The archive door was closed now.
Not locked.
Sealed.
The runes across the frame glowed with a soft, rhythmic pulse—like the heartbeat of a slumbering god. The wood had repaired itself. The stone walls now bore faint lines of protective glyphwork, crawling out like veins from where Kairon lay sleeping.
The three guards Brix had downed remained motionless near the threshold, smoke still curling from one man's helmet. None of them stirred. None dared to.
Brix stood in the middle of the ruined floor, coat draped over one shoulder, still unsure whether he should be breathing harder—or not at all.
His hands were calm.
That frightened him more than the fire ever had.
[System Notification: Barrier Engaged.][Passive Zone Activated: Sanctuary of the Sleeper.][Zone Effect: Absolute Silence. External Aggression Denied. Host Protection Priority: MAXIMUM.]
"…He changed the room just by sleeping," Brix whispered.
The system didn't respond, but the floor beneath him did. A warm ripple passed through the stone—an enchantment activating on a delay, responding to Kairon's stabilizing aura. Books shifted. Candles re-lit. Scrolls rewrapped themselves as if out of respect.
Brix turned slowly in place.
Even his own footsteps now made no sound.
He looked back at Kairon, still curled up on his ridiculous bed of forbidden scrolls, mouth slightly open in one of those deep, ugly-sounding naps. Completely unbothered by any of this.
Does he even realize what he did to me?
To the room?
To the rules of the world?
Another system message flickered behind his eyes:
[Reminder: Disturbing Host's sleep reduces Global Harmony Index.]
"…The what?"
[Statistically: A riot.]
He stared at the message.
Then at the snoozing man responsible for it.
Then back at the sealed door pulsing with golden light.
And for the first time in his life, Brix felt something new.
Not fear.
Not rage.
But the certainty that he had just joined something far, far bigger than he could understand.
And somehow, it all revolved around a man who didn't even care to stay awake for it.