Kairo and Seris stepped outside into a narrow courtyard, where medicinal herbs grew in careful rows. The sun sat low, staining the walls. "You saw something in the lower ward," Seris said, still looking ahead. Kairo answers painfully, "Yes". "Did it sit well", "No".
She nodded, "It never does". She met his gaze then, eyes sharp, "Kairo listen to me carefully, If you plan to push against these things, do not do it loudly or you will be corrected." Kairo asked, "What would quiet defiance get me?". "A good life", she replied. "And you think that's enough", Kairo said with a hint of anger
A pause settled between them, awkward and intense. "You don't talk like a priest", Kairo said. "I'm not", Seris replied, "Just someone they can't get rid off". "That sounds dangerous". She smiled faintly, "So are you". Kairo felt it then, not attraction in the simple sense. Something steadier. Recognition. This was someone who saw the same fractures and chose to stand near them anyway. Kairo had already met someone with the same view as him but the difference between The Witness and Seris was one of them clearly wants to destroy the system. The question is who is he going to side with.
"I need your help, I need someone to teach me magic, not healing, not miracles. Just… just a way to access my magic". Seris regarded him for a long moment. Then she reached into her sleeve and pressed a small token into his palm. A wooden disc carved with a simple knot. "Meet in at the Threshold Chamber near the Northwest city gate", she said, "If I'm here, I'll listen". "And if you're not?", Kairo replied. "Then the timing wasn't kind," she replied. "It happens." Kairo wonders what she means as she turns back to the infirmary.
Again, Kairo stood alone in the courtyard, the wooden token warm in his hand. Around him, the city continued its careful rhythm, bells marking time, gates opening and closing as scheduled.
For the first time since arriving in this place, Kairo felt something unfamiliar settle alongside his resolve. The possibility that resistance didn't have to be solitary.
The Threshold Chamber didn't look that important, that was it's first deception. Kairo had expected a bit more grandeur. Columns, Sigils, some architectural insistence that this place matters. Instead, the chamber was a smooth, circular room made of a pale stone, unadorned and evenly lit. No icons of gods. No prayer alcoves. No inscriptions pretending to explain the universe. It felt bland, or worse, a distraction.
Six observers waited inside, spaced evenly along the curved wall. They wore no robes of rank, only simple bands at their wrists, each marked with a different geometric shape. None of them spoke as Kairo entered, but their attention settled on him all at once, not heavy or hostile.
Seris stood near the entrance, her arms folded, posture relaxed. Her presence steadied him more than he expected. "You may begin when ready," one of the observers said. Kairo, confused asks "Seris what's going on?". "You wanted to learn magic, this is how you get magic". Seris explains that for one to acquire the permission of a god to use magic, they must first prove their usefulness in four categories.
Magical Talent,
Combat Prowess,
Intellect,
and Faith. Seris tell Kairo, "It's possible for a person to excel in every field but not acquire any magic due to lack of faith". Kairo confusion eases, "I guess that's why that god from the beginning felt so high and mighty, bestowing ,agic and granting miracles as they see fit". Kairo instepped into the center of the chamber. The mood changed, stripped of the ambient reverence that clung to temples and plazas. Magic stirred, uncertain, like an animal unsure whether it was being watched.
"Demonstration one," the observer continued. "Construct a spell of your choice". Kairo exhaled and lifted his hand. He shaped a simple lattice, no outcome attached, Just structure expressing itself. The magic flowed easily, clean and responsive. The construct formed, stable and bright. Notes were taken, Kairo let it dissolve. "Demonstration two," the observer said. "Restorative application".
Seris's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, Kairo hesitated, then nodded as he strengthened his resolve. He reached again, shaping a healing weave. This time, he anchored it to a target, a theoretical patient. The resistance arrived immediately.
Kairo felt the weave thin, the way it always did. The observers to note and Seris bowed her head in defeat. But kairo didn't stop, he adjusted the weave, compensating, feeding more intent into the it. The magic fought back, it was responding reluctantly, like a rope being pulled.
The effect manifested, partially, enough to count as success but not enough to change anything. The observers murmured among themselves, "Interesting modulation," one said.
Kairo lowered his hand slowly. His heart pounding, pounding not from effort, but from clarity sharpening into something dangerous. "Do it again," the lead observer said, Kairo shook his head in disagreement, the chamber stilled. "I'll repeat the spell," Kairo said evenly, "but I'll change the outcome".
The observers exchanged glances, one raised a brow. "Explain". "I won't save anyone, I'll do it just because I know I can" Kael said. Seris's eyes snapped to him.
Kairo continued his explanation, voice steady. "No recovery, no improvement beyond preventing immediate deterioration, I am doing it because I can". A pause, "Proceed", the observer said. Kairo reshaped the weave. Same structure, same technique but different a intent. The magic flowed instantly.
No resistance, no thinning. The weave locked into place with effortless precision, clean and obedient. Kairo felt it settle, like it no longer needed permission.
The room went silent, one of the observers took a step forward. "That's just a coincidence, a god must have deemed you worthy". Kael didn't argue. He simply did it again. This time, before casting, he spoke. "If this spell succeeds," he said, "nothing meaningful will change". He casted. The magic answered immediately, no delay, no hesitation.
Seris's breath caught, the lead observer's hand trembled as they removed the band from their wrist and set it gently on the floor. The sound it made was soft, but final.
No one spoke for a long moment. Then Kairo said the thing that had been pressing against his ribs since the archive. "Magic does not require permission", he said. " Your miracles are being denied when the outcome does not benefit those so-called deities". The words did not echo, they didn't need to. One observer sank onto a stone bench as if their legs had forgotten their purpose. Another stared at their hands, flexing their fingers slowly, as though testing a lifetime of assumptions.