Aion didn't sleep that night.
The pulse inside him hadn't faded—it throbbed, steady and quiet, like a second heartbeat. Every time he blinked, the world around him flickered, like the Ether around him was trying to pull away.
He needed answers. Fast.
The slums had a place for questions nobody wanted to ask. A hidden network of tunnels below Scoria called The Cinders—a broken remnant of an old Ether Labyrinth, now used by smugglers, outcasts… and madmen.
Aion crept through a rusted grate and dropped into the dark, half-expecting the ground to swallow him whole. The walls pulsed faintly with residual Ether. It felt wrong here—like the world forgot to follow its own rules.
As he walked deeper, whispers clung to the stone. Voices from other times. Other Laws.
And then—
A flicker of motion.
A man stepped from the shadows, draped in stitched robes, eyes glowing dimly behind cracked goggles.
"You shouldn't be here, boy," he rasped.
"I'm looking for Seln," Aion said, standing his ground.
The man tilted his head. "Seln sees all. But not many see him and leave sane."
"I don't care. I need to know what's happening to me. What I am."
The man studied him for a moment. Then he nodded once and turned. "Follow. But leave your fear behind. Seln already knows your name."
---
The Chamber of Fractures was buried deep beneath the city. Aion's breath caught as he stepped inside.
Floating shards of crystal hung suspended in the air, each one showing distorted reflections of different realms—realms Aion had only ever heard about in whispered stories. Ice worlds, sky cities, forests made of light.
And in the center, perched on a throne of broken runes, sat a thin man with hollow cheeks, tattooed arms, and eyes that shimmered like mirrors.
"Null walks again," Seln whispered.
"You know what I am?" Aion asked.
Seln chuckled softly. "You are a mistake… or a miracle. Maybe both."
"I need more than riddles."
Seln leaned forward. "The Law you carry wasn't meant to survive. It predates the current cycle. The Primordials buried it for a reason."
Aion swallowed hard. "Then why do I have it?"
Seln's eyes burned.
"Because something far worse is waking… and the world needs a Lawbreaker."
---
Far above, in the glowing towers of the Inquisition, a blood-red sigil ignited in the sky.
A decree.
All gates are sealed. No one leaves Scoria.
The hunt for the Null had begun.