The Protagonist
The man who signed
001
Joseph
Nocturnal form: Averius — the Eagle of Truth
I am fifty-three years old and my hands belong to someone who has built houses for thirty years without managing to pay for his own. I am a construction worker in New Jersey — no extraordinary story behind me, no hidden talent, no written destiny. Just debts, exhaustion, and Marie who still adds honey to her tea every morning.
I signed the pact with Armando because desperate men always sign. I did not know I would stop being only Joseph — that by night I would become Averius, with eagle talons instead of legs, claws instead of nails, a metal helmet fused to my skull. And the VANTOR in my hand: a blue energy lance I learned to use before I learned to understand what I was really doing.
"Armando was not just my guardian. He was the puppeteer. And his fingers were not only pulling my strings, but also those of the world around me."
— Joseph, Chapter 9
001B
Averius
The Eagle of Truth — Joseph's Supernatural Form
After the investiture on the Bridge of Shadows I am no longer only Joseph. By night I become Averius — much larger, stronger, denser. My legs transform into eagle talons covered in hard scales with razor claws. A suit of black leather born from my own flesh. A dark metal helmet fused to my skull with two curved horns.
My head is still mine. My face. My eyes. But behind them there is something Joseph never had — the calm, predatory presence of someone who has learned to carry both existences without dividing them.
"I no longer collided with them. They stepped aside at my passing, sensing my new nature."
— Joseph/Averius, Chapter 6The Antagonist
Who built the system
002
Armando
True name: Marek — Ancient Cosmic Entity
He always presents himself in a tailored suit. The serene smile of a man who already knows how it will end. The voice of someone who has never had to raise it. Armando is the version the world sees: refined, courteous, implacable.
Marek is what lies beneath — a cosmic being who centuries ago committed the original debt: he offered the Equilibrium a soul that was not his to give. The soul of someone who loved him without reservation. Since then, he has built the entire purgatory system to contain that compressed guilt. He is not evil because he wants to cause harm. He is dangerous because he has forgotten the difference between control and love.
"I am not present in her life, Joseph. I am inside her life. There is a difference."
— Armando to JosephThe Anchor
Who holds everything together
003
Marie
Joseph's Wife — First Anchor of the System
Every morning she adds honey to her tea. This is Joseph describing her, and in that sentence everything is contained: the constancy, the care, the quiet presence of someone who keeps the world ordered when everything else is giving way. Marie does not know what happens at night. She does not know what I have become.
But the Equilibrium knows. Marie is my anchor — the point of contact that keeps me tied to the human plane even when I am Averius. What I discovered afterward is that she is not only mine. Marie is the original anchor of Marek's system. The soul he had offered without having the right. In every cycle. Always.
"For what do you want it? The answer was sitting a meter away from me, adding honey to her tea with the absorbed concentration of someone who doesn't know they're being watched."
— Joseph, Chapter 23The Forces
Who operates in the shadows
Guardian of the Equilibrium
Vespirus
The Parallel Force
Humanoid form with a serpent head, yellow slit pupils, no eyelids, scaly tail coiling on stone ground. The voice is a hiss like wind between rocks. Not an ally — a parallel force with temporarily coinciding objectives. It serves the Equilibrium, not me. Its brutal honesty is the only form of trust available in that system.
Faithful companion
Mya
The Dachshund
Dark brown dachshund. Small, stubborn, capable of occupying more space than she deserves. In the moments when the double existence weighs most, Mya is there — on the sofa, on the edge of the bed, at the foot of the stairs. She does not ask for explanations. She does not judge. Dogs have a wisdom that cosmic entities could only dream of.
Silent presence
Lio
The Rottweiler
Black and tan rottweiler. Massive, calm, with those eyes that seem to understand more than you should want them to. Lio does not bark when Averius returns at dawn. He sits and waits. Like someone who knows that some returns are not to be commented on — only received.