[The courtyard of Academius Hall sits quieter now. The signs are gone. The crowd has thinned.]

[Darkwish stands alone at the base of the steps, looking up at the doors.]

“I asked a question last week…”

[A slow breath.]

“…and nobody answered it.”

[He lowers his gaze, eyes steady.]

“My friend died last year.

Good kid. Didn’t hurt anyone. Didn’t deserve it.

He begged for help.”

[Darkwish tilts his head slightly.]

“And nobody showed up.”

[Silence hangs for a moment.]

“So I asked you, Reverend…”

[He glances off, as if Blackheart were there.]

“…what kind of god lets that happen?

And you gave me nothing.

‘Mysterious ways.’”

[A faint shake of his head.]

“That ain’t an answer.

That’s a shield.”

[He takes a step forward.]

“You don’t save people, Blackheart.

You silence them.

You tell them to stop asking questions.

To accept whatever happens because you said it’s part of some plan they’ll never understand.

That’s not faith.

That’s control.”

[Darkwish turns slightly, now addressing another presence.]

“And you…

Acedemius.”

[He gestures toward the doors.]

“You stand behind those walls and call it teaching.

You fill heads with answers before they know the questions.

You force respect.

Structure.

You decide what matters and what doesn’t.”

[A beat.]

“You don’t educate people.

You shape them into something that fits your lesson plan.”

[Darkwish’s voice lowers.]

“I’ve seen what happens when minds get shaped like that.”

[Darkwish looks between the two unseen figures.]

“One of you tells people what to believe.

The other tells people how to think.

And neither of you let them become anything on their own.

That’s where I step in.”

[His voice steadies.]

“I don’t preach.

I don’t teach.

I step in when someone decides they get to break somebody else.

I did it backstage when Mars went after Pixelshift.

I did it in that classroom when I saw what ideas can turn into.”

[Darkwish takes another step forward.]

“You both think you’re guiding people somewhere better.”

[A slight tilt of his head.]

“But I’ve seen where those roads end.

One ends with people too afraid to question.

The other ends with people who never learned how.

And in both cases…”

[He looks up at the doors.]

“A man like my friend still dies… begging for help.”

[A long pause.]

“So at Invasion… this isn’t about who’s right.”

[Darkwish takes a slow step forward.]

“It’s about what happens next.”

[A pause.]

“You call it faith.

You call it education.”

[His voice lowers.]

“I call it control.”

[Another step closer.]

“And I’ve seen what control does when nobody stops it.”

[A beat.]

“So I’m not asking you to change.

I’m not asking you to understand.

And I’m damn sure not asking permission.”

[Darkwish tilts his head slightly.]

“I asked you a question last week.

What kind of god lets that happen?”

[Darkwish exhales slowly.]

“The kind that doesn’t show up.”

[A step forward.]

“So somebody else has to.

And that’s where you went wrong…”

[A beat.]

“…you two didn’t.”

[Step forward.]

“I did.

That’s the answer neither of you had…”

[A beat.]

“…which means you don’t get a say in what happens next.”