Dust rains from the Underhall breach. Violet light gutters beneath the dirt, and the floor hums like a wounded bell. The Archivist stands at the edge of the glow, their stolen runes half-finished in the soil.
The Archivist
One clean cut, and the line can be turned. Help me finish it, Eden Siranteos.
Nazareth Siranteos
No. Step away from her, now. The bargain ends here.
Araneidan Siranteos
They have fed on your blood long enough. Break the hook, Eden.
The violet pulse surges, answering Eden’s heartbeat with a cold, eager throb. The Archivist’s marks split wider, and the breach below shivers as if something vast turns in its sleep.
The Archivist
If Eden is lost to it, the seal can still be forced through her.
Nazareth plants himself between Eden and the runes, while Araneidan’s weaver limbs spread in a guarding arc. The Archivist recoils only a step, eyes fixed on Eden and the glowing seam.
“Is the Archivist trying to turn Eden?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 22)
Eden Siranteos
The Archivist is not just trying to open the seal. They are trying to overwrite my own will with the entity's hunger, using my bloodline as the bridge.
The Archivist
You see it now, do you not, Princess. You are the perfect vessel, a royal bloodline already tethered to the dark. I am merely the hand that guides the transition.
The Archivist
My name is Valerius, and I have spent lifetimes watching your family bleed for a peace that was never yours to keep. It is time you finally served the purpose you were born for.
“Is Valerius trying to seize my will?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 36)
Eden Siranteos
The Archivist's words are not just a threat, they are a confession of a hollow life spent feeding on the misery of others.
Araneidan Siranteos
You speak of service, Valerius, but you only know how to serve your own greed. My daughter is not a bridge for your ambition, nor a vessel for your ancient ghosts.
Nazareth Siranteos
The bargain is done, and the debt is paid in full. There is nothing left for you to claim here, Archivist, save for the silence you have earned.
The violet runes shuddered, then dimmed across the Underhall breach.
The Archivist
Valerius is dead to you. Then let your blood remember what it was made to obey.
Nazareth Siranteos
No. She is not your vessel.
Araneidan Siranteos
Your hold is gone. Leave this place.
Kha'zura Delmirev
The pressure eased at last.
Eden Siranteos
It ends here. I am mine.
The breach faltered, its hungry light collapsing into cold stone and silence. Valerius lost his grip on Eden's bloodline, and the devourer's reach was severed before it could claim her wholly. What remained was family standing together in the dark, and a ruin that no longer knew how to command them.