For a long moment after Ring disappeared, the house stayed silent.
No one moved. No one spoke. Even the air seemed afraid to exist.
James finally broke first, clutching his chest like his heart had just finished running a marathon.
"Bro… I think my soul just tried to escape my body."
Markus smacked him weakly. "Shut up."
Jed leaned forward, staring at Xain like he had become a walking apocalypse.
"So… you're telling me… angels are real… stars talk… universes have laws… and some cosmic being almost gave reality a slap because someone broke a rule?"
Xain exhaled slowly.
"That's… basically the summary."
They didn't laugh. They didn't joke. They just sat there letting the weight of the new world sink into their bones.
Outside, the city sounded wrong. Cars existed. Humans moved. Life technically continued. But enthusiasm was dead. Streets were quieter. Hope felt like an old memory people were scared to admit they missed.
The world wasn't ending.
It was waiting.
Waiting for something none of them understood.
And Xain? He was stuck in the center of it.
Ring's warning replayed in his head.
"Devic will approach you.
Do not make deals with them."
Great. No pressure.
He dragged a chair forward and sat opposite his friends.
"I need you guys to promise me something," he said quietly.
James' eyebrows rose. "This sounds like one of those 'if I die, delete my browser history' speeches."
Xain glared.
"Be serious."
They straightened.
"No matter what happens… don't do anything stupid. Don't go chasing angels. Don't try to 'investigate' anything. Don't try to be heroes. If this becomes dangerous, I need to know you're safe."
Jed scoffed softly. "Idiot. You think we're leaving you alone in this?"
Markus nodded. "Yeah. We're idiots, not cowards."
James grinned. "Exactly. If you die, we die. Teamwork."
Xain sighed, a tired smile appearing despite himself.
Before he could answer—
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then a pressure filled the room.
Not like air.
More like presence.
Something was here.
The walls felt closer. Shadows stretched. Their ears rang like something was pushing sound out of existence.
"Did… you feel that?" James whispered.
Then they heard it.
A voice.
Not loud. Not shouted. Just… there.
Deep. Smooth. Calm like a smile sharpened into a knife.
"So this is the little anomaly."
The temperature dropped. Breath turned visible. Even the clock on the wall stopped ticking.
Jed froze. Markus grabbed the back of the couch. James' joke-loving expression disappeared completely.
The floor darkened.
No…
Not the floor.
A shadow. Alive. Moving.
It crawled upward, stretching, shaping, stabilizing into a figure.
Tall.
Slim.
Wearing black like it was born from it.
A grin appeared before the face did.
Elegant. Mocking. Far too amused with existence.
Its eyes opened last— and there was nothing human in them.
Not fire. Not light. Just depth.
Like falling into an endless pit.
Xain couldn't breathe.
His bones reacted before his brain did. Every instinct screamed danger.
He didn't need Ring's lecture to know what this was.
someone from Devic.
The being bowed slightly like a gentleman greeting a new business partner.
"Forgive the intrusion," it said smoothly. "The doors of reality are terribly… fragile these days."
James couldn't move. Markus couldn't swallow. Jed was on the brink of fainting.
Xain forced his voice out.
"Are you from....Devic."
The grin widened. "Correct. Congratulations. You're smarter than most Archpets."
It paced slowly, admiring the room like a bored king touring a peasant's house.
"Let's get straight to business, Xain," it continued casually. "The Arch wants to protect you… for their benefit. They want you to stand under their banner, wear their rules, live inside their cage — even if they decorate it with gold."
It leaned closer.
"But we? We don't do cages."
The room vibrated with its voice.
"With us, you'll never bow. Never obey. Never be owned."
It smiled.
"You'll be free."
Xain clenched his fists. "Ring warned me about you."
It laughed softly. "Of course she did. Arch always screams 'monster' whenever someone refuses to kneel."
Then its tone sharpened just a little.
"But let me be clear, Xain. This isn't threats. This isn't fear tactics. This is… opportunity."
It pointed upward lazily.
"The universe is breaking. The ResonanceLaw is shaking. The Writer is watching. Stars are hungry. And you?"
It tapped his chest.
"You are becoming."
A strange heat pulsed under Xain's skin. His heart throbbed. For a split second the room bent — like space forgot what shape it was supposed to be.
It noticed. Its grin turned dangerous.
"Oh. You don't even realize… do you?"
Xain swallowed hard. "…realize what?"
It leaned close to his ear and whispered:
"You've already started awakening."
The shadow collapsed.
The pressure vanished.
Sound returned. Breath returned. Life returned.
It was gone.
The house dropped into silence again… but this silence wasn't empty.
It was full of one terrifying truth.
Xain wasn't just standing in the storm anymore.
He was part of it.
And whether he liked it or not—
The universe was waiting for his next move.