records. They represent two multiversal systems that collided and annihilated each other eons ago. From their devoured carcasses, the Corrupted force was born."
She pointed to the spark. "Most myths end there. But a few fragments mention this. A 'Spark of Un-Corruption.' An Anomaly Seed that survived the fusion." She turned to Echo, her fox-like eyes piercing. "You asked what the gem's frequency meant. I think it's resonating with the seed inside you."
Echo didn't deny it. He couldn't. The vision in the gorge, the captain's words, the memory in the gem — it was all connecting. "What do you want, Kiera?"
"Knowledge is power. And power is survival." She gestured to the library. "My family has collected secrets for generations. We've known about the war between the Ordered and the Corrupted for centuries. We've stayed neutral. Observers. But the Corrupted are getting bolder. Their influence is seeping into worlds, even here. They corrupt not just matter, but fate, destiny, systems."
She faced him fully. "You, Echo, are a variable they cannot compute. A living error in their corrosive equation. I want to back that variable."
"An alliance."
"A partnership. I provide you resources, information, and safe passage through the mercantile networks across worlds. I help you find more keystones, access forbidden knowledge. In return, you awaken my bloodline to its full potential. And when the time comes… you remember who stood with you."
Echo studied her. Her charm was a weapon, but so was her cunning. She wasn't offering this out of altruism. She was hedging her bets on the cosmic scale.
"And if the Corrupted come for you because of me?"
A sharp, beautiful smile. "Then we fight them. Together."
He extended his hand. "Then we have a deal."
Her hand was cool in his. The moment they touched, his Bond Sense tingled.
[ Bond: Kiera – Level 2 ]
[ Bloodline: Dreamweaver Fae-Blood (Dormant) ]
[ Compatibility: High. Awakening available.]
He smiled back. "Let's start our partnership now."