Chap 175: It Is Time

The Balance Seal.

It was meant to be the one remedy against the Xenogene in the Vergant world—a desperate measure born of ancient study and sacrifice. But everyone also knew the other truth. Taking one could just as easily trigger the very mutation it was meant to stop.

And in Tee’s case, the risk wasn’t just mutation.

It was the MegaSapian.

Tee had agreed to get the Balance Seal.

When the announcement spread, fear rippled across Priman. Lightning rolled across the sky as though even the heavens objected. Tension seeped into every corner—soldiers whispering in the corridors, Vergants reinforcing wards around the village, elders debating in half-lit council halls where no one spoke above a hush.

In the training room, the Commander’s bark cut through the noise as his four cadets snapped into formation. It was the usual summons—stern and precise—but what followed was anything but ordinary.

“Your fellow comrade Tee is getting the Balance Seal today,” he told them flatly, his tone leaving no room for debate.

The words landed like falling stones.

“What?!” Miko gasped.

Saeda swore under her breath, shaking her head as if she could dismiss what she’d heard. “You can’t be serious. Today? Do they even know what they’re risking—”

Zod’s voice cracked as he blurted, “Wait—can’t we wait until tomorrow? At least let me call my parents—say something to them—We’re just doing this now?”

The Commander didn’t move. His hands remained clasped behind his back.

“Yes. It has to be done today.” His gaze swept over them with the sharpness of a blade. “Suit up. You’ll be dispatched to the designated locations shortly. That’s an order. In the worst case scenario, be prepared to take down a MegaSapian.”

Silence swallowed the room. Each Sentinel stood frozen, hearts pounding, the inevitability in his tone pressing down on them like weight.

Outside, the halls roared with preparation. Soldiers and Vergants rushed past one another, summoning glyphs, carrying weapons, whispering fear. The Balance Seal had become the eye of a gathering storm.

But where was Tee?

The ceremonial dress they had given her was plain, its long sleeves designed to hide what lay beneath—but they couldn’t. Black, swirling markings crawled up her arms like burned vines, peeking out at her wrists, along the collar, across the hollow curve of her throat. No matter how she tugged the sleeves down, they refused to stay hidden.

She looked monstrous.

If she had ever thought she was a freak before, the mirror left no room for doubt now.

Her pale hair fell in loose sheets around her face as she shook it free, trying to create a curtain between herself and the world. For once, she wished she had bangs—something to shadow her eyes the way she shadowed everything else inside her.

A knock sounded, followed by a young female Vergant’s voice.

“Lady Char, it is time.”

Those words again. 

It is time.

She turned away from the mirror and left the room. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was—only that it was somewhere in the Vergant Village near Primus. Her mouth still tasted of the bitter substance they’d forced her to eat that morning.

Miko’s cooking felt like a god-send in comparison.

Elder Caledor greeted her at the archway, his long yellow robe swaying, white beard flowing as he bowed. His piercing blue eyes were steady.

“Greetings, young Sentinel. I will accompany you from here.”

She bowed in return. He lifted his hand, pointing toward the stone arch. She followed.

Outside, Vergants were already raising great columns from the moss and earth, covered in carved symbols that glowed brighter with every passing minute. Thousands worked, their chants weaving into the air as the ritual circle expanded.

He updated Tee as they walked. The previous mission had succeeded—monsters sealed away, rift closed. But still, the Seal was unforgiving. The Balance Seal worked by severing the Xenogene at its core. If mutation occurred, the seal fried the brain instantly. The Xenogene needed the brain the way a human needed a heart. Once gone, it perished. That was why it was called the Balance Seal—it killed when balance broke.

Waiting by the arch was another figure. A Vergant named Aven.

He wore a dark red cloak, hood pulled low. Only the tip of his nose and chin showed beneath. His skin was dark, almost blending into the cloth. Long hair, also red, spilled forward, catching faint light.

The Elder Caledor placed a hand on his shoulder. “This brave lad will accompany you. Skilled in the art, and knowing what to do.”

Tee had seen him twice before. Always silent, always distant.

Vergants passed by, clasping Aven’s shoulder. “May success be with thee, brother.”

They patted his back in respect. But to Tee, there were no words. Only nods filled with sorrow, like they were already mourning her.

The gates opened, revealing the stone steps leading away from the village. Tee and Aven stepped through.

Behind them, a force shield shimmered to life, glowing brighter as it sealed the village from sight.

Tee walked stiffly, tension knotting her stomach. Aven was silent, eyes fixed ahead, stride steady. She couldn’t even be sure what he looked like beneath the hood.

Was he even a guy?

Her gaze flicked to his build—broad shoulders, long steps. Probably. But then, she’d mistaken Lilith once. Then she recalled the recent Vergants calling him brother, implying he was male.

She tried to break the silence. Clearing her throat dramatically, she put on a ridiculous old accent. “How doeth thou?” She even stuck her hand in front of his face to break his tunnel vision.

He turned just enough for her to glimpse shadowed features, brows lifting in puzzlement.

“…I’m fine,” he said, dry and flat.

Tee blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. Shocked he had even answered.

He looked forward again, voice low. “Nice accent, modern-worlder. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were mocking me.”

Her face flushed. “No, I was just—I didn’t mean it like—”

Before she could finish, he shoved his hood back.

His hair was a shaggy spill of dark red. His eyes gleamed the same, deep crimson that made her gasp. Kie’s eyes were red too, but these burned sharper, more alive.

A grin spread across his face, followed by a deep chuckle. “Ahahah. I believe the term is… I was kidding?”

Tee exhaled in relief, a nervous laugh escaping.

He tilted his head. “I understand you more than you think. Don’t change how you speak. It amuses me.”

She blinked, surprised, then smiled faintly. “Oh. Alright. My name’s Tee, by the way.”

“I know,” he said. His grin softened into something else—something heavier.

“I know exactly who you are. Tee Edna Char. The doomed one.”

Aven made it clear he already knew about her—more than she was comfortable with.

 Though she would have preferred a warmer introduction, something less damning than The Doomed One.

Silence pressed between them like a weight.

Tee folded her arms, forcing herself not to fidget beneath his gaze. Finally, she broke it.

 “And you are?”

The man inclined his head with a faint, almost mocking courtesy. “Beth-Aven, or just Aven is fine. I know you’ve probably heard a lot about me… There’s not much for me to introduce, I suppose.”

Tee blinked, trying to recall the name. Beth-Aven?? No way. She was sure she would have remembered a name like that. Something so strange and heavy-sounding couldn’t have escaped her memory. 

Squinting at him, she asked, “Are you a Primus worker or something?”

Aven stopped walking. His eyes sharpened, locking on hers with unsettling intensity.

 “They’ve never mentioned my name… not once?”

She shook her head. “…Who are ‘they’ supposed to be?”

“The elders,” he said. His voice grew quieter, but it carried the weight of disappointment. “Elder Earvangar?”

Her silence was answer enough.

Aven sighed, the sound deep and resigned. His steps resumed, and Tee had no choice but to follow.

The stoned pathway beneath them began to narrow, the ground on both sides dropping steeply into unseen depths. The path twisted, winding downward until it led to a broad circular platform. The drop around them opened into vast emptiness, a yawning pit that eventually met with dark waters below.

When they reached the center, Tee slowed to take it in. The ground was etched with elaborate carvings—symbols of light and darkness entwined together in a perfect, unnatural balance. A hormonal circle, precise yet strangely alive. The marble stone gleamed faintly under the ambient glow.

Her throat tightened. She knew what that place was. That was where Balance Seals were placed on Vergant Xeno-victims.

And now it was her turn.

It was time to face the very thing she had been running from.

Aven turned to her, his expression calm but grave. “You being a Sentinel—what we are about to do hath never been done before. Worst case…” He hesitated only slightly, “…you mutate into the MegaSapian. Which also means me dying. So—” he gave a dry half-smile, “—we’re both in this.”

Tee’s stomach flipped. For the first time she felt sorry for him. “You mean you’re risking your life for me, and you don’t even know me?”

“See the bigger picture,” Aven replied simply, as though that was enough.

Before she could argue, he reached for her hand. His palm was cold, hard, like stone that had somehow learned to move. He lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the ground, pulling her down with him until they sat face to face. Their joined hands anchored her in place. A red forceshield flickered around them. 

His tone was steady when he asked, “To begin, I will verge you. Do I have your permission?”

Tee swallowed hard, then nodded. “Yes.”

The moment the word left her lips, his eyes flared white.

The world around them dissolved. Light engulfed everything, blinding her until the brightness softened into something else. She felt as though she was suspended in water—not drowning, but floating, weightless.

Then the scene cleared.

They were no longer on marble stone but inside her Verge.

Tee staggered, breath caught in her throat. Around her stretched crystal caverns, immense mountain-like structures of glowing minerals. Crystals of light and darkness jutted at odd angles, fractured walls looming overhead. Shattered pieces reflected her life like fragmented mirrors.

Her chest tightened when she saw the reflections. Memories, scattered and raw.

She gasped. Among the shards, she saw herself and Kie—those moments. Intimate, private, things she never thought anyone else would witness. Her face flushed crimson.

The more she tried not to think about it, the worse it became. Scene after scene appeared in cruel detail across the crystal mirrors, like her own mind betraying her.

Panic clawed at her lungs. She forced herself to think of something else—anything else. The beach. The swing. The smell of salt and the creak of ropes. Slowly, mercifully, the images shifted, replaced by gentler memories.

Beside her, Aven remained composed. For his part, it was the most shattered, chaotic Verge he had ever seen. He did not flinch at the scenes of romance. He hardly blinked. To him, the devastation of the place was far more alarming.

Almost everything was broken, fractured, unstable.

Then his eyes caught something at a distance. He stiffened.

There, far across the cavern, floated a massive anomaly—a crisscrossing circle of glowing purple glyphs. A Seal. Not one of balance, but of unmistakably dark origin.

“What—?” he blurted aloud.

Tee turned sharply, alarmed by his tone. “What’s wrong?”

Aven’s mind raced. Someone had known about her hybrid state long before this. Someone had deliberately placed a Seal on her, and not a Balance Seal. What did it do? Who had dared such a thing?

He quickly smothered his reaction. “It’s nothing,” he said firmly. “We need to hurry. Let us not spend a second here more than we need to.”

Whatever the dark Seal’s function, it would be destroyed once he succeeded. The pure Ether of the Balance Seal would wipe away any corruption. He would keep Tee blissfully unaware.

But fate had other ideas.

A loud crash thundered through the cavern. Aven grabbed her wrist and pulled her into hiding behind a jagged cluster of crystals.

In the distant air, two figures clashed violently—both of them versions of Tee.

One shimmered with blue Ultramana energy, radiant but weakening. The other was cloaked in dark mana, relentless and merciless. The light-Tee was being blasted apart, driven into the ground, pummeled without pause.

Aven’s voice dropped to a whisper as he peeked from cover. “Those are the two forces inside you. Forever at war.”

Tee clenched her fists, her body trembling at the sight of herself battling herself.

“Inside here, you have no power,” Aven explained. “All your abilities reside in those two forces. They must not know you’re in here—especially the dark one.”

The words hit like ice. Tee’s throat went dry. She could only nod.

Aven led her deeper into the crystal caves, away from the chaos.

As they moved, his voice echoed through the glittering halls. “Those two forces are each striving to dominate the host. But while you, Tee, are inside this place… they only need to reach you in this form. Whichever one touches you will be the victor. If your dark side reaches you, you will mutate into the MegaSapian. And right now, your dark side is stronger. “

“These markings on my skin are proof, isn’t it?”

Aven nodded grimly. “The insignia are signs of an unnatural force within. Once this ritual is over, they will be altered.”

Her heart skipped. “You mean my curse mark will be gone?”

He broke their handhold, glancing at the branching tunnels ahead. His reply was flat. “I never said that.”

The words stung. She wanted to push for more, but he was already seating himself cross-legged on the crystal floor. Glyphs of glowing red light began spinning from him, weaving into intricate patterns that locked together like shifting gears. Over and over the circles multiplied, dazzling and confusing in their complexity.

Tee remained standing, nerves sparking. She kept watch, eyes darting toward the shadows. An uncomfortable numbness spread through her body, as though the Verge itself was resisting her.

Far away, in another place entirely, someone else stirred.

In the deep dimness, blackened eyes snapped open. Symbols of dark purple began spinning. The air trembled as fragments of reality cracked apart around him.

Sade. The sorcerer.

He had sensed it—danger to the Seal he had placed long ago on the vessel. Tee.

He couldn’t twitch his lips in annoyance, thanks to what she had once done to him. But his anger burned undiminished.

Normally, the connection to the Seal was faint, disrupted by the distance and the sorcery barriers of Primus. But Tee was not at Primus at the moment. The tether strengthened, sharp as a blade.

Sade would not lose his Seal without a fight.

Through their telepathic link, he muttered scraps of warning to Legion. Enough for the Harbingers to know he would be… unavailable.

Legion’s response was dismissive. He called Sade obsessed. The Seal had served its purpose, the message was delivered. Let it break. Why cling to it?

But Sade knew better. That Seal was more than a message. It was his eye, his tether, his way of tracking her. With it, he could pinpoint her location whenever interference fell. With his vortexes, he could reach her instantly.

Lilith only knew it as a veil, a way to keep Tee’s dark energy hidden from the world. Legion dismissed it as little more than that. But Sade—Sade knew the full truth.

The cavern trembled.

Aven’s eyes snapped open.

The roof groaned and shards of crystal came crashing down. He seized Tee’s arm, dragging her down another tunnel just before the ceiling collapsed.

That passage opened into a wider chamber, but luck had abandoned them.

There, struggling to her feet from the rubble, stood the Ultramana version of Tee. Bloodied but still glowing. Her dark counterpart crashed down upon her, smashing her into the floor. Both looked up at once.

And both had seen them—Tee and Aven.

Aven muttered under his breath, “…Fie.”

Tee blurted the modern version: “Crap.”