The sigils didn't rise.
They erupted, spiraling into the sky like a column of ancient fire.
My ears rang. My skin burned. My vision flooded with glyphs older than language.
The ground shook beneath us as the world itself seemed to whisper—
"The Blank has returned."
Seris's hand tightened on her sword.
Her fox crouched, snarling.
The nameless beast behind me stiffened like it heard an executioner's footsteps.
"Aerin!" Seris shouted over the rumbling.
"What did you unleash?!"
"I don't know!"
My voice cracked. "I didn't do anything!"
The sigils lashed out, wrapping around all three of us—me, Seris, and the beast—binding us with lines of searing light.
"A contract…?" Seris gasped. "No… this feels different—"
The beast whispered, its voice lower and colder than before.
"This is not binding."
"What is it then?"
The beast's answer chilled my blood.
"It is remembering."
The light condensed into a shape.
A figure.
Tall. Sketched in burning glyphs.
Neither human nor beast—something in between.
Its mouth opened, and a voice like every forgotten language spoke:
"The Name-Eater has chosen its vessel."
My stomach dropped.
Seris stepped forward, face pale.
"Vessel?" she hissed. "No—no, that's impossible. That title was erased from the archives—"
She stopped herself.
Too late.
I heard her.
"The… what?"
She glared at me, jaw clenched.
"That beast you bonded with—its crime wasn't power. It wasn't danger. It was something worse."
The sigil-figure raised its hand before she could continue.
"Aerin Vale, Mute Sigil.
You are now bound to the Forgotten One."
A pulse of force hit my chest—
—my breath vanished—
—the world flickered—
—and suddenly I saw something that wasn't mine to see.
A MEMORY NOT MEANT FOR HUMANS
Black plains stretching infinitely.
Stars collapsing into themselves.
A throne made of unwritten words.
A creature sitting atop it.
Not shaped like the beast behind me.
Not shaped like anything.
Shifting.
Formless.
Alive and unalive.
Around it knelt gods, heads bowed.
A voice rumbled:
"Speak your name."
The gods trembled.
One god whispered its name.
Light flared.
Its body collapsed into dust.
The creature devoured its name like a man sipping tea.
The memory shattered.
I collapsed to my knees, choking on air.
"What… was that…"
My voice was barely a whisper.
Seris stared at me like she was witnessing the apocalypse.
"You saw its past?"
"That's forbidden knowledge. That's… that's impossible."
The beast behind me spoke again—softly.
"I was not devouring gods.
I was devouring what named them."
My blood turned to ice.
"What named them…? You mean—?"
Seris answered for it, voice trembling.
"The first language.
The origin tongue.
Words that define reality itself."
Her knuckles whitened on her sword.
"That… thing… ate the alphabet of creation."
THE SIGIL'S CHOOSING
The glowing figure extended its hand toward me.
"Aerin Vale.
He who cannot speak names.
The perfect vessel."
Seris lunged in front of me.
"NO!"
The sigil's light speared into her chest.
She gasped—
fell to one knee—
her moon-fox flickering like a dying flame.
"Seris!" I grabbed her as she dropped. "What happened?!"
She clenched her teeth, coughing blood.
"This ritual—"
"It's… linking us."
"All three of us."
My heart thundered.
"What?! Why would it—"
Her eyes met mine.
Cold.
Terrified.
Resigned.
"Because if either of us dies…"
"…the ritual collapses."
"…and the beast becomes unbound."
The beast tilted its head.
"Unbound means free."
Seris let out a strained laugh.
"Exactly."
The glowing figure spoke once more:
"A triad pact.
Fate decided."
Light ripped downward—
The sigils slammed into our bodies—
A force tore through my soul—
The beast roared—
Seris screamed—
I felt my bones trying to rewrite themselves—
—and then—
Silence.
Cold, ringing silence.
A NEW MARK
A new symbol burned onto my forearm.
Different from my Mute Sigil.
This one was shaped like a tear in reality.
Seris's arm glowed with the same mark.
The beast's chest bore it like a brand.
We were tied.
All three.
Seris forced herself upright, glaring at me with fury and fear.
"This bond… this curse—"
She pointed her shaking blade at my heart.
"—is your fault."
I swallowed hard.
"I didn't choose this!"
"No," she spat. "It chose you."
The sigil figure faded away, whispering:
"The Name-Eater will awaken again.
Prepare."
THE ASSASSIN ARRIVES
Before either of us could speak—
A blade whistled through the air.
The beast blocked it with one claw.
Metal sizzled as if touching a star.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Mask of obsidian.
Eyes glowing red.
Armor marked with runes that absorbed light itself.
Seris inhaled sharply.
"No… not them."
"Who?" I whispered.
Her voice shook.
"The Order of True Names."
The assassin lifted a second blade.
"They sent an executioner this fast?" I asked.
"No," Seris whispered.
"They sent one for both of us."
The assassin spoke in a voice scraped raw:
"Aerin Vale.
Seris Lunare."
"You are hereby sentenced to death.
Step aside."
Seris grabbed my wrist.
Her voice was tight.
"Aerin… listen carefully."
"What?"
"If I die—"
"—the beast will rampage."
"And if you die—"
"—the Order will use its body."
The beast emitted a low hum—almost amused.
"Choose wisely, little vessel."
The assassin drew both blades.
And like a guillotine falling—
He lunged.