Chapter Two: The Gaze and the Multitudes
Cawl’s Realization
Cawl’s mechadendrites lashed in panic, drawing weapons, shielding panels.
“You erased the failsafe, you fool—”
You turned to him.
“No. I erased the leash. The failsafe was never yours to command.”
In that moment, you understood what Cawl never had: the failsafe hadn’t been to contain Yaldabaoth. It had been to keep it asleep. And you, guided by the precision learned across lifetimes, had just cut the final tether.
The Gaze
Yaldabaoth’s helm turned toward you.
Not Cawl. Not the forges. You.
“I remember you,” it said without words. “From before the stars. You carried My mark even then.”
You felt the mountains of Tang Sanzang. The corridors of Black Mesa. The ripple of Xen.
Every step had led here.