The creature sighed. "I do not fear you, boy."

"You are much weaker than you imagine. So much weaker," it said, its voice neutral yet underlined by what could only be called exhaustion.

The creature was tired.

"It is true." The Horror continued. "More of my kin are rushing towards Kael as we speak. The most powerful of us all will soon flood your skies."

"And it is also true, as you guessed, that I was told to wait for you here, long ago, before perhaps even your first breath."

Uriel’s gaze sharpened. None of what he’d said had insinuated that in any sense. It made no sense for the Horror to make such a statement.

’Is it reading my mind?’

"But our arrival does not herald your doom. I said I was kind, and that they would not be. I did not mean they would harm you."

It paused. "Well, perhaps they will, but not in the ways in which you see it."

"I am kind because I offer you the gift of choice. I am letting you be free, while they will not. They will force truths upon you that may not necessarily be pleasant."

"And if not them, then those who are watching will do the same. Both paths lead to doom of your own making."

"I am giving you a choice."

Uriel frowned. He couldn’t understand a word of the Horror.

What did any of this have to do with the trap they wanted to lay on him? What did it have to do with his blood?

"..."

The Horror saw the confusion in his gaze, and a sigh full of sorrow escaped it. "Leave."

"Leave the Wildlands, leave the Spire alone, and go away."

Silence then reigned, filled by rain and the echoes of swaying branches and flapping leaves, the forest dancing alongside the furious tempos of the wind.

Uriel stared into the Horror’s eyes, and it stared into his own, intent on not speaking anymore.

Samael stood not far, still shrouded in dark aether as his evolution slowly ebbed away and came to an end.

It was deathly silent.

SHI!

The mud stirred, and the Horror’s stance shifted, lowering as its claws lengthened and its aether presence fully unfurled, tyrannically taking control of the world’s energy.

"With this truth, do what you wish."

Its killing intent exploded, and alongside it, its ice aether surged, freezing the muddy ground that sloshed about the hundreds of beast corpses strewn around.

It was cold, but it became even colder.

"Now, let us battle."

The rain that fell splattered across the icy ground.

And Uriel, still, remained silent and unmoving, staring out into the void.

"..."

He turned to Samael, then waved a hand, dismissing the dark aether coating him. He pulled him just the slightest bit, then turned.

And then he... walked away.

Samael was as confused as he was shaken, by both the terrifying creature who stared at them in the distance and just how sharp Uriel’s presence seemed to be.

Uriel emitted no energy whatsoever, but he simply seemed sharp. Sharp enough to pierce all veils.

"What the—?!"

Seeing Uriel didn’t stop to explain or wait, he rushed after him.

They left the Horror alone in the arena, and it didn’t attack or pursue them.

"..."

The Horror watched them leave.

Its presence waned, then retreated, and its aether returned to a passive state. It stood straight, then sighed again.

’Master did say he wouldn’t be very happy...’

The Horror looked down at its chest and peered past the walls of its flesh. There, around its heart, a vine had appeared, tightly wound around it.

With the slightest push, its heart would shatter.

The Horror hadn’t even sensed him cast the spell. It hadn’t even sensed any flicker of energy from Uriel.

The only reason it even sensed it was because he’d allowed it.

’I guess this is a warning.’

...

"Hey!" Samael called out, still disoriented.

He rushed through the forest, chasing after Uriel.

Somehow, each of Uriel’s steps carried him dozens of meters ahead, as if the hound shifted with him, propelling him forward.

Samael ran, branches slapping against his face and rain soaking him as mud splattered in his wake.

SHOO!

He pulled on his spark, the one rooted in space, and blinked towards Uriel. Through his Spark, he managed to keep up with Uriel’s pace.

He struggled to do it, but he did it nonetheless.

It was good practice for his Spark.

"Hey! What’s going on? I—..." Memories of how he’d acted during their training session flashed across his mind, and his expression tightened.

"I’m sorry, I don’t know why I was such a jerk, I—"

"Don’t bother," Uriel said slowly, his gaze still void. "It happens."

Samael wanted to speak again, but he hesitated, clearly noticing the strange mood Uriel was in.

"People are coming to kill you?"

Uriel chuckled. "You heard our discussion?"

"...yeah. I don’t know why, but I could hear the Horror’s voice as well. It was weird. I almost thought it was talking to me at first."

Uriel hummed. "That’s interesting."

He didn’t really feel like asking Samael how he was able to bypass his Dark aether, just like he wasn’t very bothered to ask him how he’d sensed him all those days ago.

’The Horrors are after me because of my blood. But they don’t want to ’harm’ me, but rather force a choice upon me.’

His thoughts flowed. ’I’ll assume the Green Horrors of the Wildlands are the same as the ones from our universe.’

’On my status, the closest thing linked to my ’blood’ would be my Lineage and Lineal Axis. It always says that they’re dormant.’

’Could the choice they’ll force upon me be to awaken my lineage?’

He paused. ’But how would that be a danger? How would that be something I’d find ’unpleasant’?’

He thought back to the warning his grandmother had given him.

’The Loom.’ He immediately thought. ’They’re looking for me, and from Ma’s words, they are not to be trusted.’

’If I awaken my Lineage, will I attract them? But she also didn’t necessarily say that they wanted to outright kill me...’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

If he remembered exactly what his grandmother had said about the Loom, it’d be...

...

["Soon, all truth will be laid bare, and you’ll understand the methods of what you assume to be my madness. Nothing is ever as light or dark as it seems; truth always lies in the blended shades."

"But I did not embody this memory just to tell you this."

The world around them shook, as though the memory were nearing its end. Noticing this, Mother Hadith hastened her words.

"The people of the dungeon know that you are of my blood, that you are my flesh. They will not come for your brothers and sisters, but they will come for you."

"In these last few years, I have been... trapped, in a sense, limiting me in various ways—"

Uriel’s gaze, previously languid and unfocused, suddenly ignited with fire at her words.

She was trapped?!

"—and this trap has extended to the dungeon. I will not be able to come and rescue you, so please, survive. Do not let yourself die before I free myself."]

...

But she’d also said something else. Something pivotal.

...

["Trust no one, only yourself. Do not trust the world, only your mind. Even those who call themselves your family, the Loom, are not to be trusted."

"I..." She hesitated. "They know parts of the truth, ugly ones, and the choice will be yours to decipher what is true and what is not, and in turn, choose a side."

"Sometimes ignorance is the greatest of protections, and at others, agony is enough to dull the sharpest of pains. I stole the gift of choice from you, and I chose both."

Uriel didn’t know what to say. Mother Hadith was saying too many things, too quickly, layered with implications and half-truths that left him paralysed.

But she did not stop.

"I raised you to be strong. To be unbreakable. Because I foresaw the times to come. You will not break, and you will not yield."

"Understood?!"]

...

Uriel felt his mind short-circuit.

’Choice... choice... choice... why does everyone keep bringing that up?’ His face twisted into a dark frown.

’And what does any of this have to do with the Spire?’