The silence left in the wake of the Keepers of the Chain was more unsettling than their presence. The ruins no longer hummed with magic, the sky above remained still, and yet Reinhardt felt it.
A weight. An unseen gaze.
They were being watched.
Selene exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair. "That could've gone worse."
Reinhardt turned to her, his jaw tight. "They called me a mistake."
She hesitated. "They called you a remnant."
His fists clenched. "What does that even mean?"
Selene finally looked at him, something dark in her expression. "It means the past isn't done with you, Reinhardt. They expected you to take the throne. You didn't. Now, they don't know what to do with you."
Reinhardt let the words sink in. The Keepers had not erased him, not yet—but they had no intention of letting him go, either. He had defied the Hollow Seat, and that made him unpredictable.
A threat.
His fingers flexed at his side. "So what now?"
Selene gave him a small, humorless smile. "Now? We run before they change their minds."
Reinhardt frowned. "You think they'll come back?"
She turned toward the horizon, her eyes narrowed as if she could already see what was coming. "Not yet," she admitted. "But they will. The Keepers don't interfere lightly, and if they let us go, it's because they're waiting to see what you'll do."
Reinhardt felt something cold settle in his chest. Judgment hadn't been passed yet.
But it would be.
And he had no intention of waiting for it.
"Then we move," he said, adjusting the strap of his sword. "Before they decide for us."
Selene nodded, but Reinhardt didn't miss the way she glanced at him differently now. Like she was trying to figure something out.
Like she was wondering if she'd chosen the right side.
Without another word, they turned away from the ruins of the Hollow Seat, stepping into the unknown once more.
But this time, they weren't just running from the Order.
They were running from fate itself.