Chapter 5

Shizuku (he/him):
(voice low, almost reverent)
It… can’t be.

The cloaked figure steps forward. Their hair glows faintly in the light—long, silver-blue, rippling with hidden runes. Their footsteps make no sound, and yet the world seems to tremble with each one.

Azalea stiffens behind Shizuku, his petals quivering with instinctual dread. This isn’t just an entity. This is something older than cause. Older than time.

???:
You’ve done well to make it this far, Emperor of My Name.

Shizuku:
(firmly)
You shouldn’t be here.

???:
And yet I am.

The figure finally removes their hood. Their face is androgynous—ageless, carved from celestial silence, with eyes that contain constellations that no longer exist.

It is Emrys. The Vanquisher. The First Law.

Emrys (he/they):
You wear the crown lightly. I warned your bloodline it would not fit comfortably.

Shizuku:
You’re… getting involved in mortal matters?

He steps forward, his voice caught somewhere between awe and accusation.

Shizuku:
That breaks your own laws.

Emrys:
(slight tilt of the head)
There is a crack in the foundation of this reality—and unlike you, I remember what happened the last time we ignored a fracture.

Azalea glances between them, brow furrowed.

Azalea (to Shizuku):
You said he vanished after the Kakia’s sealing. That he turned into law itself.

Shizuku:
He did.

Emrys:
And now the law has eyes again.

They raise one hand, and golden threads materialize in the air—threads of reality itself, knotted and torn in strange places. One knot pulses black, twitching like a heartbeat.

Emrys:
Kakia is no longer acting as a force of balance. She is becoming a concentration. An agenda.

Shizuku (tense):
I know. That’s why I’m collecting the fragments. That’s why I’m preparing the Sigil Chamber.

Emrys:
Which is why I’ve come—not to stop you, but to warn you.

They step closer. Shizuku doesn’t flinch, but his fists curl tightly at his sides.

Emrys (softly):
You are fighting a being of entropy… using order as your sword. But order breaks when it is used to bind too much.

Azalea:
Then what are you suggesting?

Emrys:
I am suggesting that the Law alone will not be enough. That the Emperor must choose something more dangerous than stability. That he must be willing to call upon the Sigil of Meeresboden.

Shizuku’s eyes widened as he spoke.

Shizuku:
The Sigil of Meeresboden… was never meant to be used after it was split into 10 pieces.

Emrys:
And yet it was designed for this. You were designed for this.

The celestial threads vanish, leaving only silence behind them. Emrys turns, robes flowing like gravity itself bends for them.

Emrys (gently):
We do not get to pick the era we are born into. Only how we stand against it.

They pause… then glance over their shoulder.

Emrys:
Make your choice, Universal Emperor. Before the choice is made for you.

And in the blink of an eye—he is gone.

Only moonlight remains.