CHAPTER 1459: STORY 1459: THE VESSEL

The glass-and-bone figure moved with terrible grace, every step echoing through the chamber as though the walls themselves bent to listen. Its shifting mask never stilled, faces rising and dissolving across its surface, mouths whispering in unison.

Elena clutched Mira’s arm, her nails digging into flesh. “Don’t listen to it. It’s trying to claim you.”

But Mira could barely hear her. The shard in her palm thrummed louder, resonating with the figure. Her blood pulsed blue, light weaving up her veins, her chest tight with pressure like she was about to split open.

The figure raised its hand. Veins of glass sprouted from the spires around them, twisting upward into shapes—mockeries of human bodies, reaching, bowing. The air shivered with reverence.

“You bleed with our marrow,” the voices layered. “You carry the shard’s covenant. Through you, the gate will breathe again.”

Elena’s panic rose to a scream. “No! She’s not yours!” She lunged forward, snatching Mira’s knife from the floor, and hurled it at the figure.

The blade clanged harmlessly against its lattice chest, falling uselessly to the ground. The mask shifted, faces sneering, laughing.

Mira’s throat tightened as the shard flared, pulling her toward the figure. Her boots scraped against the slick floor as if unseen hands dragged her closer. Elena grabbed her waist, bracing, trying to hold her back.

“Mira, fight it!” she cried, tears in her voice.

Mira’s own voice cracked. “I—I can’t...”

The figure knelt before her, tilting its head. “You do not resist. You are already chosen.” It reached out, long glass fingers poised to touch her chest.

And then—another vibration cut through the chamber.

Deeper. Stronger. Alien yet familiar.

The monarch’s howl.

The walls convulsed, veins of light spiderwebbing faster, cracks rippling through the spires. The figure froze, its many faces turning upward. For the first time, there was fear in its tone.

“The Monarch breaches. Too soon. The Vessel is unready.”

Elena seized the moment. She yanked Mira free with all her strength, dragging her behind a fallen spire. Mira collapsed, clutching her burning palm, gasping as the shard’s light dimmed for a breath.

The figure straightened, its body fracturing, shards of its mask falling like broken glass. “You cannot escape. The tower has claimed you. If you flee, it will consume you from within.”

It dissolved into shards, scattering like dust across the chamber.

Silence followed, broken only by Mira’s ragged breathing. The blue veins beneath her skin pulsed slower, but they did not fade.

Elena crouched beside her, gripping her shoulders. “Mira, listen to me. You’re still you. Don’t let it turn you into their vessel.”

Mira met her eyes. For a moment, she looked like herself. Then her gaze flickered blue, voice low, shaking.

“Elena... what if being the vessel is the only way to stop the Monarch?”

From deep within the tower, the triple howl thundered again—closer now.

And Mira felt the shard answer.