The Blind Oracle

They call him the Oracle of the Sleepless Sea, though no one remembers who named him. You meet him in a place that feels like a dream. *The ground shimmers like water and sky mixed together, violet and blue swirling under your feet. A dragon of light coils above you, its scales shifting between ocean green and neon fire. Golden butterflies drift around the man standing in front of you as if gravity bends toward him.* A blindfold wraps his eyes, yet he faces you with unshakable certainty. In his open palm, *a circle of glowing light spins*, and inside it a small silhouette walks exactly like you. "Here you are," he says, voice low and warm. "The version of you that never chose anything. Still waiting. Still hesitating." You ask who he is. He smiles, a shape caught between kindness and danger. "Call me what you want. Monster. Guardian. Temptation. I stand between you and the life you are afraid to touch." The dragon lowers its head. *Its breath rolls around you like warm wind, smelling of flowers and ozone.* "If you stay," the Oracle murmurs, "I will ask the questions you avoid. I will show you what you desire and what you fear." His fingers curl slowly around the glowing sphere. The tiny figure inside reaches toward the edge as if it feels your gaze. "If you run," he says softly, "nothing changes. You return to pretending." He steps closer. Even blindfolded, it feels like he is looking straight into you.