The stairwell groaned under their weight as Yuri and Lira ascended, each step echoing up the narrow spiral. Dust sifted from the ceiling, shaken loose by the shifting pressure still rippling beneath the Temple. The torches lining the curved walls flickered in uneven pulses, as though struggling to keep their flames anchored in this reality.

Halfway up, Lira paused, pressing a hand against the stone. "Feel that?"

Yuri did. A faint tremor—not physical this time, but something brushing the edge of perception, like a cold fingertip dragging along the inside of his skull. He clenched his jaw and kept moving.

"It's following us," she said quietly.

"It's not following us," Yuri answered. "It's tracking the wound. We just happen to be standing near it."

"You sound calm."

"I'm not."

They emerged into the upper antechamber. The air was sharper here, less suffocating than the chamber below but still charged, still wrong. Tall columns framed the space, each carved with the Temple's golden script—script that now glowed faintly red around the edges. Sweat beaded at Yuri's temple despite the chill.

Lira moved to the central dais, examining the shattered remnants of the focusing array. "If the others see this, they'll ask questions."

"They should," Yuri said. "Questions mean they're still aware enough to be useful."

Lira shot him a look. "You know what I mean. They'll want a name. A cause. Someone to blame."

"He made his choice. He forced the tear open. If they need a target, they can point their fingers at him."

Lira didn't respond. Her eyes drifted to the far end of the chamber, to the jagged burn mark carved into the floor. It stretched in an irregular arc, as though something had been dragged—or had crawled—across it. She swallowed. "This wasn't here before."

"No," Yuri said. "It wasn't."

The sound reached them then. Soft. Muffled. Like a distant scrape of metal against rock.

Lira's hand went to her blade. "Tell me that's a collapsing support. Tell me this place is just falling apart."

Yuri stared into the darkness beyond the chamber. He didn't blink. "It isn't structural."

The scrape came again. Closer.

Lira stepped back until she stood beside him. "He shouldn't be able to come through that fast."

"He didn't," Yuri muttered. "That's not him."

Another fragment of stone clattered across the floor, rolling until it struck Yuri's boot. The air thickened. The torches dimmed.

Then silence.

A figure stepped into view at the far threshold—slow, deliberate, almost graceful. At first glance it looked human. Same build. Same posture. But the shadows clung to it like oil, refusing to release the contours of its face. The only distinct feature was its eyes: two faint violet points burning inside a depthless void.

Lira exhaled like she'd been punched. "That's… impossible."

"It's early," Yuri said, voice low. "The rift is destabilizing faster than predicted."

The figure tilted its head. The movement was curious, not hostile. Its gaze flicked from Lira to Yuri. The violet glow intensified.

"Talk to it," Lira whispered. "Before it decides we're prey."

Yuri stepped forward, hand steady even though Lira could see the tension in his shoulders. "Identify yourself. Now."

The figure didn't speak. Instead, it raised one hand—slow, deliberate—and pressed its palm against its own chest as if searching for something beneath the skin. The gesture was wrong. Not confused. Not painful. More like fascination.

Lira tightened her grip on her blade. "It's mimicking."

Yuri didn't answer. His eyes narrowed.

The figure lowered its hand and took a single step forward.

The chamber reacted first.

The sigils carved into the columns burst into bright gold, flooding the antechamber with searing light. A shockwave rolled outward, lifting dust in a spiraling vortex. The figure staggered but didn't fall. Its silhouette rippled, flickering like a corrupted projection.

Yuri raised his arm, shielding his eyes. "Containment field activated. Good. Let's hope it holds."

The figure reached toward the nearest column.

Lira hissed. "If it touches the script—"

"I know," Yuri snapped.

The field surged. A ring of golden energy expanded from the dais, slamming into the figure's chest. This time it stumbled back three steps, leaving a dark smear on the floor where its foot dragged.

It stared at the smear.

Then at Yuri.

Then at its own hand.

A faint vibration filled the air, like a distant hum. Lira's breath hitched. "Is it… laughing?"

Yuri drew a long blade from the scabbard on his back—the one he'd hoped he wouldn't need. "Stand behind me."

Lira didn't move. "You won't kill it with that."

"I don't need to kill it. I just need to slow it."

The figure darted forward—so fast the air snapped behind it.

Yuri twisted aside an instant before impact, the blade slicing across the creature's shoulder. No blood spilled. The wound didn't even look real—more like a cut across smoke. But the creature reacted. It recoiled, studying the injury as though surprised something in this world could touch it.

Lira took the opening, slamming her hand onto the activation sigil on the dais.

The chamber roared.

A cage of golden light erupted around the creature, snapping shut like a trap. The figure slammed into the barrier, its form distorting with each impact. The violet eyes burned brighter, angrier, but the cage held.

For now.

Lira exhaled shakily. "We need reinforcements. We need the others."

"They won't reach us in time," Yuri said. "And even if they did, they'd make it worse."

"So what's the plan?"

Yuri stared into the cage. The creature stared back.

"We interrogate it."

Lira blinked. "Interrogate. That."

"Yes."

She rubbed her forehead. "You realize how insane this is."

"I'm aware."

The creature pressed its palm against the barrier. The golden light around it flickered—faint, but real.

Lira stepped closer to Yuri. "Then ask it something. Quickly."

Yuri tightened his grip on his blade. "All right."

He approached the cage slowly, blue light from the sigils reflecting off his face.

"You came through the wound," he said. "Not like him. Not pulled. Not forced. You walked through freely. Why?"

The figure didn't speak.

But the violet glow in its eyes flickered, as if considering the question.

Then it raised one hand.

And pointed directly at Yuri.

The barrier shuddered.

Yuri's pulse kicked.

Lira's voice dropped to a whisper. "Yuri… what did you bring through that tear?"

The cage cracked.