Chapter 20 — The Waiting Light
The light didn't flicker.
It didn't pulse or move or react to them at all. It just was—steady, soft, and wrong in a way Kael couldn't explain.
He pushed himself up slowly. Every muscle protested. Lira groaned beside him but rolled onto her knees.
"Tell me that's an exit," she said.
Kael stared down the sloping passage. "Nothing here is an exit."
They moved carefully. The stone underfoot was smoother now, worn down like something had passed this way many times. The air felt lighter, easier to breathe, but it carried a strange warmth, like standing near something alive.
The pressure followed them again. Not heavy. Observing.
As they got closer, the source of the light came into view.
A chamber opened up at the end of the passage. Wide. Round. The walls curved inward like a bowl. In the center stood a tall shape made entirely of light—thin, stretched, almost human, but without edges.
It didn't move.
It didn't need to.
Kael felt seen the moment he stepped into the chamber.
Lira stopped beside him. Her voice dropped. "That's not a monster."
"No," Kael said. "It's worse."
The light shifted slightly, like it was adjusting its attention.
A voice filled the chamber. Calm. Flat. Neither kind nor cruel.
"You have reached a delay point."
Text appeared in the air, clearer than before.
> ANOMALY CONFIRMED
SECONDARY VARIABLE CONFIRMED
PROCESS PAUSED
Lira swallowed. "Paused?"
The light turned toward her.
"Temporary."
Kael stepped forward before she could say anything else. "You've been watching me since the start."
"Since before you noticed."
"Then you know I don't fit," Kael said. "So why am I still here?"
The light dimmed slightly.
Not hesitation.
Calculation.
"Because removal creates instability."
The chamber trembled faintly, as if the word itself had weight.
Lira looked at Kael. "That sounds bad."
"It is," he said.
The light spoke again.
"You will proceed.
Not as intended.
But as permitted."
The floor beneath them shifted. Lines appeared, spreading outward from Kael's feet.
He felt that second heartbeat again. Stronger this time.
"Wait," Lira said. "Proceed where?"
The light didn't answer her.
It looked only at Kael.
"Next movement will finalize alignment."
The chamber began to sink.
And Kael realized too late that this time, the choice wasn't about jumping.
It was about what he would become when he landed.