Becoming Flame

POV: Lia

Location: Echo Core – Genesis Convergence Zone

The light didn't stop.

It wrapped around her like threads of starlight, pulling tighter, weaving something new from the broken pieces of her body and soul.

Kairo stared, barely able to breathe.

"Lia… that's too much Genesis. It'll—"

"I know," she said, voice echoing.

But she didn't stop.

Zeyren stepped back, his lips parted in awe. For the first time… afraid.

"You were never meant to hold it all," he said. "Even I couldn't."

"I'm not you," Lia answered.

And her feet left the floor.

---

Lia Ascends

Her body hovered, aura pulsing with each heartbeat. The Genesis tendrils that had once obeyed Zeyren now shifted toward her, drawn like moths to flame.

Her eyes met Zeyren's.

And she smiled.

Then she launched forward, faster than before, slamming into his chest with a blast of force that cracked the convergence chamber in half.

Zeyren screamed—not in pain… but in joy.

"Yes! That's it! Fight me! Become her!"

But Lia didn't respond.

She raised her hand—and for a split second, her fingers glowed with the exact same fractal pattern as the First Architect's.

---

Switch POV: Ada Wong

Location: Outer Corridor – Echo Core

Ada burst through the ruined blast doors, gun raised.

She wasn't ready for what she saw.

Zeyren—on one knee, laughing through blood.

Kairo—holding a plasma rifle, barely standing.

And above it all—Lia, glowing, floating, no longer fully human.

Ada's lips parted in stunned silence.

"…Oh my god."

Lia turned.

For just a moment—just one heartbeat—her eyes flashed with recognition.

Then she said:

"Stand back. This ends now."

Ada stared up at her—and whispered:

"She's not the same little girl anymore."

Kairo nodded beside her, whispering like a prayer.

"No… she's something bigger now."

---

End Scene Tease:

Zeyren laughed, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Now the war begins."

And the Genesis Core behind him began to open.