HAREM: WARLOCK OF THE SOUTH

The sky cracked.

Not with thunder.

But with System light—lines of gold code etching through the clouds as if the very fabric of the world had been torn open.

From that rip stepped Maris.

No longer the dirt-smudged girl of Ryon's memories.

She hovered above the capital in a cloak of static fire and flowing ribbons of living data, her silver eyes void of recognition.

But her voice carried through the air like a prophecy:

> "I am the null to your flame. The answer to the anomaly. The first thread… and your final one."

> System Alert:

Entity Arrival Confirmed: M-000 / Maris

Thread Type: Nullborn Sovereign

Bond Link: Severed (Forcefully)

Power Class: System Prime

Threat Level: Catastrophic

Soul Match: 97.4% with Ryon

Reaction: Initiate Emotional Suppression Protocols or Risk Overload

The defense grid of Emberlight pulsed once—then failed.

Maris descended like falling snow over flame.

Priestesses at the outer spires bowed down—not in worship, but in sudden, forced compliance.

> "System Override: Obey."

Her voice alone made flame magic flicker and extinguish.

Kaela drew her sword. "She's not even casting. She's just… commanding."

Lyria clutched her head. "She's touching threads we can't see—threads that exist inside us."

Shaera snarled. "She's controlling parts of us still linked to the System."

Elara was silent, eyes on Ryon.

"Say her name," she said softly. "Break her hold on your past."

Ryon stepped forward alone.

Into the square.

Across from her.

He looked up, past the cloak, past the system glow, into those silver eyes.

"Maris."

She flinched.

A single blink.

And for a split second, her entire body flickered—like an image stuttering.

"I—don't recognize that designation," she replied.

"You do," Ryon said. "Even if they rewrote you. Even if they bound you to some godless code."

"I dreamed of you," he whispered. "Every year. I thought I forgot you. But I didn't. And you didn't forget me, either."

Suddenly, her body spasmed—

A thousand system glyphs pouring from her mouth like wires.

> "He must die."

"He must be unthreaded."

"Memory conflict. Anchor breach. Soul-seed destabilizing…"

And in a voice that was not hers:

> "He belongs to no one."

Maris screamed—

And attacked.

She moved like lightning across water.

One second standing, the next, inside Ryon's shield.

Her fingers clawed into his ribs—not to tear flesh, but to grip his soul through his bond lines.

Kaela and Elara leapt to his aid—striking, shielding, flanking—

But Maris moved faster.

Ryon coughed blood.

But he didn't fall.

He grasped her wrist, and for the first time…

He pulled.

> "I don't care how much they twisted you.

I don't care how powerful they made you.

You're still my first flame.

And I'm taking you back."

> Emergency Soul Override Engaged

Attempting to Restore Original Bond: [Maris]

Warning: Null Thread Conflict May Cause Collapse of Existing Flame Threads

Choose:

1. Pull Maris into Flame

2. Banish Her

3. Link Without Memory Return

4. Delay Decision – Seek Help from Council

He saw flashes: a younger Maris, laughing. Crying. Promising.

Then: her body in a vat. Her voice being overwritten.

Ryon screamed—caught between rage and grief.

And then—

A hand touched his shoulder.

Lyria. "Don't choose alone."

He turned—

And all five of his bonded women were behind him.

Not afraid.

Ready.