[BL] I Didn't Sign Up For This-Chapter 90: In Which Veyrith Sends a Message

We’d been back at the safehouse for maybe twenty minutes when it happened.

I was standing at the map projection, watching the numbers update. Fourteen rifts closed, thirty-five remaining, two complete clusters neutralized.

"We’re making good progress," Henrik said, reviewing his analysis. "At this rate, we could hit twenty closures in two more days."

"Twenty gets us to the assault threshold," Mara added. "Nexus power would be reduced enough that the key becomes viable."

I felt Azryth’s presence behind me before his arms came around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. His chin rested on my shoulder as he studied the map with me.

"Thirty-five to go," he said quietly.

"Six days to do it," I replied, leaning into him.

"You two are aware there are other people in this room, right?" Mara said dryly.

"We’re aware," Azryth said, not moving.

"Just checking." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Kelvin, who’d been sprawled on the couch, grinned. "I think it’s sweet. Very synchronized."

"Nobody asked you," I said.

"I’m providing commentary anyway."

That’s when the map flickered.

Not the normal update flicker, something else, something wrong.

The projection distorted, colors bleeding into each other, and then the image changed completely.

Not rifts, not the map.

A throne room.

Vast, dark, constructed from obsidian and brass, lit by flames that burned without consuming. The architecture was imposing, ancient, designed to make anyone standing before it feel small.

And on the throne.. Azryth’s throne, I realized with a jolt.. sat a figure.

He looked like Azryth. Same dark hair, same elegant features, same ember eyes. But where Azryth’s presence felt controlled and dangerous in a deliberate way, this demon radiated casual cruelty. His posture was relaxed, almost lazy, draped across the throne like he owned not just the seat but everything in existence.

Veyrith.

Azryth went absolutely rigid behind me, his arms tightening almost painfully.

The image didn’t move, it didn’t acknowledge our presence, it’s a recording, playing through the map’s projection like someone had hijacked our equipment.

"Fourteen rifts in two days," Veyrith said, his voice cold and amused. "Quite the accomplishment, little brother. I’m genuinely impressed." He shifted slightly on the throne.. on Azryth’s throne, making the gesture deliberately casual. "Though I suppose desperation breeds efficiency."

His expression was one of supreme condescension, like he was watching children play at being heroes.

"You’ve been working so hard," Veyrith continued. "So determined, closing my rifts with that fascinating technique of yours. A warden and a demon, working in perfect synchronization." He smiled, and it didn’t reach his eyes. "It’s almost elegant. Almost."

The recording paused, and for a moment the only sound was Azryth’s carefully controlled breathing behind me.

"I wonder," Veyrith said, "do you think you’re winning? That each closure brings you closer to stopping me?" His smile widened. "How.. quaint."

He leaned forward slightly, his hands steepled in front of him.

"Close all forty-nine rifts if you like, seal every tear, collapse every cluster, dismantle everything you can see." His voice dropped, becoming almost intimate. "It won’t matter, what I’ve set in motion is already beyond your reach. The rifts?" He gestured dismissively. "They’re not the endgame, they’re the opening move."

My blood ran cold.

"By all means, continue your efforts, race against your timeline, sacrifice your safety for speed." Veyrith settled back into the throne, completely at ease. "I’ll be watching, and when you finally understand what’s truly happening..." He smiled again, colder this time. "Well. That will be entertaining."

He leaned back, utterly relaxed.

"I’ll be waiting."

The image dissolved, taking the throne room and Veyrith’s presence with it.

The map projection returned to normal, showing our fourteen closed rifts and thirty-five remaining.

For a moment, no one moved.. no one spoke.

Then Mara’s tablet started screaming warnings.

"What the..!" She stared at her screen, her face going pale. "No. No, that’s not possible."

Henrik’s equipment was doing the same thing, alarms blaring across multiple monitors.

"The cluster signatures," Henrik said, his voice tight. "They’re spiking! All of them simultaneously."

"Spiking?" Azryth asked, though his voice suggested he already knew.

"Energy influx from the nexus," Mara said, fingers flying across her tablet. "He’s probably feeding them power directly, accelerating their progression toward critical mass."

The map projection in front of us started updating, numbers shifting in real-time.

I watched the timeline countdown change.

Six days remaining.

Five.

Four.

The display locked on four days, flashing red across the entire projection.

"Four days," I said, my voice hollow. "We just lost two days."

"He forced the acceleration," Mara confirmed, still staring at her readings. "Energy manipulation on a scale I’ve never seen, he’s pushing every remaining cluster toward critical simultaneously."

Azryth’s voice was quiet. "He has full control of the nexus, he can manipulate the rifts however he wants."

"Well, that’s terrifying," Kelvin said. "I was hoping he’d at least have some limitations."

"Apparently not," Kade added.

Six more rifts, we needed six more rifts in four days.

"Six closures," Henrik said. "It’s tight, but doable if you move fast."

"When aren’t we moving fast?" I muttered.

"Fair point."

Azryth’s arms were still around me, but his grip had changed. Not comforting anymore, possessive, protective, like he was physically holding onto me against whatever Veyrith had planned.

"He’s toying with us," Azryth said quietly.

"I know."

"He wants us rushed, making mistakes, and desperate."

"I know that too."

"And the rifts not being the endgame..." His voice dropped. "We’re missing something.. something critical."

"We’ll figure it out," I said, more confidently than I felt. "Six more rifts, then we reach the nexus and find out what he’s really planning."

I turned in his arms to face him, his eyes were ember-bright with suppressed rage.

"Six more rifts," he agreed.

Kelvin cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt, but which six rifts? There are still thirty-five options."

I accessed the map knowledge, searching for targets, we needed maximum impact with minimum complications.

"North America," I said. "Seattle and Denver. Both anchor rifts in a five-rift cluster, if we close those two, three more collapse."

"That’ll make it nineteen total," Mara calculated. "It’s one short of threshold."

"So we find one more after that," Azryth said.

....

We headed to our room, the moment the door closed, Azryth leaned against it, eyes closed.

"My throne," he said. "He was sitting on my throne."

"I noticed."

"That wasn’t casual, it was definitely on purpose."

"I know..." I moved closer. "He’s trying to get in your head."

"It’s working."

I pulled him away from the door, toward the bed. "Six more rifts, then we find out what he’s really planning."

He looked at me, ember eyes conflicted. "And if we can’t stop it?"

"Then we figure something else out." I sat on the edge of the bed. "But standing here catastrophizing won’t help."

"Catastrophizing is a valid coping mechanism."

"It’s really not."

He almost smiled at that. Almost.