Silence descended once more—thick, unbroken, and agonizingly heavy.
The battlefield had been forced to process a terrifying succession of impossible events in mere moments: the resurrection of the First King, the violent awakening of the Original Witness beneath the bedrock, the chaotic birth of Ragnar's Tenth Authority, and the sudden manifestation of an entity residing entirely outside the bounds of the macro-system.
Yet, despite the overwhelming spatial turbulence and the impending collapse of the physical plane, nothing felt as profound or as dangerously volatile as the singular question hanging directly before Orion.
> **"Will you step outside the story?"**
>
Beyond the widening archway of the cosmic gateway, an arm forged of translucent, shifting starlight remained extended downward toward the broken plaza.
Floating directly within Orion's field of vision, hovering above the shattered stone, was a glowing system window rendered in deep obsidian and burning gold.
