The path into the Gray Expanse was neither marked nor lit. It existed between declarations—between yes and no, light and dark, flame and void. Here, the Veil thinned into ambiguity, and even the ground hesitated before becoming earth.
Rei walked first, his flame dimmed not by weakness, but by choice. The fire within him had become something else now—a kind of sovereignty bound by meaning. Behind him, Eirenne watched his silhouette as if trying to memorize a shape that shifted each time she blinked.
Karasu flew low overhead, unusually quiet.
Noira stepped up beside Rei. "The Neutral Witness—what's her domain?"
Mireille answered instead. "Perspective. The truth that refuses allegiance. The neutrality that divides gods from monsters."
They entered a clearing made of liquid glass and threads of still-born lightning. In its center stood a statue—half of it angelic, the other demonic. Between the wings knelt a woman draped in robes of ash, her hair braided with the threads of forgotten timelines. Her eyes were closed, but it was clear she was not blind.
"You've come far," she said without rising. "And yet, you hesitate."
Rei approached, not as a challenger, but as a seeker.
"I'm not here to sway you. Only to understand."
The woman's lips curled faintly. "That is why you've reached me."
The Neutral Witness opened her eyes—and in them shimmered reflections of every path Rei had never taken. Lives unlived. Loves unclaimed. Wars unfought.
"You seek to hold all truth, but truth demands contradiction."
With a flick of her wrist, the world folded.
Rei stood in a room where three versions of himself debated. One burned with divine justice. Another crackled with infernal wrath. The third remained calm, sipping tea, uninterested in either extreme.
Eirenne, Noira, and Mireille watched from beyond the fold, unable to intervene.
The three Reis argued.
Justice Rei: "The world must be corrected. Power exists to heal the fracture."
Wrath Rei: "No. The world must burn to be reborn. Only through ash can purity rise."
Balanced Rei: "Perhaps it is not about correcting or destroying, but witnessing—and choosing only when needed."
Rei stepped into the circle and faced them all.
"You are parts of me, but not my path."
He raised his hand. The three aspects became light, not erased, but integrated.
The room melted.
The Neutral Witness stood now, her hair flowing as if caught in unseen currents.
"You chose synthesis. Few ever do. That is enough."
She placed her palm against Rei's chest. A cold flame entered his core—one that neither burned nor comforted, but clarified.
Final Integration Achieved: The Gray Flame — Grants insight into paradox, power to pause divine laws momentarily, and the ability to navigate conflicts without triggering universal backlash.
"You may now face the Hollow Oath," the Witness said. "But know this: the Oath does not bind. It asks."
As she faded, the expanse trembled.
A gate unlike any other began to form ahead. It did not shine. It did not roar. It simply existed—impossible to ignore.
Rei looked at his companions.
"This is where we learn what the Sovereigns feared."
Eirenne stepped beside him. "Then let them fear us in return."
With that, they stepped forward.