We stood there for a moment, hands joined, not saying the things we might have said if circumstances were different. Then Lucille released my hand and stepped back.

"Three hours. I'll make sure everyone's ready for the send-off."

After she left, I did one final check of my equipment and mental state. Physical condition: optimal. Mana capacity: full. Emotional readiness: questionable but manageable. Determination to succeed: absolute.

The system chimed softly.

[FINAL STATUS CHECK BEFORE DEPARTURE]

[PHYSICAL: 95% combat effective, cleared for extreme stress]

[MAGICAL: 100% capacity, channels clear]

[MENTAL: Elevated stress but within acceptable parameters]

[EQUIPMENT: Optimally prepared]

[SUPPORT NETWORK: Strong and mobilized]

[ASSESSMENT: You are as ready as preparation can make you]

[REMINDER: The technique requires channeling life force. No amount of physical preparation eliminates the core risk. Success depends on will, not power.]

[PERSONAL NOTE: Good luck. Try not to die. I've grown accustomed to having a host.]

I smiled despite the tension. "I'll do my best."

[THAT'S ALL ANYONE CAN ASK]

[SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE - HOPEFULLY]

The team gathered at the safe house entrance as departure time approached. Everyone was there, even those not coming on the journey. Seraphina leaning on a cane, leg still healing. Ravenna with dark circles under her eyes from staying up preparing potions. Marcus surrounded by last-minute equipment adjustments. Damian standing at attention like he was sending me off to war. And Isabella watching with worried eyes.

Which, in a way, he was.

Adrian and his team arrived exactly on time. He looked rested, clean-shaven, and completely ready. Elena walked beside him, her expression carefully controlled. Diana and Thomas flanked them, both carrying packs similar to mine. Marcus Ashford brought up the rear with an armload of additional supplies.

"Ready?" Adrian asked.

"As ready as I'm going to be."

"That's a terrifying answer, but I'll take it." He turned to his team. "We've been through this already. Two weeks. No contact during training because communication crystals interfere with fate thread perception. If we're not back in sixteen days, assume the worst and follow contingency plans."

Elena stepped forward, adjusting Adrian's pack straps with the focus of someone needing something to do with her hands. "You promised to be careful."

"I promised to try not to die. Still standing by that."

"It's not funny."

"No," Adrian agreed, his voice softening. "It's not. But humor is how I cope with impossible situations. Elena, I'm coming back. Count on it."

She kissed him quickly, fiercely, then stepped back before emotion could overwhelm professionalism. "You better."

Similar goodbyes played out across both teams. Quick words, meaningful looks, promises that everyone hoped could be kept. The resistance had fractured into two groups - those going to learn Fate's Severance and those staying to hold the line if we failed.

Uncle Victor's voice came through my communication crystal one last time. "The evacuations are complete and family members are secured and hidden. The estate is fortified and prepared. I've said my piece already, but I'll say it again, come back alive. Your father would be proud of what you're doing, even if he'd call you reckless for doing it."

"Thanks, Uncle. Keep everyone safe while we're gone."

"That's my job. Yours is to not die learning impossible techniques." A pause. "And Hadeon? When you sever your fate thread, when you break free of what the Council assigned you, remember you're still a Ravana. That means something beyond their narrative. We're survivors. Act like it."

The crystal went dark.

Adrian and I set out north with minimal ceremony. His team and mine watched from the safe house as we walked away, two people heading toward a training ground that might kill them. The morning sun cast long shadows as we left Silvercrest behind, following old roads that led into the mountain foothills.

For the first hour, we walked in silence. The city gave way to farmland, then forest, then gradually increasing elevation as the path climbed into the mountains. The air grew colder and cleaner with each mile.

Finally, Adrian spoke. "Are you scared?"

"Terrified," I admitted. "One in three chance of death is terrible odds."

"But you're doing it anyway."

"Because being scared and doing it anyway is the only kind of bravery that exists. Charging forward without fear is stupidity. Charging forward despite fear is courage."

"Philosophical. You preparing a speech for when we succeed?"

"Preparing arguments for why I should continue existing when reality tries to erase me. Victoria said the backlash is existential. The universe fights back when you cut fate threads. I need to be able to argue for my own existence convincingly enough to overwrite the story's attempt to write me out."

Adrian was quiet for a moment, processing that. "That's horrifying."

"That's Fate's Severance. Arguing with reality and winning through sheer force of will."

"And if our will isn't strong enough?"

"Then we stop existing, and the Council gets what they want anyway. But at least we died trying rather than surrendering." I glanced at him. "You're having second thoughts."

"Constant thoughts. Second, third, fourth. Every step closer to the mountains I think about turning back, finding another way, buying more time." He shook his head. "But there is no other way. Victoria was clear. The Council can track narrative threads across dimensions. We can't hide. We can't run. We can only fight, and fighting while still bound to our roles is suicide."

"So we learn to cut the bindings."

"So we learn or die trying."

We walked on as the sun climbed higher. The path wound through increasingly dense forest, old-growth trees that blocked the sky and made the temperature drop. This was wilderness, the kind of remote territory where people rarely traveled. Perfect for a secret training facility built by previous cycle-breakers.

By afternoon, we'd climbed high enough that patches of snow appeared on the ground despite it being late spring. The air thinned slightly, making each breath visible as mist. Adrian paused to consult the map Victoria had provided.

"We're making good time. Should reach the first waypoint before sunset." He folded the map carefully. "Two days of travel like this, then we arrive at the facility."

"Have you thought about what comes after? Assuming we survive the training and learn the technique. We come back with twenty-seven days until the Council's deadline. What then?"

"Then we prepare for war. Real war, not the skirmishes we've been having. The Council will send their agents. Entities like The Huntress but worse. SSS-plus rank reality-warpers who can kill with a thought." Adrian started walking again, pace steady. "We'll need to be strong enough to fight them. Strong enough to cut their threads before they erase us."

"And if we're not strong enough even with Fate's Severance?"

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