No other changes made.
The Loom pulsed.
Not sound. Not light.
Something older. The ripple of balance adjusting to what had changed.
Shane stood at the axis. Itsuki beside him now, more body than echo — the outline solidifying.
Tharos's domain spun gently. Glyphs re-aligned.
His voice came through the rotation.
Tharos:
"You reconstructed what you could. You connected frameworks not designed to coexist. This was… improvisation."
Shane:
"Was it wrong?"
Tharos:
"It was necessary."
He raised the system cube — fragments of code turning like prayer wheels.
Tharos:
"To Itsuki — I offer developer access. Restricted. You may observe, repair, alter… but not overwrite system law."
Itsuki raised a brow.
Itsuki:
"Debug mode. But no admin powers?"
Tharos:
"Correct. Break boundaries again, and your access will dissolve."
Itsuki:
"…Can I exchange 'read-only' for more script tracking?"
Tharos considered.
Tharos:
"Trade accepted. You gain deep-thread visibility. No overwrite functions."
A lattice of silver spun from Tharos's hand — embedding into Itsuki's core.
Not power. Precision.
Shane's system pinged once.
A new root link shimmered in the interface. 'Developer Companion Synced.'
Above them, Eilshen's veiled domain curled inward.
He did not step forward. He never did.
But his voice brushed the edge of truth like fog on glass.
Eilshen:
"Something… intervened during the soul weave. Not divine. But not unknown."
Veils shimmered.
But no names were spoken.
Shane's breath hitched.
He already knew.
His mother's fingers. Her voice. A hand in his making, even in death.
Eilshen:
"The action has been concealed — and remains so."
Itsuki: 'He's hiding it. For your sake.'
Shane stayed quiet. Then:
Shane:
"…Why conceal something like that?"
Eilshen:
"Because truth is a door. And not every door must open."
He paused.
Eilshen:
"I offer no strength. Only… understanding. I will unlock a deeper layer of your system — one hidden beneath perception. It will not make you stronger. Only wiser."
Shane:
"Deal."
A shimmer of shadow folded into his system core — no flash, no flame.
But something clicked. A new interface — cryptic, strange. Waiting.
Vel Eshtar's flame tilted — scales weighing again.
Vel Eshtar:
"Judgment is not passed."
Shane looked up — waiting.
Vel Eshtar:
"You acted in repair. Not ambition. You did not seek power — only a path."
He raised one hand.
Vel Eshtar:
"So I offer none."
Shane blinked.
Vel Eshtar did not smile. But his flame softened.
Vel Eshtar:
"I offer consequence. If you break divine law again — I will burn you clean. Until then… walk."
Varneth's chains stirred. No movement. But pressure.
Varneth:
"No oaths were broken. No divine contracts breached. But a precedent was set."
The chains began to glow faintly — not around Shane, but around the Loom itself.
Varneth:
"A loophole is still a flaw. And flaws… must be studied."
He looked at the others.
Varneth:
"For now — I mark this one Unchained. Not bound. Not protected. He walks without divine law. Watched."
A brand shimmered over Shane's system briefly — a loop, open-ended.
Itsuki: 'Congrats. You just became an unsupervised update.'
Xirys finally moved — not forward, but inward.
His spiral tightened.
And in that tightening came his words.
Xirys:
"I see an evolution. Not designed. Not ordained."
He touched Shane's chest — or perhaps just his presence did.
Xirys:
"Life is now your root. Blood and Flesh — physical thread. Soul and Will — spiritual thread. All bound. All stabilized."
The clash faded.
Shane breathed easier.
No more system damage. No more bleed.
Shane:
"…Why do this? All of you. Why help?"
Xirys:
"We do not help."
His gaze spiraled through gods and weave alike.
Xirys:
"We correct. Something is rising in this world. Something that did not begin with you. But may pass through you."
A hush.
Then Varneth again, voice like a binding scroll.
Varneth:
"This meeting is adjourned."
But no one moved.
Na'thira:
"The Loom has seen them."
Vel Eshtar:
"And what is seen… lingers."
Kael-Vorr:
"They are not weapons yet. But they could be."
Tharos:
"Then let them be tested."
Orrid's final words came like a closing lock:
Orrid:
"They are watched. And they are bound."
And with that, the Loom began to fade.
The divine presence unspooled.
The threads released them — not gently, but precisely.
As if the fabric of godhood had touched, measured, and moved on.
Reparations Completed.
Observation Mode: Initiated.
Cradle Evolution: Ongoing.
The world resumed.
But the weave… remembered.