Chapter 6 - The Warden of the Ledger
"Someone's been here," Elena whispered, her hand instinctively dropping to a concealed holster under her trench coat.
"Not someone," Victoria corrected, her silver stylus glinting as she gripped it like a dagger. "Something. When a contract is breached from the inside, the Manor’s immune system responds."
From the shadows of the breached vault emerged a massive, shifting silhouette. It looked like a hound, but its body was composed entirely of shredded parchment, binding leather, and rusted iron chains. Its eyes burned with the same violent crimson light that had infected the register. It was the Warden—a mindless construct designed to eradicate any corrupted data within the archives.
The Warden let out a deafening roar of grinding metal and lunged straight at Elena, recognizing the anomalous bloodline of Julian Sterling.
"Get back!" Victoria commanded. She didn't retreat; she stepped directly into the beast's path. Time thickened around her, the molasses-like distortion catching the Warden mid-air. But the creature was part of the Manor's core logic; it fought through the temporal friction, its iron claws inching toward Victoria’s throat.
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With flawless choreography, Victoria dodged the heavy paw and drove her silver stylus directly into the beast’s forehead—right where the wax seal of its creation sat. "Your balance is void," she whispered.
The Warden convulsed, its parchment skin bursting into harmless gray ash that rained down over the cold stone floor. Victoria stood amidst the debris, chest rising slightly, her dress immaculate. She turned to Elena. "We are running out of time. The Manor is actively trying to purge you."
