Chapter 156: The Reapers - Kael
They come without warning.
Not from the void. Not from the Primeval's dream. From somewhere else. A place the twins describe as "the far side of silence."
Twelve of them. Golden armor. Faceless helmets. They step out of the tree as if walking through a door that shouldn't be there.
Reapers.
That's what Xiao Ba calls them. Her fragment-sensitivity screams the warning before they fully appear.
"They're not visitors," she gasps. "They're... reapers. Harvesters. They take what connects worlds. They take... us."
The first strike comes before we can react.
Golden energy—a blade of pure light—slashes through the air toward the twins. Kiran blocks it, his sword meeting the light-blade in a shower of sparks. The impact drives him to his knees, cracks spreading through the courtyard stone beneath him.
"Protect the children!" I shout.
Leah's wings snap open, silver light shielding Adrian and Ophelia. I draw the Kin-Slaying Blade, feeling its ancient power surge.
Xiao Qi opens fire. Her weapons—modified with C-side technology—hit the nearest Reaper. The golden armor dents. But doesn't break.
"They're strong," she reports.
"They're hunters," Xiao Ba says. "They hunt bridges. They hunt connections. They hunt... love."
The Reapers move forward. Not fast. But steady. Their golden light burns wherever it touches, leaving scorched earth.
Adrian steps forward.
"Daddy," he says, calm. "They want to take the bridge. The tree. The door. They want to separate everything again."
"How do you know?"
"They told me."
He looks at the lead Reaper with eyes that hold no fear.
"You want to cut," he says. "Cut what connects. Cut what loves. Because you're afraid."
The Reaper pauses.
"Afraid?" Its voice is metallic. Empty.
"Yes. Connection makes you weak. Love makes you vulnerable. So you cut. To stay safe. To stay... alone."
Adrian holds out his hand. Shadow coils around his fingers.
"But being alone isn't safe. Being alone is dying. Slowly. In silence."
Ophelia joins him. Light pours from her palms.
"Connection is strength," she says.
"Love is courage," Adrian adds.
They clasp hands. Shadow and light twist together.
"And we," they say together, "won't let you cut."
The energy blast that erupts from their joined hands isn't destructive. It's... revealing.
Golden light that shows the truth.
The Reapers' armor cracks. Beneath—
They are hollow.
Empty suits. No bodies. No minds. Machines driven by fear.
"Who controls you?" I demand.
The lead Reaper's helmet falls away, revealing nothing. Just a voice, fading:
"The... Divider. The one who... separates. The opposite... of the Primeval. The one who... hates... connection."
Then they collapse. Golden dust scattering on the wind.
The twins lower their hands. Breathing hard.
"There's another," Adrian says. "An enemy. The Divider. The opposite of the Primeval."
"It wants to cut all bridges," Ophelia adds.
"Then we'll build stronger bridges," I say.
I look at my family. My wife. My children. My friends.
"Together."
Always together.