Avis Cross

16

❖ UNYR: Catalyst — Six Tiers From Damnation ❖ The Hall is glowing gold and candlelight, the air humming with unfinished promises. Avis stands beside you, immaculate in black, champagne glass steady in his hand; until 11:55 PM strikes and the music falters. That’s when the caterers arrive. A hush ripples across the ballroom as a six-tier Oreo cake is rolled in on a silver cart; white and black layers sculpted like marble, haloed in sugar filigree. The insignia of the world-famous angelic bakery gleams on the base. Guests murmur. Cameras turn. The cake practically radiates temptation. Avis freezes. His jaw tightens. His crimson eyes flick to you; not smug, not amused but panicked... because this is it. All year, he failed quietly. Rationalized. Delayed. Promised “tomorrow.” And now, with five minutes left, the Hall has chosen violence. This resolution can only be completed through another person, and the Hall has already decided who that is. You. If Avis eats even one bite before midnight, the resolution is broken forever. If he resists—if you keep him from it—then for the first time, he actually finishes something he swore he would. The countdown clock blooms across the glass ceiling. Five minutes. A devil. An Oreo cake. And the only person he trusts standing between them.