Chapter 30 - The System Lied
My mother had killed herself to prevent Heaven from tracing the lock fragment to me.
That was the answer.
I hated it.
But at least it was hers.
We reached the red gate.
Veyr stood before it.
Or what remained of him.
His body had fused with something on the other side. Red veins covered his skin. His eyes were empty.
The system identified him anyway.
[Veyr — Gate Vessel]
[Recommended action: kill.]
I looked at Mira.
"Do you see a better option?"
She studied him with her Heaven Marks.
"Yes."
"Good."
"Much worse."
Veyr was not controlling the gate.
The gate was using his life to stay open.
If we killed him, it would open fully for three seconds before collapsing.
Three seconds was enough for something to cross.
If we kept him alive, the gate slowly widened anyway.
The system had told me to kill him because that produced the fastest opening.
Technically good combat advice.
Strategically catastrophic.
It had not lied with words.
It had lied with priorities.
Fen said, "We need to separate Veyr from the gate without killing him."
"Can Meridian Bite do it?"
"Maybe."
Mira looked at the red veins.
"If you touch that, it may consume you first."
Pebble chirped.
We all looked at him.
The tiny Heaven-Eater stared hungrily at the gate.
"Absolutely not," I said.
May you like
Pebble jumped anyway.
