The glyph flared in midair—blinding.
Valen instinctively recoiled.
The Thread writhed, screamed, retreated.
Not from pain.
From unfamiliarity.
Because this magic—this act—wasn't in any Codex.
It wasn't a spell.
It was a choice written in real time.
Juno stirred on the floor, her body flickering as if half-anchored.
Lyle stepped forward, hand still outstretched, voice hollow:
> "Codex… activate glyph."
The Codex didn't argue.
It just opened.
And a page vanished—right out of its heart.
---
> [Creator Glyph Activated]
Effect: Rewrite Thread Signature / Restore Bond Integrity
Memory Anchor Cost: ONE Core Tethered Event (Chosen Randomly)
The glyph expanded—
Lines spiraled.
Circles snapped inward.
And in a blinding implosion, everything rewrote itself.
---
Valen staggered back.
The Thread trembled in his grip.
It no longer felt like a weapon.
It felt like a question.
A question it wasn't sure how to ask anymore.
"What did you do?" he breathed.
Lyle blinked once—eyes glowing white, silver ink trailing across his skin like veins of truth.
"I changed the story."
---
Behind him, Juno gasped.
Color returned to her cheeks.
Her body snapped into focus.
She sat up slowly. "Lyle… what did you give up?"
He turned to her.
Paused.
Then—
He smiled.
Soft. Real.
"I don't know."
---
Because the Codex had taken something.
A moment.
A memory.
A tether.
And now, there was a hole in Lyle's mind where a piece of his past had been.
Not empty.
Not painful.
Just… gone.
---
The Codex pulsed again.
> [Thread Disruption: 91%]
Hostile Signature Recalibrating…
Valen took a step forward—but the Thread in his hand fizzled.
It no longer obeyed.
It no longer recognized him.
"NO—"
He tried to reassert control. Glyphs danced up his arm, clawing back through his bloodstream—
> But the Codex had already decided.
And this time, it didn't whisper.
It spoke.
"You are not the editor."
---
The Core shook.
The seal that had once locked true magic began to glow in the air above them—
Faint.
Weak.
Waiting.
And the Codex opened a new line:
> [Final Rewrite Directive Available]
Do you wish to complete the correction of the Seal?
Lyle's fingers hovered over the page.
Juno stood beside him, quiet.
Valen dropped to one knee, the Thread slipping from his hand like a forgotten pen.
"I still don't understand…" he whispered. "Why did it choose you?"
Lyle didn't answer.
Not because he was cruel.
But because…
> He didn't remember why anymore.