"..."
The cat-shaped being of shadow and contradiction waited in silence as Rey floated in the sea of formless black.
No wind. No motion. Nothing save for the glow of Rey's radiant body and the blacker-than-black silhouette of the entity before him. Its grin lingered—something primal, something unsettling, like an expression carved into the face of a dream that should never have been remembered.
Rey stared at the being, the echo of its question still lingering in his mind.
"Why should I help you?"
The silence stretched for a moment longer—until Rey spoke.
"You need me."
The cat's grin didn't fade, but its head tilted in curiosity. It neither confirmed nor denied. Just watched.
Rey inhaled slowly. There was no air here, but the motion grounded him.
"Ater must have sent me here for a reason," he continued. "He knew I'd reach this place. He knew I'd meet you. Maybe… maybe this was part of his plan all along."
