The presence didn't move, but the space around it felt as if it might collapse at any moment. The candles went out one by one, as if drawn into an ancient breath. The only remaining light came from the cracked medallion on the pedestal — now pulsing in unison with the reliquary in Claire's pocket.
Solène held the incantation, but her voice trembled.
— "He's not of the Veil...", she whispered.
— "He's what comes after."
Claire stared at the figure.
— "What do you want from me?"
The shadow didn't answer with words. Instead, it extended a hand. Resting in it was a small sphere — dark glass with a red core pulsing like blood under moonlight.
Then the voice came again, without a mouth, without echo.
— "Two keys. One seal. One decision."
Claire felt the reliquary tremble against her skin. Something inside her — a memory, an instinct, or perhaps a fragment of Camille — whispered that this was a test. Not only of courage. But of alignment. Of truth.
Solène stepped forward.
— "If you give them both keys, they'll open the Veil."
— "And if I don't?", Claire asked.
The shadow stepped forward.
The ground trembled.
— "Paris will be the price."
The words fell like metal on marble. Claire closed her eyes. Inside her, a thousand versions of the same choice battled. The traitor. The martyr. The liar. The loyal.
She reached for the reliquary. Walked toward the pedestal. The broken medallion still glowed. And for a moment, the two pulsed together — as if they recognized one another, as if they longed to be whole again.
But Claire stopped.
— "Not yet," she said.
The shadow shuddered.
— "You defy inevitability."
— "No. I just want to know who wrote in blood not to trust Armand."
Silence. The figure began to retreat, dissolving into strands of dark smoke.
— "The key is tied to the lie. But also… to the truth."
And then it vanished.
Solène ran to Claire, who could barely stand.
— "Did you make the right choice?"
Claire didn't answer right away.
She just looked at the cracked medallion.
— "I made the only choice that still leaves questions open."