Gasps still echoed across the grand cathedral like ghosts clinging to the walls.
Salira stood bold and unbothered, the slit in her gown flowing like defiance. And wrapped around her like a crown was Adam's white fur cape—heavy, warm, and absolutely royal.
No one dared say a word as Prince Adam took her hand and led her up the ivory steps to the altar.
Together, they looked… untouchable.
The nobles stared. Some in awe. Some in disgust. But all in silence.
The priest took a moment to gather himself before clearing his throat.
"We are gathered here today in the sight of the gods and the Empire to witness the sacred union…"
His words faded into the background.
Salira could barely hear him over the pounding of her heart. Her fingers rested gently in Adam's palm. She could still feel the tension in his hand—protective, steady. But beneath the calm, something inside her twisted.
Then, suddenly—
Everything froze.
Not metaphorically.
Not emotionally.
Actually. Froze.
The priest stopped speaking mid-word, his mouth open like a broken puppet.
A rose petal hovering midair stilled.
The candle flames paused, frozen in a flicker.
Even Adam.
His expression… the faintest hint of a smile… froze like a wax statue.
Salira blinked.
Then blinked again.
"…Adam?"
No answer. No breath. No movement.
Her own voice was the only sound in a world that had gone silent.
And then it appeared.
A flicker. A glitch.
Out of the corner of her eye—barely visible—a shimmering rectangle, like a reflection on water. A screen. Transparent. Flickering with unnatural blue light.
Then text.
Fast.
Broken.
> SY_…EM//___…
_Welcome…Reader…
_To the…world…
_Of…
…
[STATIC]
"What the hell…" Iris whispered.
The words stuttered, glitched, bent like they were breaking through dimensions. She tried to read more—but the screen blinked violently, flashing something one final time.
She turned fully toward it.
But it was gone.
Like it had never been there.
And time?
Time snapped back.
The priest's voice returned in mid-sentence as if no pause had ever happened.
"—speak now, or forever hold your peace."
The rose petal fell. The candle flickered.
Adam turned his head slightly toward her.
"You're trembling," he said quietly.
Salira forced a smile. "I'm fine."
But inside?
Inside she wasn't.
Her thoughts spiraled. Was it another hallucination? Deja vu? Or was something… watching?
She glanced over her shoulder once more.
Nothing.
Only gold-lit marble, noble whispers, and the priest's steady voice continuing:
"Then by the power granted to me by the Imperial Temple, I now pronounce you…"
Salira's fingers curled tighter around Adam's.
> Welcome, reader…
> While it lasts.
But she hadn't seen that part.
Not yet.