Theo didn't move.
Couldn't.
Because kneeling in front of him—veiled, bound by faded sigils and cracked chains—was someone who wore his own face like a prophecy denied.
And when that version spoke again, it wasn't with anger.
It was with certainty.
"You're the mistake."
The words hit harder than magic.
Lina stepped forward, hand instinctively moving to protect Theo, even as her eyes stayed locked on the chained figure.
"You're not him," she said flatly.
The veiled version turned its head slowly toward her. Though the cloth concealed his face, his voice cut through, low and sharp:
"No. I'm what he would've been if he hadn't chosen you."
Theo stiffened.
"I am the Sentinel who stayed behind when the curse demanded a sacrifice. I sealed the gates. I became the lock. I honored the pact."
His voice rose, quiet fury beneath perfect control.
"And for that, I was entombed here—while you broke the seal and let the Velvet Book awaken."
The chains coiled tighter around him, reacting to his rising energy. The mark on Theo's chest pulsed in time with the one glowing on the prisoner's back.
"They said the curse was the danger," Lina said. "They lied."
The veiled Theo tilted his head.
"The curse was never meant to bind you. It was meant to protect the world from you."
Lina's lips parted slightly, but she didn't speak.
The chained Theo continued, almost softly:
"You've seen what you become when you're free. The Velvet Book shows only fragments, but I've lived through them all. Lina Reyes doesn't survive. She wins. And the world pays the price."
He turned his head toward Theo again.
"And you… you let it happen. Again. Because you love her."
Theo's breath hitched.
"Then why are you still here?" he asked. "If she's that dangerous—if I'm such a failure—why haven't you broken out and stopped us?"
The veiled figure smiled under the cloth.
"Because I made a vow."
"I would never become my enemy."
And then the air shifted.
Behind them, a new voice entered the chamber.
Cold. Sharp. Female.
"And that's why we've come to replace you."
The silver-haired envoy stepped through the threshold. Behind her, the twin guards, weapons drawn.
"Lina Reyes," she said. "Theo. Step away from the relic. This chamber is not yours to enter."
Lina raised her chin. "He's not a relic. He's a prisoner."
"Exactly," said the envoy. "One who has already fulfilled his purpose. It's time to let the next cycle begin."
Theo stepped in front of Lina. "You're going to kill him?"
"No," she said. "We're going to erase him."
The chains around the veiled Theo started to smoke.
And from behind the cloth, that other version of Theo whispered—
"Run."