Cas woke before the sun had risen—if this strange half-world even had a sun.
Evren was still beside him, one arm flung lazily across Cas's waist. His breath was slow, steady. Peaceful. Rare.
Cas couldn't help but watch him for a moment. He looked younger like this. Softer. The tension that usually lived in his shoulders, his jaw, was gone. Just for now.
But Cas's stomach was already tight with unease.
The bond hadn't stopped pulsing all night. Even in sleep, it buzzed. Not in warning—something else. Like it was reaching.
Or being reached for.
He slipped out of the bed quietly, padding to the far wall. Outside the cracked window of the ruined outpost, the world looked… wrong.
Still. But not empty.
Then came the first flicker.
Not light. Not shadow. Something in between.
A shape—tall, human-like, but distorted. Like reality couldn't decide if it should be seen or feared.
Cas whispered, "Evren."
No response.
"Evren—"
The second Cas turned around, a sharp snap echoed through the room. The wall beside him cracked, lines of glowing script splitting open like fractures in the universe itself.
Then the system flared.
⚠️ SYSTEM ALERT – UNREGISTERED ENTITY DETECTED
Class: UnknownThreat Level: ???
Bond Surge Traced. Initiating Emergency Lockdown.
[Warning: This entity is outside of protocol. Engage at own risk.]
Evren was already awake—weapon in hand, stance low, eyes locked on the window where Cas had been standing.
"What did you do?" he asked hoarsely, half a growl.
Cas's hands were up. "I—I didn't. I think we lit a signal flare with the bond last night."
Evren's gaze flicked to the wall. "And they saw."
The air shifted. A cold wind blew through a sealed room. The light dimmed unnaturally, and something stepped through the crack in reality.
A figure.
No cloak this time. No veil.
This one wanted to be seen.
They were tall. Androgynous. Made of glass and shadows, eyes burning silver.
"Ascendants," they said, voice like wind scraping over stone. "How rare. How… unwise."
Evren stepped forward. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm not your enemy," the entity replied. "Yet."
Cas narrowed his eyes. "Then what are you?"
The figure smiled, and it was wrong. A curl of teeth that weren't quite human.
"I'm the one who watches bonded pairs. I'm the one who buries them when they become too strong."
Cas felt Evren tense beside him.
"You're a Reaper," Evren muttered. "A system breaker."
The figure bowed. "Some call us that. Others call us the End of Error."
💥 The Offer
"I came because your bond pulsed brighter than anything I've seen in centuries," the Reaper said, circling them slowly. "And now that I've seen it up close… I see potential."
Cas's voice was cold. "You're not getting near our bond."
"Oh, I don't want to destroy it," the Reaper replied. "I want to use it."
That made Evren shift, stepping protectively between them.
"You think we're stupid?"
"I think you're desperate," the Reaper said, expression calm. "You've just entered the final arc. You don't even know what's waiting for you. But I do. I've seen what happens when bonds like yours grow unchecked."
He stepped closer, voice dropping.
"You love each other. You think that's your strength. But it will unmake you. You will either burn the world together… or be forced to destroy one another."
Cas stepped forward. "So what, you're offering to 'help' us?"
"I'm offering a choice," the Reaper said. "One of you gives up control. Becomes a conduit to the bond instead of a wielder. I'll anchor your connection. Stabilize it. No more unpredictable power surges. No more emotional bleed."
"No more us," Evren snapped.
The Reaper's smile thinned. "Perhaps. But you'll survive."
Cas looked at Evren, then back at the Reaper.
"And if we say no?"
The Reaper's silver eyes glinted. "Then I'll see you at the end. When the bond breaks you."
⚔ Tension Rising
The Reaper stepped back into the crack in reality, vanishing like smoke. The rift sealed shut behind him with a hiss.
Silence.
Evren let out a harsh breath. "That wasn't a system echo. That was something else. A living protocol."
Cas nodded slowly. "And it wants to control us."
Evren looked at him, eyes unreadable. "What are you thinking?"
Cas met his gaze. "I'm thinking… he's not wrong."
Evren flinched slightly, but didn't look away.
"This thing between us," Cas continued, "it's growing. And it's going to change us. We just have to decide if we want to steer it… or let it steer us."
Evren was quiet for a long moment.
Then, voice rough: "No matter what happens, we choose each other. You with me?"
Cas stepped in close, placing his forehead against Evren's.
"Always."