Reinhardt's grip tightened on his sword. The figures before him weren't human.
Their golden armor gleamed under the eerie sky, their faces carved too perfectly, too flawlessly—as if shaped by something beyond mortal hands. Their presence was overwhelming, not through sheer force, but through something more unsettling. They did not belong to this world.
Selene stood rigid, her hands hovering near her magic, but she didn't attack. Not yet.
The tallest among them—his hood now lowered, revealing eyes like burning gold—took a step forward. His voice was calm, but absolute.
"You have defied the Hollow Seat." His gaze settled on Reinhardt, then flickered to Selene. "You walk a path that was meant to remain closed."
Reinhardt didn't move. "Who are you?"
The figure's expression remained unchanged, unreadable. "We are the Keepers of the Chain."
Selene inhaled sharply, her fingers twitching.
Reinhardt frowned. "The Chain?"
The Keeper's gaze remained locked on him. "The chain that binds fate, that ensures what was meant to be will never be undone."
Reinhardt exchanged a glance with Selene. "So you're the ones who erased the Fateborn."
There was no emotion in the Keeper's reply. "They were never meant to exist."
Selene's jaw clenched. "And yet, one stands before you."
The Keeper studied Reinhardt with something like curiosity—but not quite. More like… confirmation.
"Yes." He tilted his head slightly. "A remnant of a forgotten mistake."
Reinhardt felt something cold settle in his chest. He had spent his entire life believing he was just a knight, just a man. But now, the weight of what he was—**what he had been—**pressed down like a crushing tide.
Selene stepped forward, her voice sharp. "If you're here to erase him, you'll have to go through me."
The Keepers did not move. The air between them remained tense, charged, but no attack came.
The leader simply studied Reinhardt and spoke again. "The throne chose you. And you turned away." A pause. "That is… unprecedented."
Something shifted.
For the first time, Reinhardt saw something flicker across the Keeper's face—not anger, not fear. Something close to calculation.
Finally, the Keeper straightened. "We will not erase you. Not yet."
Selene narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
The Keeper's golden gaze bore into Reinhardt's. "Because now, we must know if you are a threat."
The air grew heavy.
"And we will be watching."
Then—as suddenly as they had appeared—the Keepers vanished.
The ruins fell silent.
Reinhardt exhaled slowly. "What the hell just happened?"
Selene didn't answer immediately. She turned, looking toward the dark horizon, her expression unreadable.
Then, softly, she said, "We just caught the attention of the ones who decide fate."
And for the first time, Reinhardt wondered if turning away from the throne had truly been the right choice.