Achilles has become more than a prodigy.
More than a noble.
More than a weapon.
To the Empire, he's a variable they can't solve.
To the high mages, he's an anomaly too stable to ignore.
To the demons—he's a name spoken in pre-chant.
This is the chapter where both sides move.
The Empire clamps down.
And the fog?
It sends an envoy.
---
🏛 Mage Tower, Post-Interrogation — Capital
Bell didn't blink as the Arch-Thaumaturges argued around her.
> "If we can't bind him, we must bribe him."
"He won't be bribed."
"Then we must pressure the Verentis family."
"They won't survive the pressure."
One spoke with quiet certainty.
> "He's not a political piece. He's a system function."
No one laughed.
---
🧊 Meanwhile, in Achilles' Private Quarters…
He sat with arms crossed, staring at the moonlight pooling over his desk.
He didn't feel tension.
He felt input.
The interrogation had granted him just enough signal flow.
The System pulsed:
>>> Partial Core Charge: Sufficient
>>> Command Execution Test Ready
>>> Access Node: /laws/physics/gravity
He reached toward an empty inkwell.
And whispered:
> "Stop falling."
It froze midair.
Held. Suspended. Not levitating. Not floating.
Just... paused. Like a physics thread on halt.
Lira, entering silently, gasped.
> "Young master… that… that's not magic…"
> "No," he said quietly. "It's an edit."
The inkwell resumed falling.
Shattered.
---
🌫 Demon Border — 900 km East
The fogline moved.
Not by war.
By intention.
A humanoid form emerged from the mists.
Tall. Pale. Robed in null-thread.
Eyes like mirrored code.
The guard posts trembled. Wards screamed and blinked out.
And yet… the entity walked peacefully.
It did not burn land. It didn't roar.
It simply reached the front gate of the nearest Empire outpost and said:
> "Take me to the Root-Speaker."
> "Take me… to Achilles Verentis."
---
📜 Inside the Council of Nobles
Within hours, reports flooded the capital.
A demon that spoke in human tongue.
That crossed wards untouched.
That asked for a single person.
> "We cannot allow contact," declared Duke Halvors.
"He'll defect."
> "He won't," Bell said softly.
They turned.
> "How do you know?" someone challenged.
> "Because he's not interested in demons or humans," she said.
"He's interested in the code of the world."
> "And that… talks louder than either of you."
---
🧠 That Night: Achilles Watches the Sky
From his balcony, Achilles watched a column of fog ripple across the eastern horizon.
The System flashed:
>>> External Signal Pinged
>>> Type: Legacy
>>> Source: [Incompatible Runtime]
>>> Message Received:
"You are not alone in remembering the Before."
He closed his eyes.
> Not a threat.
Not an enemy.
An echo. Or a mirror.
He whispered to the night:
> "Then come find me."