Valmont Series - Inheritance Code

Chapter 8.5 - Zeroth Protocol

His voice was quieter now. Focused.

"I think it's reacting."

She didn't ask what that meant—not yet.

Because a part of her sensed it.

Everything that happened since their arrival—

It wasn't normal.

Not the way she went viral overnight.

One House Challenge—

and suddenly, the entire Veritas feed lit up like it had been waiting for her.

Aurora had done the same challenge. Same precision. Same elegance.

But Aria's resonance broke containment.

As if the system didn't just record her—it amplified her.

Like the algorithm bent. Shifted. Recalibrated.

And then came Luc's Prestige Link—

an acceptance that should've only boosted her rank through alliance.

A calculated prestige move. A political elevation.

But the system responded like it was something more.

It wasn't just visibility anymore.

It was velocity.

She hadn't planned it.

Hadn't tried to weaponize it.

But the algorithm tilted anyway—like something beneath the system had already aligned in her favor.

And as much as she once loved attention—being the girl everyone noticed—this wasn't applause.

It wasn't admiration. It was calibration. A system deciding she mattered... before she had a say.

It summoned envy in polished form—admiring glances laced with undertones.

Whispers followed. Strategic sabotage wrapped in immaculate smiles.

And, of course—attention from the Solara Subcouncil.

The kind that didn't congratulate.

The kind that calculated.

Worse still—

every AVNX scan, every legacy query came back blank.

No Lancaster.

No founding tie. No record. Nothing.

But their parents had said it—

in words, and in the sealed letter that came with the keys:

Their place in Avalon wasn't granted.

It was reserved.

Long before they were born.

So why didn't the system show it?

Why did the records come up empty, even when they knew they weren't supposed to?

Something was wrong.

Or maybe...

something was hidden.

Aria stared at the golden key in her hand, fingers brushing its smooth, silent surface. So much had changed, and none of it felt accidental.

The House Challenge.

Luc's Prestige Link.

Cassian's automated hidden Prestige Link.

The Prestige system bending at the forum. Resetting mid-scenario, as if someone overrode the outcome.

And still... their legacy unlisted.

And now...

She didn't look at Aiden when she spoke—just kept her eyes on the golden key, her voice quiet, steady.

"What if we were never meant to be admitted?"

He turned toward her, eyes narrowing—not in confusion, but in recognition.

Like he'd been circling the same thought, unable to name it.

He didn't answer.

Because whatever it was—whatever they had just stepped into—

it didn't have a name yet.

Only a feeling.

A shift.

Like something ancient had quietly opened its eyes.

—

Meanwhile, exactly at 12:12 AM—

AVNX CORE NOTE [CLASSIFIED]

Zeroth Tier – Full Sequence Engaged

Signal Detected: Dual Identifier Presence Verified

Primary + Tertiary Signatures Aligned

System Response: Quiet Override Executed

Visibility Layer: Suppressed from All User Feeds

The system didn't flicker.

Didn't flash.

Didn't warn.

It simply began.

And outside the glow of ONYX, beyond the reach of Veritas,

two siblings slept peacefully—

still wrapped in engineered warmth,

unaware that Avalon had just

remembered them first.

Next Chapter: The Vault Between Questions

He wasn't searching for proof.
He was searching for the one the system couldn't classify—
the one who never asked, yet always knew.
But Avalon didn't give him answers.
It gave him access.

☍ Observer Access Protocol Unlocked
What do you think Avalon just awakened?
Leave a theory. Cast your vote.
Your insight shapes what unfolds next.
Because in Avalon, observation is power—
but participation?
That's legacy.

⸻

Veritas awaits.