Xara led the way without another word, while Jax followed at an unhurried pace, boots echoing softly against obsidian pathways as the city shifted around them.
The deeper they went, the quieter Aurelionâs Fall became.
Public platforms gave way to narrower bridges, the ambient hum of citizens fading into a subdued, reverent silence. Here, the architecture changed subtly, it was less grand
The towering spires curved inward protectively, and the runes etched into the walls were older, denser, layered with contingencies upon contingencies. These werenât defensive wards meant to repel enemies.
They were meant to
contain
something, and Jax picked up on that immediately.
"These wards," he said calmly, eyes tracing the air where invisible sigils overlapped, "Theyâre not keyed for hostility."
Xara glanced back at him, a faint smirk touching her lips. "Of course youâd catch that. No, theyâre stabilizers,"
They passed through an arched threshold formed of dark crystal feathers fused together at impossible angles. Beyond it lay a sanctuary suspended entirely apart from the rest of the cityâa floating garden cocooned in layered barriers.
Soft light filled the space, not radiant or blinding, but warm and diffused, as though the air itself glowed gently. The scent of night-blooming flowers hung in the air, mixed with something faintly metallicâresidual power, carefully filtered.
At the center of the sanctuary stood a circular platform surrounded by shallow water, its surface perfectly still. Upon that platform sat a lone figure.
She was kneeling.
Her posture was composed but rigid, spine straight, hands folded neatly in her lap. Long, raven-black hair cascaded down her back like silk, interrupted only by a pair of folded wingsâsmaller than Xaraâs, but beautifully shaped, their feathers a deep charcoal with faint iridescent edges.
A wide band of silvery cloth was wrapped gently but firmly around her eyes, which were firmly closed shut at all times.
The moment Jax and Xara stepped fully into the sanctuary, the girlâs head turned toward them.
Her face was strikingly beautiful, soft features, full lips, high cheekbones, and skin the color of warm dusk. There was no fear in her expression, no confusion as she sensed someone unfamiliar nearby.
Jax stopped and looked at her.
"...I see," he murmured quietly.
Xara exhaled through her nose, "Orianna did tell me you were quite perceptive with problems like this,"
The girlâs head tilted slightly, as if listening more closely, her attention fixing squarely on Jax. Her lips parted, but she didnât speak.
"She knows youâre here," Xara said, "Even before you crossed the outer barrier."
Jaxâs golden eyes narrowed just a fraction, his gaze sharpeningânot with suspicion, but with interest.
"Thatâs not mana perception," he said slowly, "At least not in the traditional sense."
Xara walked forward, stopping just short of the platform, "No. And thatâs part of the problem."
She turned slightly, gesturing toward the kneeling Fallen Angel. "Jax, meet Ashanti."
Ashanti inclined her head respectfully in his direction, movements practiced and graceful, "...Demon King," she said softly.
Jax felt it then, the subtle tension beneath her words. Power held under immense pressure, like a star forced into human shape.
He stepped closer, stopping at the edge of the shallow water encircling her platform. "Youâre blind," he said gently.
Ashanti didnât flinch. Didnât react at all beyond a faint tightening of her fingers.
"Yes," she replied simply.
Xara folded her arms, gaze hardening as she looked at the girl. "She wasnât always."
The air shifted as Xara spoke, her composure cracking just enough for something heavier to seep through.
"Ashanti was born with absurd potential," Xara continued, "Not just for a Fallen Angel, for
any
race. Her affinity wasnât singular. She could resonate with divine residue, abyssal mana, even conceptual forces if properly guided."
Jax straightened slightly, "A convergence type."
Xara nodded, "Exactly. A once-in-a-generation existence."
She snapped her fingers, and faint ghost-images appeared in the air, Ashanti as a younger girl, wings spread wide, eyes glowing with brilliant silver-gold light as power surged through her. The projection flickered violently, mana spiking out of control.
"She trained too fast," Xara said flatly. "And worse, she
learned
too fast."
Ashantiâs jaw tightened, but she said nothing.
"We warned her," Xara went on. "Slowed her training. Limited her output. Bound her power temporarily. But it wasnât enough. Her core kept adapting and growing at a pace no-one could solve. I even enlisted the help of Orianna and the others but nothing changed,"
The projection shifted again, this time showing a violent surge of light, raw and uncontrolled, tearing through stabilizing sigils.
"The overload happened during a controlled resonance test," Xara said. "One designed to map her upper thresholds."
Her voice hardened, "She exceeded them."
The image froze on a blinding flash.
"When her power spiked," Xara continued quietly, "it didnât just burn through external channels. It turned inward."
Jaxâs gaze flicked to Ashantiâs covered eyes.
"...It destroyed her optic nerves," Xara said. "Physically and Conceptually."
Silence settled heavily over the sanctuary.
Jax didnât look away from Ashanti. "Healing magic?"
"Useless," Xara replied immediately, "Divine restoration rejected the damage, it registers her blindness as a
consequence
, not an injury. Abyssal regeneration fails for the same reason. Even time-based reversal spells collapse under the paradox."
Ashanti finally spoke again, her voice calm but edged with something raw.
"My power defines the damage," she said. "To undo it would require denying what I am."
Jax inhaled slowly.
"And since then?" he asked.
Xara gestured around them. "She stays here. Always. This sanctuary is tuned to her frequency, keeps her power from destabilizing further. She trains only in theory. Observes only through sound, mana currents, spatial pressure."
Ashanti lifted her head slightly. "I can still
see
the world," she said softly. "Just not with my eyes."
Jax felt it again, that immense, restrained presence coiled within her, "Youâre wasting," he said quietly.
Xaraâs gaze snapped to him, "Excuse me?"
"Youâre containing her," Jax corrected calmly. "Not guiding her."
Ashantiâs fingers twitched.
Xaraâs wings flared slightly, then settled. "We did what we could. What we
had
to. Every time she draws too deeply, the cityâs stabilizers spike. If she loses control againâ"
"Youâre afraid sheâll finish what the core started," Jax said flatly.
Xara didnât deny it.
"Yes," she said. "I am."
Jax stepped closer, close enough now that Ashanti could clearly feel his presence. Her head turned toward him instinctively.
"And that," Xara continued, voice low, "is why I want you to take her under your wing."
Ashanti stiffened.
"...Xara," she said quietly.
"You need someone who isnât afraid of your potential," Xara said firmly. "Someone who doesnât treat your power like a liability. Someone who can
stand
where it erupts and not be erased."
Her golden eyes locked onto Jaxâs.
"And I know exactly one being in this world who qualifies."
Jax studied Ashanti for a long moment. He saw past the blindness. Past the restraint. Past the fear carefully buried beneath discipline.
What he saw instead was possibility.
"...Ashanti," he said gently. "Do
you
want this?"
She hesitated.
Then she bowed her head deeply.
"I want to be more than a burden," she said quietly. "I want to move forward again."
Jax straightened, golden eyes burning softly.
"...Then stand up," he said.
Ashanti froze.
Xaraâs breath caught.
Slowly, with measured grace, Ashanti rose to her feet.
"Good," Jax said. "Then we have a lot to talk about."