SEEDS OF WORLDS

The child who claimed to be "what comes next" stood before them, her presence causing reality itself to ripple like water disturbed by a dropped stone. Reed felt his transformed consciousness recoil from her proximity—not from malevolence, but from the sheer scope of what she represented. She was evolution given form, possibility incarnate, and looking at her was like staring directly into the birth of a new universe.

"You're afraid of me," she observed, tilting her head with curiosity that seemed both innocent and ancient. "Good. Fear is the beginning of wisdom."

Reed found his voice, though it emerged as little more than a whisper. "What are you?"