CHAPTER 115. INHERITANCE OF SILENCE
Chapter 115: Inheritance of Silence
—The Throne Plane—
Darkness had structure.
The Throne Plane wasn't a realm.
It was a construct.
T`halem's artificial domain—
Layered in dead echoes and memory loops.
Stone walked in place.
Sky didn't move.
Light shifted without source.
Karen Lockwood awoke on its obsidian floor.
Her armor cracked.
Her soul spiral smoldering.
Her scythe inactive beside her.
Across the chamber, on a low pillar, Cassandra Ikemba lay unconscious.
Breathing.
Soul fractured.
T`halem stood at the center.
Back to them.
Karen rose slowly.
Didn't speak.
T`halem spoke first.
"The Abyss blooms differently in every child. You fight it."
"I mastered it."
She steadied herself.
"You dragged me into this."
"No," he replied.
"I revealed it."
She stepped forward.
His hand lifted—gently.
She froze.
"I didn't bring you here for war," he said.
"Not yet."
He turned.
Eyes pale.
Voice quiet.
"I brought her…"
He looked at Cassandra.
"Because she looks like the Progenitor."
Karen stared.
Didn't understand.
T`halem walked over to Cassandra.
Knelt.
Brushed hair from her face.
"She has the eyes. The shape. The sadness."
"She reminded me of before."
Karen's grip tightened.
"She's not a replacement."
"No," he said.
"She's a reminder."
He stood again.
"This place is mine. Born from nothing. Sustained by soul echoes. No gods. No Veil. Just me."
He faced Karen.
"You will burn through your final cycle soon. The Abyss inside you is still incomplete."
She breathed hard.
"I'll never serve you."
"I don't want service," he said.
"I want silence."
Karen stepped forward.
"This isn't peace. This is control."
T`halem didn't argue.
He simply turned again.
"Rest. Fight. Scream. I don't care."
He waved a hand.
A wall of force dropped between them.
Karen rushed forward.
But couldn't reach Cassandra.
Cassandra stirred—eyes opening.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Her gaze found Karen's.
Confused.
Broken.
Karen screamed.
But no sound passed the wall.
T`halem walked away.
Into the dark center of the Throne Plane.
And the silence returned.
---