Chapter-15

A slow, measured smile curves my lips.

"Savior or master?" I repeat, my voice smooth, unwavering. The question is meant to provoke, to force a declaration, to press me into one of two neat little categories. But I am not so easily defined. The world does not function in binaries, and neither do I.

The shadow creature looms, its form stretching impossibly, waiting. Testing.

I take a step forward, letting the flickering light cast shifting patterns across my face. The cavern, the rusted gears, the sheer weight of the labyrinth itself—all of it is watching.

"You misunderstand," I say, my tone almost amused. "Saviors seek to restore what was. Masters seek to control what is." I pause, letting my words settle, letting them breathe. "I do neither. I am not here to resurrect a dying world, nor to chain it beneath my will."

The amulet against my chest pulses, sensing the weight of this moment.

"I am here to remake it."

The air itself seems to still. The cavern, the labyrinth, even the shadow before me—they hear me now.

I tilt my head slightly. "You speak of balance, of darkness and light, as if they are opposing forces. But tell me…" I gesture lightly to the amulet, its glow casting long, flickering shadows. "If light defines shadow, and shadow gives depth to light, can one truly exist without the other? Or are they merely tools in the hands of those who understand their purpose?"

The shadow creature shifts, silent.

"I will not be savior. I will not be master. I will be the architect of what comes next."

The amulet thrums, its energy threading through my veins. This is the truth beneath the carefully woven deceptions. The Tears of the Moon, the labyrinth, the so-called guardians of this world—they are pieces, parts of a puzzle I will reshape to my design.

The shadow creature exhales a sound, not quite a sigh, not quite a laugh. "A bold claim, Defaulger Trice."

I smirk. "I don't make any other kind."

The game is no longer beginning.

It is mine.