Not to Learn, but to Remember (Sanctuary)

[Luminar]

Theron listened without interruption, his expression composed, his hands folded within the long sleeves of his vestments. Yet Lucien’s words landed with precision, striking not at pride or authority, but at something rarer: judgment.

He had been ready to press forward with testing and probing. To strip truth from the moment regardless of the cost. That instinct was old, older than the Brotherhood itself. Theron had never pretended otherwise. People were instruments; moments were levers. If a sacrifice purchased clarity, he had never hesitated to weigh its worth.

But Lucien was right. Theron’s gaze drifted, just slightly, to Anton. The man sat still, shoulders drawn in, breath coming deep and tired. There was a pallor to him now of depletion like candle burned low after too sudden a draft. Theron felt a flicker of something like irritation at himself, quickly banked.

He inclined his head once, a gesture subtle enough that only Lucien would recognize it for what it was: concession.

“You are correct both in principle and in practice I would not have you compromise your integrity, Lucien. Nor our findings.”

He studied Anton then, not as a tool, but as a presence newly entered into the orbit of something vast. The Veil had not brushed Anton by chance. Of that, Theron was now convinced. Chance was a word used by men who lacked the vocabulary for design.

“You have given more than was asked of you today,” Theron said at last. His tone carried warmth, restrained but genuine. “And you have done so with courage and restraint. You have my thanks, Anton. For your trust. And for your honesty.”

“What occurred in the Chamber of Echoes, and what followed here, cannot be dismissed as anomaly. Nor should it be rushed into spectacle.” His gaze flicked briefly to the shelves surrounding them. “Understanding requires time. If you are willing, I would have you remain with us. Not as a subject, nor as an experiment, but as a participant in your own becoming. We here who can help you refine what you possess. Teach you its limits. Perhaps even its purpose. And in doing so, you may yet help us understand what waits behind the Veil in ways we have not before.”