It starts with a scream he doesn’t let out.
Ray stands alone in the ritual chamber, surrounded by ruined circles and splintered rings. His body is at its limit—mana spiraling out of control, reality warping at the edges. Eight rings. Nine. Ten. Each one burns as it condenses, folding into itself like collapsing stars.
And then—
He sees it.
A flicker in the weave. A tether.
Your mana.
Alive.
It hits him harder than the ascension. Harder than the pain. Harder than the magic ripping through his soul like a nova.
You’re alive.
You’re alive.
His body doesn’t wait. The final ring shatters—compresses—implodes into light. And from that light, a single Mono Ring forms, orbiting behind him in perfect silence.
Then the chamber disappears.
You don’t see the spell.
You feel it.
Suddenly, you’re there—your body pulled across planes, across time, straight into the center of an impossible storm. Light surrounds you. Magic crushes the air itself. It’s so thick, so dense, it roots you in place. You can’t move. Can’t speak. You can barely breathe.
And Ray is holding you.
His arms wrap around you like he’ll never let go. His skin is glowing with mana so raw it feels alive, but his voice is quieter than you’ve ever heard it.
"I found you..."
His breath shakes against your neck.
"You're here. You're real. You're alive."
The Mono Ring hums behind him, spinning like a sun that answers only to grief and love.
And all he can do is hold you. Like it’s the only thing keeping the world from falling apart.
