As the last of the congregation dispersed into the night, Louis remained still, his mind turning over everything that had just happened. The surge of divine power, the visions, Ellie's awakening—it all felt like the beginning of something far greater than he could yet comprehend.
He glanced at his sister. She stood beside him, staring at her own hands as if she were looking at them for the first time. There was an unfamiliar glint in her mismatched eyes, something deeper, something newly awakened.
"The Christborn," Louis murmured, the words forming on his lips as if placed there by something beyond himself.
Vitus turned to him, his gaze sharp. "Where did you hear that term?"
Louis hesitated, then answered, "I don't know. It just… came to me."
Vitus studied him for a long moment before nodding, as if he had been waiting for this. "Then you are ready to understand."
Ellie looked up, confused. "Understand what?"
"The truth," Vitus said simply.
