The world did not wait for Aerys to define himself.
It moved first.
The valley below them changed overnight. By morning, the scattered watchers were gone, replaced by something far more dangerous. Organization.
People had gathered at a distance, careful not to approach too closely, forming loose circles around small fires. No banners. No symbols. Just presence.
Nyxara felt it before she saw it.
"They are staying," she said quietly.
Aerys stood at the edge of the ridge, looking down. "They are waiting."
"That is worse."
Seris tightened the straps of his armor. "Waiting for what?"
"For direction," Nyxara replied. "Or permission."
Aerys exhaled slowly. The unnamed presence stirred faintly, attentive but restrained.
"I will not speak to them," he said.
Nyxara turned sharply. "You cannot ignore them either."
"I am not," he replied. "I am refusing to lead."
"That distinction will not matter to them."
As if summoned by her words, a young man stepped forward from the valley, climbing the slope alone. He stopped several paces away, respectful but determined.
"My lord," he began.
Aerys flinched.
"Do not call me that," he said.
The man swallowed. "Then tell us what to call you."
Aerys said nothing.
Silence stretched.
The man lowered his gaze. "We just want to know what comes next."
Nyxara watched Aerys carefully. This was the moment the world would remember.
"There is no next," Aerys said finally. "There is only now. And now belongs to you."
The man looked confused. "But without gods, without Alphas guiding us, how do we know what is right?"
Aerys met his eyes. "You decide. And you live with the consequences."
Murmurs rippled through the valley.
The man nodded slowly. "That is… frightening."
"Yes," Aerys said. "It should be."
The man bowed once and retreated.
Nyxara let out a breath she had not realized she was holding. "That may have been enough."
"For now," Seris said grimly.
They did not get the luxury of time.
By dusk, the sky darkened unnaturally again, clouds compressing toward a single point above the eastern plains. This time, Nyxara recognized the pattern.
"They are forming a convergence," she said. "Multiple Alpha lines. Council sanctioned."
Seris swore. "They mean to crush this before it spreads."
Aerys felt the pressure build. Not inward this time. Outward.
"They will not attack the people directly," Nyxara continued. "They will make an example."
"Of me," Aerys said.
"No," she replied softly. "Of them."
Below, panic rippled through the valley as the first tremors hit. People scattered, unsure where to run.
Aerys clenched his fists. The land responded instantly, the tremors stabilizing beneath his feet.
Nyxara grabbed his arm. "Careful. Every time you do that, they feel it."
"Let them," he said. "I will not let innocents pay for my refusal."
That admission carried weight.
The unnamed presence shifted, closer now, no longer content to observe from a distance.
You contradict yourself, it conveyed.
"I protect choice," Aerys replied silently. "Including the choice to survive."
Protection is authority.
"No," he thought back. "It is responsibility."
The presence paused.
Considering.
The Alphas arrived at sunset.
Six of them, descending from the eastern ridge like a line of judgment. Their auras pressed against the valley, heavy and undeniable. People fell to their knees without understanding why.
Nyxara stepped forward, blade drawn. "This gathering violates every covenant you claim to protect."
The lead Alpha ignored her, eyes fixed on Aerys.
"You destabilize belief," he said. "That cannot be allowed."
"Belief that survives only through force deserves to fall," Aerys replied.
"You speak like a god," another Alpha sneered.
"I speak like a man," Aerys said. "One who refuses to kneel."
The lead Alpha raised his hand.
The air cracked.
A shockwave tore through the valley, sending people screaming.
Aerys moved without thinking.
He stepped forward and caught the force with his body.
The impact drove him to one knee, pain lancing through his spine. The ground beneath him fractured, then held.
Nyxara shouted his name.
Seris rushed to his side, blade flashing.
Aerys raised a hand. "No."
He stood slowly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The Alphas stared, unsettled.
"That should have broken you," the lead Alpha said.
"It did not," Aerys replied.
The unnamed presence surged sharply now, no longer subtle.
You invite collapse.
Aerys breathed through the pain. "Then collapse with me."
The presence hesitated.
Then receded slightly.
Not agreeing.
Not refusing.
Nyxara felt it and went pale. "You are negotiating with something that does not need you."
Aerys did not look at her. "Neither do the gods. Yet they fear me."
The lead Alpha's expression hardened. "End this."
The others moved in unison.
Nyxara leapt forward, intercepting the first strike with a burst of binding light. Seris followed, blade singing as he clashed with Alpha steel.
The valley erupted into chaos.
Aerys stayed still.
Not because he could not fight.
Because he would not.
The pressure around him intensified, authority clashing with refusal.
People screamed.
The unnamed presence leaned close.
You can stop this.
Aerys clenched his teeth. "At what cost?"
Definition.
He understood then.
To stop the violence completely, he would have to become something fixed. A point the world could not move past.
A god.
Or something worse.
Nyxara cried out as she was thrown back, slamming into the ground hard.
Aerys's heart stuttered.
Enough.
He stepped forward.
The world responded instantly.
The Alphas froze mid strike, locked in place as if time itself had tightened around them. The air hummed, vibrating with contained force.
Nyxara stared at him in horror. "Aerys, stop. This is too close."
He looked at her, pain clear in his eyes. "I will not let them hurt you."
"This is not protection," she said urgently. "This is enforcement."
Aerys swallowed.
The presence surged, eager now.
Claim it.
"No," Aerys said aloud.
The pressure wavered.
He released the hold.
The Alphas staggered back, gasping.
The valley fell silent.
Aerys dropped to one knee, exhaustion crashing into him.
Nyxara ran to him, gripping his shoulders. "You almost crossed it."
"I know," he said hoarsely.
The lead Alpha steadied himself, eyes burning with fury and something else.
Fear.
"This is not over," he said. "The council will not tolerate ambiguity."
Aerys met his gaze from his knees. "Then they will choke on it."
The Alphas retreated.
The people in the valley stared at Aerys with a mixture of awe and terror.
Nyxara felt it settle.
Expectation.
She pulled Aerys to his feet. "We have to move. Now."
He nodded weakly.
As they fled into the dark, the unnamed presence lingered behind them, thoughtful.
You resist completion, it conveyed.
Aerys did not answer.
You will not be allowed to remain unfinished forever.
Nyxara felt him tense beside her. "It is not done with you."
Aerys looked back once at the valley, then forward into the night.
"I am not done either," he said quietly.
The darkness closed around them.
And the world prepared to demand an answer.