The entity actually stepped back.
Just one step. Just a fraction.
But it moved.
And in that movement, Soren saw something he hadn't seen before.
Uncertainty.
The golden eyes widened slightly, the flames around Eris's body flickering as though caught in a sudden wind.
"You…"
The voice was quieter now. Still layered, still divine, but carrying something that might have been surprise. Or recognition. Or fear.
"You Bear Her Mark."
Soren's eyes narrowed, frost still pouring from him in waves. "Whose?"
The entity opened its mouth to answer,
And cracked.
The sound was faint at first.
Like glass fracturing. Like ice breaking under weight it was never meant to hold. Like reality deciding it had bent far enough and something had to give.
The entity looked down.
And Soren followed its gaze.
Cracks were spreading across Eris's skin. Fissures, glowing from within with light that was too bright, too hot, too much for mortal flesh to contain.
