Chapter 6, Part 1: Whispers Beyond the Dome

❖ Eastern Watch Hall – Mage Council

Relvan paced with one hand behind his back and the other flicking through holographic memory glyphs. Each orb replayed a different vantage:—A priest bursting into flame mid-sermon.—A noble's escort, cut down mid-word.—Red Sigil agents missing from their posts, their last heartbeat logs corrupted.

"The moment he said 'quiet,' it went loud," Magister Ilthen said coldly.

"We didn't hear it," Relvan corrected. "The System interpreted it. That's what matters."

Silence.

Then someone finally voiced the real fear:

"He commands them without meaning to."

Relvan stopped pacing.

"He dreams and the world bleeds."

The vote to escalate observation passed unanimously.Covert intrusion protocols were approved.Extraction spells were banned.The phrase "containment breach" was reclassified to "spiritual reckoning."

No one said the word "divine."

But no one dismissed it anymore.

❖ The Western Temple of the Flame

The sermons changed overnight.

Gone were the songs of patience.

Now they preached of action.

"The Herald has stirred!" roared Flame keeper Veydan. "And the city listened! The sins he gathers are not curses—they are his chosen vessels!"

A new altar was erected overnight—seven circles carved into flame glass, each labeled:

WRATH – PRIDE – LUST – ENVY – GREED – SLOTH – GLUTTONY

Only three glowed.

Acolytes were assigned to "seek resonance" in the streets.

One had a vision of a boy hoarding bread.

Another claimed a vision of a woman napping in a sunbeam for 9 days.

Prophecies began to spread.

And the Temple stopped waiting.

They started preparing.

❖ In the Shadows – The Red Sigil

Commander Jeska was furious.

Not just because she lost scouts.

Because no one saw it happen.

"Flame-boy melted two of ours. Noble brat left no witnesses. The third one..." She slammed a folder shut. "Half the informants in the lower tier just left the city."

Captain Dren raised a hand. "Some say they fell in love."

Jeska glared. "With what, the idea of dying in silence?"

Dren cleared his throat and said nothing more.

Jeska turned to the dark mirror at the end of the table. A sigil pulsed once.

"I want contact," she whispered. "I want a sin out of that dome. I don't care which."

Another pulse.

"Even if we have to bait one out."

She looked down at the list.

Greed. Sloth. Envy. Gluttony.

Four hadn't arrived yet.

She smiled thinly.

"Let's find the hungriest one."

[System Log: External Pressure Escalating. Interest in Unclaimed Sins Increasing.]

[Observation Status: Leaks Detected. Risk of Outside Tampering: High.]

[Host Status: Light breathing. Dream subject: Swords made of jam.]