We left the Archives in silence.
Even Elira looked rattled, her fingers twitching near her spear as we walked back toward the outer platforms. Above us, the sky had turned violet-gray, dotted with streaks of lightning that never quite touched the ground. It felt like the world was holding its breath.
"I've seen a lot of strange things," she finally muttered, "but a document burning itself out of existence?"
"That happen often?"
"Only when something wants the truth buried."
I touched my back, where the Voidbrand still tingled faintly beneath my shirt.
A key.A mistake.Something reality rejected.
We reached the platform just as a low chime rang out across the outpost—three tones, steady and heavy.
"What's that?" I asked.
Elira narrowed her eyes toward the horizon. "A Seeker's arrived."
Before I could ask what that meant, a gust of wind swept through the platform. A figure descended—floating, not flying, wrapped in robes of black and copper that shimmered with moving glyphs.
He touched down without a sound.
Tall. Pale-skinned. His eyes were covered with a bronze blindfold etched with runes. Yet somehow, I felt him looking straight at me.
"You," he said. His voice was neither warm nor cruel. Just absolute. "You are the anomaly."
"Good afternoon to you too," I muttered.
Elira stepped forward. "Seeker Veyr. He's stable. No corruption signs."
The Seeker ignored her.
He raised a hand, and before I could react, a wave of pressure slammed into my chest. I dropped to one knee, choking.
"Stop it!" Elira shouted, her hand on her spear.
"I'm reading his thread," Veyr said calmly. "If I'd meant to kill him, he wouldn't be kneeling."
I gasped. "You've got a funny way of introducing yourself."
Veyr tilted his head, as if intrigued. "You have no written thread. No weave history. Not even an Origin Signature. You are... incomplete."
That word hit harder than I expected.
Incomplete.
Like a book missing its final chapter.
Elira helped me up. "He came from a Gate. The Wraith marked him."
"That much I sensed," Veyr said. "But he wasn't summoned. He was extracted. There's a difference."
I wiped blood from my nose. "Extracted from where?"
Veyr turned slowly.
Then pointed upward.
"Elira. Do you know of the World Above?"
She blinked. "That's a myth."
He didn't argue. "It's not above in a literal sense. It's... older. Hidden behind the current rendering of this plane. A realm that was overwritten when this one stabilized."
I stared at him, heartbeat pounding.
"Are you saying I'm from another world?"
"No," Veyr said. "I'm saying you're from the version of this world that was discarded."
I didn't understand.
But deep in my chest, the Voidbrand flared.
Like it recognized that idea.
And liked it.