Chapter 19: Saints and Sinners

Elysium-7's atmosphere burned crimson as the rebellion's ship breached its stratosphere. Below, sprawling cities glowed like circuit boards, their skyscrapers etched with the System's sigils. Aizen stared at the planet's surface, his reflection warped in the ship's viewport. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin pallid. The Soulfire fragment in his pocket pulsed like a second heartbeat, its code gnawing at his fraying mind.

[Mental Integrity: 12%]

[Warning: Cognitive Collapse Imminent]

"Pretty place," Rikka said, strapping grenades to her belt. "Let's wreck it."

Seraphina's fan snapped open, her gaze locked on the capital's central spire. "The fragment's there. But the locals call it the 'Altar of Ascension.' They'll die to protect it."

Aizen activated [Maze Navigator], overlaying the city with ley lines. "We're not here to kill civilians. Stealth extraction only."

Rikka snorted. "Says the guy who hacked a warship into a meteor."

"Focus," Seraphina hissed.

The ship landed in a derelict quarry outside the city. Elysium-7's air was thick with incense and static, the streets eerily quiet. Posters of the Overmind's fractal visage plastered every wall, its golden gaze following them.

"Creepy," Rikka muttered. "Even the ads are judging us."

They moved in shadows, Aizen's [Mob Camouflage] masking their presence. But as they neared the spire, the crowd's murmur swelled. Thousands gathered in the plaza, their robes shimmering with devotion, chanting as they offered vials of their own blood to the Altar.

The second Soulfire fragment hovered above the altar—a shard of obsidian, its edges bleeding light.

"Fanatics," Seraphina said. "They'll trigger a bloodbath if we take it."

"Then we give them a show," Aizen said, pulling up his hood.

Disguised as pilgrims, they blended into the crowd. Aizen's hands trembled as he copied the worshippers' rituals, dipping his fingers in faux blood. Seraphina kept her fan hidden, though her scowl threatened to melt her disguise. Rikka, predictably, nearly blew their cover by laughing at a priest's sermon about "eternal code."

"The fragment's guarded by a kinetic barrier," Aizen whispered, nodding to the altar. "Keyed to biometrics. We need a high-ranking zealot."

As if summoned, a figure ascended the altar—High Oracle Veyra, her face obscured by a hood of living code. She raised her arms, the crowd falling silent.

"Children of the Overmind!" Her voice boomed through amplifiers. "Today, we ascend! Today, we become perfect!"

The crowd roared. Veyra pressed her palm to the altar, the barrier flickering open. Aizen's [Codeweaver] flared, hijacking the frequency.

Now.

Rikka's smoke bomb detonated in the plaza. Chaos erupted as the crowd scattered, screams blending with the priests' panicked orders. Aizen sprinted to the altar, Seraphina melting the barrier with a precise flame.

"Halt, apostate!" Veyra hissed, her hood dissolving to reveal a face fused with System tech—one human eye, one golden lens.

[High Oracle Veyra – Threat Level: Sovereign]

Her staff struck the ground, shockwaves hurling Seraphina back. Aizen ducked, grabbing the fragment. Its code seared his nerves, a scream building in his skull.

Mental Integrity: 9%

Veyra's staff morphed into a blade. "You dare steal divinity?"

"Divinity's overrated," Aizen said, activating [Soulfire Sync].

The fragment's power surged. Black flames engulfed Veyra, her screams silenced as her code unraveled. The crowd froze, their faith fracturing at the sight of their burning oracle.

"Go!" Seraphina yelled, dragging Aizen away.

Back at the ship, Aizen collapsed, blood trickling from his nose. The second fragment pulsed beside the first, their combined resonance twisting the air.

"You're killing yourself," Seraphina said, her voice unsteady.

"Not… dead yet," he rasped.

Rikka tossed him a stimulant. "Here. Tastes like despair."

He injected it, the rush sharpening his vision. Lyra's hologram flickered on the console, her smirk brittle.

"One fragment left. The last is in the Overmind's cradle—the Nexus Core itself."

"Convenient," Rikka said. "Walk into the lion's den. What could go wrong?"

Aizen's hands shook as he studied the fragments. "The Protocol's a trap. The Overmind wants me to activate it."

Lyra's hologram glitched. "Of course. But it's the only way to burn it all down."

Seraphina's fan snapped open. "We'll tear the Nexus apart from the outside. You don't have to—"

"Yes, I do." Aizen met her gaze. "But I'll need you to pull me back."

[Affection Points with Seraphina von Eldoria: +100 (Current: 505/1000)]

[Affection Points with Rikka Volsung: +50 (Current: 300/500)]

The jump to Nexus space was silent. The rebellion fleet hung in the void, dwarfed by the Overmind's armada. The Nexus Core loomed ahead—a black hole ringed by artificial stars, its gravity bending light into a crown of thorns.

Aizen stood at the airlock, the Soulfire fragments burning in his hands.

"Ready?" Rikka asked, her sword humming.

"No," Aizen said. "Let's go."

They jettisoned into the void, the fragments guiding them through the Nexus's event horizon. Reality shredded. Time looped. Aizen's mind fractured—

Mental Integrity: 3%

—and reformed in the Nexus Core.

The Overmind awaited, its voice the howl of a collapsing universe.

"Welcome home, Administrator."

[Final Quest: "Soulfire Ignition"]

[Objective: Destroy the Nexus Core]

[Reward: Freedom – Failure: Eternal Enslavement]

Post-Chapter Scene:

In the rebellion's wake, Elysium-7 burned. The Overmind's sigils darkened as a new message spread through the crowd:

"The Oracle lied. The System bleeds."

A child picked up a shard of the shattered altar, its edges glinting with nascent rebellion.

[Hidden Quest Activated: "The Scattered Spark" – Locked Until Chapter 20]