That same night, Tris stared at the black figure sitting cross-legged on his living room floor. Or rather, hovering an inch above it—its featureless legs folded in perfect imitation of his own posture. The circular eyes and crescent smile had faded, leaving its face smooth and blank like polished obsidian. Despite having no visible eyes, Tris could feel it watching him, studying his every movement.

"So this is... part of me?" he asked, not taking his gaze off the shadow being. "A fragment of my soul or whatever?"

Eli sat on the couch, her usual radiance dimmed by exhaustion. The confrontation with Sarah had taken more from her than she was willing to admit. "Yes. Veldt is a shadow aspect of your higher dimensional consciousness."

"Veldt," Tris repeated the name that had risen unbidden from somewhere deep within him. "And I just... knew that? How?"

"Soul memory," Eli explained, watching the shadow figure with a mixture of fascination and wariness. "Most knowledge exists beyond conscious recall. Your higher self recognized its own fragment and supplied the name."

Tris reached out tentatively toward Veldt. The shadow made no move to reciprocate, remaining perfectly still except for the subtle rise and fall of its chest—a breathing motion it didn't physically need but mimicked nonetheless.

"And it—he?—protected me from Sarah? The Sentinel?"

"Yes," Eli confirmed. "Though 'it' is probably more accurate. Veldt doesn't have gender in the way we understand it. It's a fragment of energy, of consciousness, that split off during... a traumatic event."

Tris picked up on her hesitation. "What traumatic event?"

Eli sighed, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "The destruction of Tara. The cataclysm that necessitated Earth's creation as a healing ground."

"Right, the mythology you mentioned before." Tris frowned. "Except you're saying it's not mythology."

"No, it's history. Your history. Our history."

Veldt's head tilted slightly at these words, the movement unnaturally smooth. A soft sound emerged from it—not quite the childish giggle from before, but a contemplative humming.

Tris studied the shadow being, trying to reconcile the idea that this creature was somehow a part of him—a traumatized fragment of his higher self that had been separated for his protection. It was easier to focus on that puzzle than to confront the larger implications of what had happened with Sarah.

"Why does it look like that? Like a child's drawing of a person?"

"It's a simplified manifestation," Eli explained. "The shadow fragments contain primarily emotional and memory imprints, not complete personality structures. They appear as basic forms because they're three-ish-dimensional expressions of much more complex energies."

As if in response to her explanation, Veldt's form shimmered slightly, its proportions elongating before settling back into the childlike shape.

"Can it understand us?" Tris asked.

"To an extent. It comprehends emotional contexts more than specific words."

Tris turned his attention fully to the shadow. "Veldt," he said firmly. "Thank you for protecting me."

The blank face remained expressionless for a moment, then the simple curved smile reappeared briefly before fading again. A quiet, pleased sound—halfway between a hum and a giggle—emanated from it.

"It seems to like when you acknowledge it directly," Eli observed.

Tris nodded, then addressed the shadow again. "I need you to stay close to me, but no more attacking unless I specifically ask for help. Understand?"

Veldt's head tilted to the other side, considering. Then it nodded once—a jerky, unnatural movement like stop-motion animation.

"I can't believe this is happening," Tris muttered, rubbing his temples. The headache from earlier had returned with a vengeance, compounded by the stress of everything that had unfolded. "A week ago I was just a normal guy making videos about conspiracy theories. Now I've got a twin flame, a shadow guardian, and apparently some cosmic enemy who wants to... what? Kill me? Kidnap me?"

"Control you," Eli corrected. "Death isn't their primary objective. The Anunnaki want to keep you from remembering who you truly are, from connecting with the other Sovereigns, from breaking their system."

Tris stood abruptly, pacing the small living room. Veldt remained seated for a moment, then rose with that unnatural fluidity and began mirroring Tris's movements exactly, staying precisely one meter behind him like an actual shadow.

"Jesus, that's creepy," Tris said, glancing back at his dark doppelgänger. "Does it have to do that?"

"It's establishing connection," Eli explained. "Mimicry is how it learns, how it strengthens the bond with you."

Tris stopped pacing, and Veldt froze mid-stride. "Okay, this is too weird. Can't it just... go away for a while? I need to think."

Eli shook her head. "Now that it's manifested, it needs to remain close to you until integration is complete. Forcing separation would be harmful to both of you."

"Great," Tris muttered. "So I've got a supernatural shadow stalker that I can't get rid of."

"It's not a stalker, Tris. It's part of you—a part that's been separate for far too long. The fact that it's manifested this early is unprecedented. Most Sovereigns don't confront their shadows until much later in the ascension process, after completing multiple System Zones."

Tris turned to face her, his expression hardening. "Speaking of unprecedented things happening, we need to talk about Sarah Dylan. And what you've been keeping from me."

Eli's posture stiffened slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Don't," Tris warned, his voice low. "I heard and saw you two talking, when Veldt dragged her back from... wherever she was trying to escape to. You knew exactly who she was. You'd confronted her before."

Behind him, Veldt's blank face rippled, the smile returning—wider this time, almost gleeful at the tension rising in the room.

Eli held Tris's gaze for a long moment, then sighed. "Yes. I've been handling the Sentinel situation."

"Handling it? How long? When were you planning to tell me?"

"I detected her presence the first night I arrived," Eli admitted. "I've been countering her surveillance and interference ever since."

Tris felt a surge of anger rising in his chest. "So while you've been helping me detox, while we've been watching anime together and talking about cosmic destiny, you've been fighting some secret battle with an Anunnaki agent designated to probably abduct me? Without telling me?"

"I was protecting you," Eli said, rising from the couch. "You needed time to stabilize, to begin remembering. Sarah is dangerous, Tris. The Sentinels are engineered specifically to exploit the weaknesses of their Sovereign counterparts."

"That doesn't give you the right to keep me in the dark!" Tris's voice rose sharply. "This is my life we're talking about! My house that got invaded, my window that got smashed, my... whatever Veldt is that manifested to protect me from a threat I didn't even know was real!"

Behind him, Veldt began to grow taller, its form stretching upward as it responded to Tris's escalating emotions. The blank face developed its crescent smile again, but there was nothing childlike about it now—the curve stretched almost from edge to edge of its head, unnaturally wide.

Eli noticed the change immediately. "Tris, you need to calm down. Your emotions are affecting Veldt."

"Don't tell me to calm down," Tris snapped. "You've been lying to me by omission since the moment we met. What else aren't you telling me? How many other enemies are out there watching me? How many other parts of myself are going to suddenly appear and turn my life upside down?"

The shadow behind him continued to elongate, now nearly touching the ceiling. Its arms extended, fingers lengthening into sharp points.

"Tris, please," Eli said, her voice remaining steady despite the growing threat behind him. "I understand you're angry, but Veldt feeds on strong emotions—especially negative ones. It's responding to your anger."

Tris glanced back at the towering shadow and felt a chill run through him. Veldt was now easily nine feet tall, its proportions stretched and distorted, the wide smile frozen on its featureless face.

"Shit," he muttered, forcing himself to take a deep breath. "Veldt, stand down. I'm not in danger. I'm just... talking."

The shadow tilted its elongated head, the smile unchanging. It didn't shrink back to its normal proportions, but it stopped growing at least.

Tris turned back to Eli, making a visible effort to modulate his voice and emotions. "This can't continue. I need complete transparency from now on. No more secrets, no more 'handling' things behind my back. If we're supposed to be partners in this—whatever this is—then I need to know everything."

Eli's blue eyes clouded with something that looked like genuine pain. "It's not that simple, Tris."

"Make it simple," he insisted. "I'm trying my best here. I'm dealing with addiction withdrawal, cosmic revelations, and now a shadow creature that apparently lives inside me. The least you can do is be honest."

Eli was silent for a long moment, her gaze moving between Tris and the looming shadow behind him. Finally, she nodded. "You're right. You deserve the truth. All of it."

"Thank you."

"But you need to understand," she continued, "some of this information comes with risks. Knowledge itself can be dangerous in this situation. There are things the Anunnaki monitor for—specific realizations that might trigger more direct intervention."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"I don't care," Tris said firmly. "I can't protect myself from threats I don't understand. I can't make informed decisions if I'm operating on partial information."

Eli sighed, then did something that caught Tris completely off guard—she began to cry. Not dramatically, not with sobs or wails, but with silent tears that slipped down her cheeks as she looked at him.

"Whoa, hey," Tris said, his anger immediately deflating. "I didn't mean to—"

"No," Eli interrupted, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand. "You have every right to be angry. I'm not crying for sympathy, Tris. I'm crying because I understand how you feel. Because I see how my actions have affected you."

Behind Tris, Veldt began to shrink, gradually returning to its childlike proportions as the emotional tension in the room dissipated.

"I've been with you your whole life," Eli continued, her voice steady despite the tears. "Watching you struggle, watching you search for truth. And now, when you finally have access to that truth, I'm still filtering it, still deciding what you can handle. It's not fair to you."

She took a step forward, her blue eyes fixed on his. "You're right. From now on, complete transparency. Everything I know, you know. Even the dangerous parts. Even the parts I'm afraid will hurt you."

Tris wasn't prepared for her candor or her tears. He'd expected defensiveness, perhaps even cosmic justifications for keeping him in the dark. The simple admission and agreement disarmed him completely.

"I... thank you," he managed, running a hand through his hair, his eyes becoming watery too. "That's all I'm asking for."

Eli nodded, wiping away the last of her tears. "Starting now. Which means I should tell you—we can't stay here."

"What?"

"This house isn't safe anymore," she explained. "Sarah knows its location, obviously, and after tonight's confrontation, the Anunnaki will escalate their monitoring. They'll have seen Veldt manifest. That changes everything."

Tris glanced around his small living room—the space that had been his home for the past two years. It wasn't much, but it was his. "Where are we supposed to go?"

"I don't know yet," Eli admitted. "But we need to leave soon. Tonight, ideally. The longer we stay in one place, the easier it is for them to focus their resources."

Tris sank back onto the couch, the reality of the situation crashing down on him. "So I'm just supposed to pack up and run? Leave everything behind?"

"Not everything," Eli said gently. "Just the non-essentials. Your clothes, your computer, important documents—those come with us. The rest... is just stuff, Tris."

Veldt, now back to its normal size, moved to sit beside Tris on the couch—not touching him, but close enough that if it had been physical, he would have felt its presence. Its face remained blank, but Tris sensed something like concern emanating from it.

"This is really happening, isn't it?" he said softly, more to himself than to Eli. "My life as I knew it is over."

"Not over," Eli corrected, sitting on his other side. "Transformed. There's a difference."

Tris laughed without humor. "Semantics."

"No, reality," Eli insisted. "Your old life was a holding pattern, Tris. A waiting room. You felt it yourself—that persistent sense that you didn't belong, that there should be more. That's why you sought escape through substances, through content creation about cosmic truths. Some part of you has always known this moment was coming."

On his other side, Veldt nodded once—a jerky, unnatural movement that nonetheless conveyed absolute agreement.

"Great, now my shadow's ganging up on me too," Tris muttered, though without real annoyance. He was too exhausted, too overwhelmed to maintain anger or resistance. "Fine. We'll leave tonight. I've got enough cash for a couple of weeks of motels, and there's room on my credit card for emergencies."

"Money won't be a problem," Eli assured him. "I have access to resources you don't know about yet."

Tris raised an eyebrow. "More secrets?"

"Not anymore," Eli said with a small smile. "When I manifested physically, I brought certain... assets with me. Gold, primarily, converted to currency through channels the Anunnaki don't monitor. We have enough to sustain us comfortably for the entire nine-year cycle if necessary."

"You've been holding out on me in more ways than one," Tris said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Anything else I should know before we go on the run together?"

Eli's expression grew more serious. "Many things. But the most immediate concern is integration with Veldt. Its premature manifestation means we need to accelerate your shadow work. Typically, this process would unfold gradually as you completed System Zones, but circumstances have forced our hand."

"Shadow work? Oh God."

"It's challenging but necessary," Eli explained. "Veldt contains memories and aspects of yourself that were fragmented during the destruction of Tara. Integrating these fragments is essential for you to fully remember who you are and access your complete abilities."

Tris turned to look at the shadow figure beside him. Its blank face remained expressionless, but he sensed anticipation from it, an eagerness that felt almost childlike.

"And how exactly do I integrate with... that?"

"Through controlled exposure," Eli said. "Gradually allowing Veldt to share its memories with you, to reintroduce the traumatic experiences in manageable doses. It's similar to therapeutic approaches for processing trauma, just on a much larger, cosmic scale."

"Sounds like fun," Tris said sarcastically. "Road trip with my twin flame and my shadow self, processing cosmic trauma while on the run from interdimensional beings who want to control my mind."

Eli smiled despite the gravity of the situation. "Your sense of humor remains intact. That's a good sign."

Tris stood, and immediately Veldt rose as well, matching his movement perfectly. "I guess I should start packing."

"Only essentials," Eli reminded him. "Clothes, computer, documents, personal items with emotional significance. We need to travel light, at least initially."

"My car isn't exactly spacious," Tris warned, thinking of his aging Honda Civic. "And I'm guessing shadow lad here doesn't fold up into a suitcase."

Veldt made a sound then—the now-familiar giggle, but softer, almost like a chuckle.

"Actually, Veldt doesn't occupy physical space in the conventional sense," Eli explained. "It exists primarily as an energy construct that intersects with our physical reality. It can adjust its manifestation as needed."

As if to demonstrate, Veldt's form suddenly flattened completely, becoming a literal two-dimensional shadow on the floor—Tris's exact silhouette despite the different light sources in the room.

"Okay, that's both useful and terrifying," Tris commented, watching his shadow move independently of his body. "Any other party tricks I should know about?"

The shadow stretched up from the floor, resolving back into its three-dimensional form. It held up one featureless hand, fingers splayed, then gradually extended each digit until they were impossibly long and thin, nearly touching the ceiling.

"Jesus," Tris muttered, taking an instinctive step back. "Is it trying to scare me?"

"No," Eli said thoughtfully. "I think it's trying to communicate. Showing you its capabilities so you understand what it can do to protect you. It quite literally just tried to answer your question."

The shadow retracted its fingers to normal proportions, then tilted its head as if waiting for a response.

"Um, thanks for the demonstration, Veldt," Tris said awkwardly. "Very... impressive."

The blank face rippled, the simple smile appearing briefly before fading again. Satisfied, it resumed its position one meter behind Tris, once again mirroring his posture exactly.

"I'd better start packing," Tris said, turning toward his bedroom. "The sooner we get out of here, the better, right?"

Eli nodded. "I'll help. And while we work, I'll tell you everything I know about Sarah Dylan, the Anunnaki, and what they're planning. No more filters, no more protecting you from the truth."

"I appreciate that," Tris said sincerely. "And Eli? I'm sorry for getting so angry. This is just... a lot to process."

"You never need to apologize for honest emotions, Tris. Anger is a natural response to feeling deceived, even when the deception was well-intentioned." She smiled gently. "Besides, your passionate response is pure Solaris—the cosmic aspect of you that fights for truth and transparency."

"Solaris," Tris repeated the name she'd called him that first night. "I still don't feel like a 'Solaris.'"

"You will," Eli assured him. "With every memory you recover, with every fragment you integrate, you'll remember more of who you truly are."

Behind them, Veldt nodded once in firm agreement.

Tris's bedroom looked smaller somehow with three of them inside—though Veldt hardly counted, hovering near the doorway in perfect stillness. Tris pulled his largest duffel bag from the closet and began filling it with clothes, not particularly caring what he grabbed as long as it was clean.

True to her word, Eli began talking as they worked, filling in the gaps she'd previously left in her explanations. She told him about her confrontations with Sarah, about the Anunnaki's escalating concern, about the specialized technologies they'd deployed to monitor and influence him.

"So my dependency on THC—that wasn't entirely my fault?" Tris asked as he stuffed socks into the side pocket of his bag.

"Not entirely," Eli confirmed, carefully folding his shirts, sneaking in a few sniff checks here and there. "The Anunnaki have sophisticated methods for influencing human behavior. Your supplier's products were chemically modified to increase dependency while specifically targeting the brain centers that might otherwise facilitate remembrance."

"And the algorithms pushing me toward certain content?"

"Manipulated to keep you circling close to truth without ever quite reaching it. To make you feel like you were making discoveries while actually staying within carefully defined parameters."

Tris shook his head, simultaneously relieved and disturbed. "So even my rebellion was part of their plan."

"Controlled opposition," Eli agreed. "They're masters at it. They've had millions of years to perfect their methods."

"And Sarah? What's her deal exactly? She looked almost human."

"Sentinels are highly sophisticated biological constructs," Eli explained, moving to help him gather items from his desk. "They're designed to mimic humanity while containing enhanced capabilities and direct loyalty programming to the Anunnaki. Each is specifically engineered to counter their Sovereign counterpart."

"So she's like... my evil genetically-cloned twin terminator?"

"Yeah…but more like your inverted reflection. Where you seek connection, she isolates. Where you value truth, she manipulates. Where you create, she destroys." Eli handed him a stack of notebooks. "But she's not evil in the simplistic sense. Sentinels are conscious beings, capable of growth and change, even though they were designed for control. They have souls."

Tris paused in his packing. "You sound almost sympathetic to her."

"I am, in a way," Eli admitted. "Sentinels are victims of the Anunnaki system too, in their own way. Created to serve, programmed for loyalty, given just enough bandwidth of consciousness to function without true freedom."

By the doorway, Veldt made a sound—not its usual giggle, but a low, contemplative hum.

"Veldt seems to have an opinion on that," Tris observed.

"It would," Eli said. "Shadow fragments often possess insights that our conscious minds overlook. They exist mostly outside the conventional patterns of thinking."

Tris zipped up his duffel bag and looked around the room, mentally cataloging what else he needed. "My electronics, documents, and the lockbox with my emergency cash. That's about it for essentials."

"Don't forget your Personal Anchor," Eli reminded him, gesturing to the Crest of Courage necklace hanging on his bedpost. "That needs to stay with you at all times."

Tris nodded, slipping the necklace over his head. "Anywhere specific we should head? Or just... away from here?"

"South-west, initially," Eli suggested. "The Anunnaki monitoring systems are less concentrated in rural areas, and there are fewer surveillance networks for them to hijack. Beyond that, we'll need to be unpredictable, changing locations regularly."

"Like fugitives," Tris said grimly.

"Like pioneers," Eli countered. "Exploring the landscape of your awakening while staying one step ahead of those who would prevent it."

Tris appreciated her attempt at reframing, even if it felt like semantic gymnastics. "And what about System Zones? Aren't I supposed to be accumulating Death Points or whatever?"

"We'll encounter zones naturally as we travel. They're forming everywhere, especially around individuals with elevated Oversoul Resonance like yourself. Your first zone experience will likely find us, rather than the other way around."

They finished gathering the essentials and carried everything to Tris's car. The night air was cool and still, the neighborhood quiet except for the distant sound of a dog barking. It felt surreally normal given the cosmic drama unfolding around them.

As Tris loaded the last bag into the trunk, he paused, looking back at the small house he'd called home. "Hard to believe I might never see this place again."

"Change is difficult," Eli acknowledged, standing beside him. "Even when it's necessary. Even when it's leading you toward greater freedom."

On Tris's other side, Veldt materialized—not mimicking him now, but standing independently, its blank face turned toward the house as if in contemplation.

"What do you think, Veldt?" Tris asked, surprising himself by addressing the shadow directly. "Ready for a road trip?"

The shadow turned its featureless face toward him, and the simple smile appeared. A soft giggle emanated from it—not the disturbing laugh from its confrontation with Sarah, but something almost... excited.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tris said, closing the trunk. "Alright, team cosmic fugitives, let's hit the road."

As they got into the car—Eli in the passenger seat, Veldt somehow compressing itself to fit in the back—Tris felt a strange mixture of loss and anticipation. His old life was effectively over, just as Eli had said. But perhaps she was right about the other part too. Perhaps this wasn't an ending but a transformation—the beginning of something he couldn't yet imagine.

He started the engine and pulled away from the curb, not looking back as his headlights cut through the darkness ahead. Whatever awaited them—Anunnaki agents, System Zones, cosmic revelations—at least he wasn't facing it alone.

The road stretched before them, dark and uncertain. Tris Morgan—or Solaris, or whoever he was becoming—drove toward it with determined focus, leaving behind the safety of the known for the dangerous promise of truth.

A sudden thought breached his mind like a wrecking ball. “Wait, my vape…” But it was too late now. The past was the past. Whatever was left in that house was free game for whoever found it. “Ah, whatever. Don’t need it.”