The envelope felt heavier the longer Eryndor held it.
Not physically.
Meaningfully.
Those were somehow worse.
Rain continued falling across Velkaris Prime.
The streets glistened beneath the afternoon light.
People moved through the city as they always did.
Working.
Trading.
Living.
Pretending reality was not slowly developing trust issues.
Eryndor sat beneath the awning of a small tavern.
The envelope rested on the table.
Unopened.
Nysera sat opposite him.
A cup of tea rested untouched before her.
"You've been staring at it for ten minutes."
"I don't trust it."
"It's an envelope."
"I don't trust mysterious envelopes."
Nysera considered that.
"...Reasonable."
That was the closest thing to agreement Eryndor had received all day.
A moment later another chair scraped against the floor.
Someone sat down.
Neither of them had heard him approach.
Which was concerning.
The newcomer wore a dark Imperial coat.
A tired expression.
And the unmistakable look of a man whose job continuously disappointed him.
Kael Virex.
He looked at the envelope.
Then at Eryndor.
Then at Nysera.
"...Why do I feel like I'm interrupting something dangerous?"
"You work containment."
"Good point."
Kael immediately stole Eryndor's coffee.
"That's mine."
"It belongs to the Imperium now."
"You can't do that."
"We absolutely can."
Eryndor was beginning to understand why some people became criminals.
Kael took a sip.
Immediately regretted it.
"Frey."
"What?"
"This tastes like someone filtered regret through a furnace."
For the first time all day, Nysera almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Kael noticed her.
A brief pause.
"...You."
Nysera looked at him.
"You know me?"
"No."
Another pause.
"...That's somehow worse."
The shadows beneath her chair shifted slightly.
Kael decided not to investigate.
Self-preservation remained important.
His expression slowly became serious.
"The city is getting nervous."
The humor disappeared immediately.
Eryndor leaned forward.
"How bad?"
Kael exhaled.
"Three containment teams disappeared."
Silence.
"Dead?"
"We don't know."
That answer was somehow more disturbing.
Kael placed a folded report onto the table.
"The last signal came from beneath the city."
Eryndor's stomach tightened.
The underground city.
Again.
Everything kept returning there.
Kael noticed.
"See?"
"What?"
"That reaction."
Eryndor frowned.
"What reaction?"
Kael pointed.
"The one where every conversation involving anomalies somehow becomes about you."
Nobody laughed.
Because the joke wasn't entirely a joke.
The silence lingered.
Then—
something happened.
Every shadow in the tavern stretched.
Only briefly.
But enough.
Conversations stopped.
A man dropped his drink.
The fire inside the hearth dimmed.
And an instinctive chill swept through the room.
Nysera was already standing.
Her expression had changed completely.
Serious.
Dangerous.
For the first time, Eryndor understood something.
She had been holding back.
A lot.
Kael noticed it too.
"...That's not normal."
"No."
Nysera's voice was quiet.
"It isn't."
Outside—
the rain stopped.
Instantly.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
People looked upward.
Confused.
The clouds remained.
Yet not a single drop fell.
The city itself seemed to hesitate.
Far beneath Velkaris Prime—
inside the underground city—
an ancient door continued opening.
Stone groaned.
Dust drifted.
Mechanisms older than nations awakened.
And something stepped forward.
Not human.
Not entirely.
The figure was wrapped in darkness.
Yet not Shadow.
Something older.
Something stranger.
Golden Threads stretched through the chamber.
One touched the figure.
Immediately snapped.
The impossible sound echoed throughout the underground city.
Like a string breaking inside reality itself.
Miles away, Eryndor froze.
Pain exploded through his head.
His cup shattered in his hand.
The tavern blurred.
For a single moment—
the world vanished.
You are standing somewhere else.
Ancient stone.
Broken stars overhead.
A throne.
Empty.
Waiting.
Then—
everything returned.
Eryndor nearly fell from his chair.
Kael caught him.
"Easy."
"What happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me."
Blood trickled from Eryndor's nose.
Nysera's eyes narrowed.
Not at Eryndor.
At something distant.
Something beneath the city.
For the first time since meeting her—
she looked genuinely worried.
"...That's impossible."
Kael immediately hated those words.
Nothing good ever followed them.
"How impossible?"
Nysera remained silent.
Then finally answered.
"...The kind that changes stories."
And somewhere beneath Velkaris Prime—
for the first time in countless years—
something laughed.