Selvere's image did not blink. He stood at the center of the corridor like a monument rendered in thought-perfect, unmoved, ancient.
"I understand your reluctance," he said, voice smooth as wet stone. "You are caught between shadows of a self you no longer claim, and a future none have mapped. It is natural to hesitate."
Kael's jaw tightened. "You want me to forget again."
"I offer you release," Selvere corrected. "You need not carry Rin's legacy. You need not inherit his enemies. I will erase the imprint from the Vault. Your name will vanish from the record. You can live as you are. Or as anyone."
Lira stepped forward. "You erased him once before. That wasn't mercy. It was control."
Selvere turned his head to her, slowly.
"It was containment," he said. "Rin uncovered a memory sequence not meant to be seen. A lattice buried beneath every Vault structure. It was never recorded. Only embedded. An inheritance from before the Mnemonic Houses."
Kael's voice was low. "What did it show?"
"A fracture," Selvere replied. "A recursive memory paradox capable of collapsing the truth structures we depend upon. If that knowledge spreads, not even I can hold the balance."
"So you sealed him."
"I invited him to step away. He agreed. Willingly."
Kael took a breath. "And now you want me to make the same choice."
"I am offering you peace."
The corridor dimmed around them, shadows coiling through the light.
"Your memories are dangerous," Selvere said softly. "But your mind is still yours. I offer sanctuary. Safety. And silence."
Lira's hand reached for Kael's arm.
Kael looked at her. Then back at the Archon.
The words came slowly.
"What happens if I say no?"
Selvere's voice did not change.
"Then the world forgets how to forget. And everything burns."