Location: Outpost Veil-Shard — 3 Hours After Dive Completion
Kael sat near the open vent shaft, steam hissing behind him.
His body was healed. His Seed pulsed steadily.
But everything felt… off.
> [Warning: Memory Link Established – Dual Conscious Sync: YANIS DRAE]
[Emotional Echo Detected: Conflict / Regret / Loyalty]
[Stability Level: 82% – Decline Expected with Fragment Agitation]
He looked across the fire.
Yanis was sleeping. But even asleep, her expression twitched like she was still inside him.
He could feel her dreams.
Not see them—just feel them like warmth behind his eyes.
He whispered, "This isn't right."
The girl in red spoke for the first time in days.
> "You tied your soul to a blade. Did you think it wouldn't cut both ways?"
Kael stood suddenly, heart racing.
> "You're still here."
> "I am the thirteenth. I never left."
---
Later – Yanis Awakens
Her eyes snapped open. She didn't speak.
Instead, she walked past Kael and stared into the dark canyon beyond the outpost.
> "I had your memory again," she said.
> "Which one?"
> "The first time you failed to close a Gate."
Kael looked away.
> "I didn't close it… I fed it people and walked away."
Silence.
Then she turned to him.
> "We're linked now. If one of us fractures… we both do."
Kael nodded. "Then we have to finish this before that happens."
> "And what happens when she decides to wake up again?"
Before he could answer—
A pulse.
Low. Distant.
But unmistakably Seed-tech.
Kael turned sharply. "You felt that?"
Yanis nodded. "Where?"
> [Signal Detected – Depth Unknown]
[Location: EDGE BEYOND PROTOCOL]
[Status: Off-Grid / Forbidden Zone / Exile Core / King's Last Lock]
Kael exhaled slowly.
> "That's where the throne is, isn't it?"
The girl in red whispered.
> "It's where you left me to rot."
---