> **System Notification:**
> *Main Quest Progress: 48%*
> *New Arc: The Obsidian Bloom*
> *Objective: Attend the gathering of anomalous beings. Identify allies, mark enemies.*
> *Warning: Reality Layers in this region are unstable. Host may encounter "Beyond-Class Entities."*
> *Advisory: Choose your words carefully. In this place, truth has weight.*
The invitation was carved into onyx, sealed with living wax, and pulsing faintly with unseen script.
Azrael stared at it for a long time before placing it into his inner coat pocket. Not a word written on it could be read with mortal eyes—only those who'd touched fate directly.
> **System Alert:**
> *Obsidian Bloom recognized.*
> *Glyph Translation Activated – One-time use.*
> *Translation: "To enter is to wager existence. No fate may follow you in."*
So be it.
---
Two nights later, Azrael stood before the Bleeding Gate—the entrance to the Obsidian Bloom, hidden in the city's decayed heart.
There was no crowd.
No guards.
Only silence and a single bloom: black, glasslike, and suspended midair.
He reached toward it—
—and it swallowed him.
---
> **System Notification:**
> *Entering Sub-Reality Layer: The Obsidian Fold*
> *Rules of this Layer: No lies, no fate interference, no death escapes.*
> *System interference limited to passive traits only.*
> *Threadcrafting disabled.*
He emerged within a chamber carved from fossilized starlight.
Floating staircases. Doors without walls. A sky of ink and blinking memories.
And around a circular obsidian table sat thirteen figures.
Some looked human.
Most did not.
One had no face—only a mirror.
One spoke in backward echoes.
One bled golden sand from its shadow.
And then there was **her.**
Aurelia Noctis. Dressed not in silk, but in the war robes of a Relic Guardian. Beside her, a seat waited.
Azrael approached.
They all turned to him—not like mortals observing, but like predators *measuring.*
> **System Passive Triggered – "Fate Veil" (Partial effectiveness)**
> *Result: True nature partially obscured. Entities rank 3 or lower cannot fully perceive host.*
Still, one did.
The Mirror Entity leaned forward.
"So the Threadburned walks among us."
Azrael offered no reaction.
Aurelia raised a hand. "He was invited."
The faceless thing nodded. "As a variable."
---
> **System Prompt:**
> *Conversation Phase Active. Choose your position.*
> *Option A: Present as a neutral observer.
> Option B: Propose an alliance against the Loom.
> Option C: Challenge the Mirror Entity's legitimacy.*
> *(Note: Choosing Option C will mark you as a threat.)*
Azrael chose: **B.**
"I'm not here to watch," he said calmly. "The Loom has declared war—on freedom, on systems, on choice. I intend to answer."
A low ripple passed through the chamber.
The sand-shadow thing laughed. "Brave. Or stupid."
The Echo-Speaker whispered, "He speaks truth... which makes him dangerous."
---
The Mirror stood. "And if I told you *we* are not aligned? That the Loom is *our leash,* not our master?"
Azrael's eyes narrowed. "Then you're nothing but dressed corpses."
Silence.
Then a chair screeched.
Not Aurelia's.
A newcomer.
One *not invited.*
The world tilted.
Time bent.
A rift tore in the floor as a being cloaked in anti-light stepped through.
> **System Alert:**
> *Beyond-Class Entity Detected – Designation: "Null Monarch"*
> *Status: Non-systemic. Time-immune. Memory predator.*
> *Threat Level: Apocalypse.*
> *Recommendation: Do. Not. Speak.*
The room shrank.
Even the Mirror recoiled.
Azrael stood still.
But his mind *screamed.*
Then the Monarch spoke, its voice a chorus of inverted thunder.
"Threadbreaker. Unwritten. You carry the scent of *choice.*"
Azrael replied without blinking.
"And you carry the stench of failure."
---
The room shattered.
> **System Override:**
> *Verbal clash initiated. Outcome: Mind Duel.*
> *Defense Skill Triggered – "Soul Script Armor"*
> *Effect: Azrael's mind protected by narrative recursion. Immune to erasure for 12 seconds.*
Time dissolved.
Azrael stood on a bridge of memory above a sea of forgotten lives.
The Null Monarch appeared beside him, attempting to drag him into oblivion.
Azrael spoke one line:
"**I am the story the Loom could not end.**"
The Monarch faltered.
> **Passive Triggered – Echo of Self (Hidden Core Trait)**
> *Effect: Entity cannot consume host while host believes in own identity.*
> *Result: Entity retreats. Host mental stability: 67%*
The Monarch vanished.
The Obsidian Bloom pulsed with stabilizing force.
The other entities stared.
None spoke.
---
Aurelia rose and walked beside Azrael.
"You've just declared war on *everything.*"
"I know."
She smiled.
"Good."
---
> **System Notification:**
> *Obsidian Bloom Arc Complete*
> *Main Quest Updated: "War of Weavers"*
> *New Objective: Prepare Loomstrike Protocol. Recruit allies. Locate the Lost Loom Core.*
> *Unlocked Trait: "Mind Duelist" – Immune to fear-based illusions and verbal fate anchors.*
> *Threadpoints Earned: +2*
> *Faction Status Updated – Aurelia Noctis: Trust 82% (Ally – Conditional)*
> *Threat Level Increase: You are now flagged by 3 Beyond-Class Entities.*
Azrael walked from the Bloom's collapsing doorway back into the real world.
But the sky no longer looked the same.
Because now, **they** saw him too.