Contents
VII. Relativism — Tristan
Overview
In the experiment’s collapse, Tristan realizes the power will choose Nico, who dies from the impact. Gideon’s grief hardens into condemnation of Libby, while Dalton tries to salvage a solution. Tristan rejects Libby’s unilateral choices, decides to leave, and is abruptly taken down as archive alarms flare.
Summary
As the failed experiment drains away like a receding tide, Tristan perceives other worlds and recognizes the power’s target will not be him. He wrestles with his inaction over Atlas’s death and with the intoxicating awe of what might have been. Accepting he cannot hold the power, he concludes Nico is the only one who could carry it.
The collapse strikes like an implosion. Everyone is thrown back. Tristan vomits and sees Libby injured; Nico is motionless. Dalton, frantic, demands room to attempt a restoration, while Gideon, shattered, refuses any plan that would box or reconstruct Nico. Libby insists the experiment had gone too far and argues it can be fixed; Gideon rejects her claim and tells her to live with her choice.
Tristan leads Libby out and confronts her for deciding unilaterally, likening her to Atlas and Ezra. He presses whether the sacrifice could have been her. Libby stands by the necessity of a sacrifice to save them all. Grief settles over Tristan; he kisses her goodbye and decides to leave, refusing to help further.
As Tristan heads upstairs to go, a ward light turns red and a scream rings from the archives. He chooses not to answer, steps outside the house’s protections, and is abruptly ambushed from behind, blacking out.
Who Appears
- Tristan CainePOV; witnesses the experiment’s collapse, concludes Nico was the only viable vessel, rejects Libby’s choices, and leaves before being knocked out.
- Libby RhodesInjured and resolute; defends stopping the experiment, seeks to fix Nico, clashes with Gideon and Tristan over agency and sacrifice.
- Gideon DrakeDevastated by Nico’s death; rejects Dalton’s and Libby’s plans, condemns Libby, and refuses any resurrection-like solution.
- Nico de VaronaTargeted by the void’s backlash; lies unmoving after the collapse, the focal point of grief and conflict.
- Dalton EllisonFrantic and volatile; tries to initiate a fix via archives and restoration, rebuffed by Gideon.
- Unknown assailantUnseen figure who ambushes Tristan outside the wards, rendering him unconscious.