The change didn't go unnoticed.
By dawn, the threads across Aetherfall shimmered with new hues. We felt them—tiny sparks of awakening—echoes of bonds once buried now rising to the surface.
And across the city, those with Marks looked skyward for the first time in generations… unafraid.
Kael led us through the ancient halls beneath the Threadspire, now abandoned by most of the Sentinels. He pressed his palm to a rusted gate carved with the sigil of the First Council. "This leads to the Inner Assembly. If we speak now, we might break their grip for good."
Riven narrowed his eyes. "Or they'll try to execute us before we speak a single word."
Kael smiled. "Not if half of them already feel the shift—and wonder if they're on the wrong side."
The Inner Assembly chamber was a dome of shadow and gold, draped in cascading threadlight. Twelve councilors sat in a crescent arc, their faces unreadable.
"You dare walk in here uninvited?" spat a woman in indigo robes.
"No," I said clearly. "We come invited by truth. And by the thread itself."
Another councilor leaned forward. "You've corrupted the Well. Rewritten laws older than nations."
"You call it corruption," Riven said, "but it's healing."
Kael threw a scroll at their feet—the hidden prophecy.
The room fell still.
"We've all lived under a lie," Kael continued. "The prophecy never warned of destruction. It foretold choice. And that choice was them."
The Desire Mark on my hand glowed softly, casting reflections into the chamber.
"They've become what we feared because you forced them to," Kael said. "Now they're what we need."
Whispers rose among the twelve. Some looked shaken. Others, furious.
"We won't let you tear down the system," a grey-bearded councilor barked.
"You don't have to," I said. "It's already unraveling."
Then, behind us, the doors burst open.
Marked citizens flooded in—silent, unified, threads glowing like fireflies in the dark.
Some wore cloaks. Some wore chains. Some bore scars from trying to love the wrong way.
All of them stood with us.
The oldest councilor slowly stood. "Then perhaps… it's time to listen."
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