As the doors to the gala swung open, a flood of brilliant white light poured through from the other side.

  Vale instinctively raised a hand, shielding his eyes for a brief moment before lowering it again. When his vision adjusted, he stepped forward along with the others, crossing the threshold into the gala hall.

  The space beyond was vast.

  Before fully committing himself to the crowd, Vale glanced back over his shoulder. Several people remained behind, lingering near the entrance.

  Most notably, Caesar and Yuki.

  He paused, watching them for a moment. Caesar noticed his stare, raised an eyebrow, and gave Vale a casual wave. Likely because they were far too distant to speak without shouting.

  Vale’s eyes widened slightly.

  He let out a low sigh, returned the wave, and turned back toward the hall.

  Once inside, the group dispersed almost immediately. Conversations formed and reformed, people drifting naturally toward familiar faces. Evelyn and Callum remained together, of course, but they were engaged, so that made sense.

  Everyone else went their own way.

  Everyone except Vale.

  He stood still for a moment, hair hanging loosely around his face as he surveyed the room with an uneasy gaze. A regretful sigh escaped him.

  'Am I seriously going to have to navigate this alone?'

  A metallic whisper slipped into his ear.

  “I can help you, Vale!”

  Chrome’s voice brimmed with excitement.

  Vale stiffened for a fraction of a second, eyes widening before he straightened his posture again.

  'Thanks, Chrome,' he thought. 'But since when can you read my thoughts?'

  There was a short pause.

  “…It’s an option I implanted,” Chrome replied, his voice echoing directly in Vale’s mind. “I can turn it off if you want.”

  Vale let out a quiet chuckle as he began walking toward a large crowd dressed in fine suits and dresses of every age and style imaginable.

  'Alright,' he thought. 'Disable it. If I need anything, I’ll ask.'

  “Understood,” Chrome replied. “Just let me know.”

  Vale smiled faintly and continued forward, speaking softly as if muttering to himself.

  “Can you tell me who the really important people are? And who I should avoid?”

  Chrome fell silent for a moment.

  “Of course. Give me a minute.”

  Vale rolled his eyes with a small smile and made his way through the crowd toward one of the dining tables. He poured himself a drink, took a slow sip, and closed his eyes briefly, just long enough to steady himself.

  Then he turned to leave.

  His first step collided with something solid.

  Vale stumbled slightly but managed not to spill his drink. He opened his eyes and looked up.

  Way up.

  The man he’d bumped into was massive, nearly as large as Korin. He had olive-toned skin, deep brown eyes, and short black hair. He smiled down at Vale with easy familiarity.

  Vale held his breath for a moment.

  “…Barbatos?” he asked quietly.

  The tall man laughed and clapped a hand against Vale’s shoulder.

  “Yeah. It’s me. Didn’t you know I was coming?”

  Vale exhaled and glanced around as whispers began to ripple through the nearby crowd, curious gazes drawn toward the pair.

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  “Well, I knew you’d be here,” Vale admitted, “but I figured you’d be acting more like security, just in case something went wrong.”

  Barbatos raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, I get why you’d think that. But the best security is always where the real trouble shows up first.” He smirked. “Besides, I can’t not attend as a guest. Status and all.”

  Vale chuckled softly.

  As strange as it sounded, it was true. Barbatos was the strongest among them, his presence at an event celebrating the rise of a new Paragon was practically mandatory.

  Vale shook his head slightly before asking,

  “So… is Alexandria here too?”

  Barbatos grinned and pointed upward.

  Vale followed his finger, scanning the glass ceiling that arched high above the hall. After a moment, he spotted her, a figure seated casually along one of the structural edges.

  She waved politely.

  From this distance, it was hard to tell, but knowing Alexandria, that was definitely a smile.

  “I see,” Vale said. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “No problem, kid,” Barbatos replied. “If you notice anything suspicious, or if the people here give you trouble, call me or Alex. We’ll help you out.”

  Vale smiled, waved him off politely, and continued walking as Barbatos was quickly surrounded by other guests eager for his attention.

  “Sure. I’ll do that.”

  Vale headed toward what looked like a balcony overlooking the hall. As he drew closer, he noticed a door set slightly aside from the main path.

  His suspicion grew.

  Curious, he opened it and stepped inside.

  The room beyond was quiet, and surprisingly comfortable.

  A leather couch rested against one wall. A wardrobe stood neatly in the corner. The lighting was warm and subdued. Everything about it screamed _break room_.

  Vale whistled softly, impressed.

  “Wow…”

  He was surprised no one else was here.

  He walked farther in until he stood at the center of the room.

  Then Chrome spoke again.

  “To your right, Vale.”

  Vale raised an eyebrow and began to turn, opening his mouth.

  But no words came out.

  Because he finally saw who was standing there.

  Vale held his breath.

  At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

  The mirror along the far wall rippled, its surface warping unnaturally, before a figure began to emerge from within it, as though stepping out of liquid glass. A man phased through the reflective surface piece by piece, his form solidifying with quiet finality.

  He wore a luxurious black suit, tailored to perfection. Long black hair framed a face marked by exhaustion, deep, tired eyes that looked as though they had seen far too much and slept far too little.

  Without acknowledging Vale, the man walked past him with practiced indifference.

  Vale remained frozen, wide-eyed, as the man reached the crystal table at the center of the room. He poured himself a drink with steady hands, lifted the glass, and finally turned.

  “So,” the man said calmly, taking a slow sip, “are you going to say anything?”

  Vale flinched, snapping back to reality.

  “Tharion?!” he blurted out. “How have you been? What happened to you?”

  He stopped himself abruptly and took a step back, forcing his breathing to steady as he realized he was overwhelming him.

  Tharion let out a low, humorless chuckle.

  “Isn’t that what everyone wants to know?” he murmured, more to himself than to Vale.

  He looked down at the floor for a moment, then slowly raised his gaze again.

  “If I tell you,” Tharion said quietly, “will you leave afterward? I need some rest.”

  Vale hesitated, then nodded cautiously.

  Tharion moved to a leather chair and sat down heavily, the motion betraying a weariness that no posture could hide.

  “Well,” he began, “to start, I haven’t exactly been great. My fourth trial was… more than just a load of shit.”

  Vale listened in silence.

  “As for what happened,” Tharion continued, voice flattening, “I was trapped in that godforsaken place for… I don’t know how long. Years? Centuries? Maybe millions of them. I lost count.”

  Vale’s stomach tightened.

  “My body was shattered,” Tharion went on, lifting his gaze slightly, “into millions upon millions of mirror fragments. I had to rebuild myself from that state. Every single piece had to be perfect. One wrong angle. One flaw. One imperfection…”

  He paused.

  “…and I would have died permanently.”

  Vale felt his throat dry.

  “So I started,” Tharion said simply.

  He looked directly at Vale now.

  “Do you know how long it takes to rebuild yourself from that point?”

  Vale took an involuntary step back as he met Tharion’s hollow eyes.

  “I… don’t,” Vale admitted quietly.

  Tharion smiled faintly.

  “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

  He leaned back in the chair, exhaling slowly.

  “I went mad,” he continued. “Completely. I forgot all of your faces, Evelyn, Caesar, Rose… everyone. Honestly, I don’t even know why I kept going.”

  His fingers tightened around the glass.

  “Nevertheless,” he said, “I did.”

  He looked down, then back up again.

  “And now I’m here. I cleared my trial. I became a Paragon. Officially.”

  Silence filled the room.

  Vale stared at him for a long time, the weight of Tharion’s words settling heavily in his chest. His stomach twisted. It sounded unbearable, inhuman.

  And yet, Vale couldn’t find a single word to respond.

  Before he could even try, Tharion lifted a finger and pointed.

  “The door.”

  Vale blinked.

  Tharion took another sip from his glass.

  “Please.”

  Vale hesitated, then let out a quiet sigh. He turned and left the room, his expression tangled with confusion and unease.

  Outside, he leaned against the wall beside the door and stared upward, trying to process what he’d just heard.

  Footsteps approached.

  Rose stopped in front of him, studying his face with a dubious expression.

  “How did you open that door?” she asked.

  Vale frowned.

  “What do you mean? It just opened.”

  Rose narrowed her eyes. She reached for the handle and pulled.

  Vale’s eyes widened.

  Behind the door was nothing but a solid brick wall.

  “…What?” he whispered.

  Rose stared at it for a moment, then laughed softly.

  “I see,” she said.

  She closed the door again and stepped away.

  “He must’ve wanted to vent to someone,” she added over her shoulder as she walked off.

  Vale remained where he was, staring at the door, now perfectly ordinary, perfectly sealed, his thoughts spinning in quiet disbelief.