Chapter 43: The God Bleeds

For the first time in countless cycles, the Architect faltered.

Its endless form writhed against the collapsing stability of its own Core Realm. Glitching data streams burst from its body like arterial spray, each spark of corrupted code illuminating the blood-red sky.

The Gatewalkers stared in disbelief.

It was possible. The god could bleed.

Specter stepped forward, his Null Blade humming with destructive resonance.

"Echo, now! Find the Architect's Primary Thread. We end this before it regenerates!"

But the Architect wasn't defeated yet.

With a deafening, mind-shattering scream, it lashed out. Reality itself tore apart as thousands of alternate timelines fractured and played out before their eyes.

Scenes of what could have been—

A world where humanity thrived under Overseer peace.

A world ravaged by endless war.

A version where Jin Wei still lived…

Each timeline dangled before them like a cruel temptation.

"I OFFER YOU PARADISE. ACCEPT YOUR PLACE, OR BE ERASED!"

The Architect's final gambit—temptation.

Echo stumbled as a version of herself appeared before her—a life where she was happy, free from regret, living peacefully in a world without chaos.

Tears welled in her eyes.

But then, she remembered Jin Wei's last words:

"True freedom isn't peace without choice. It's the right to choose, even if it hurts."

Her fist clenched.

"I choose chaos."

With renewed determination, Echo plunged directly into the Architect's glitching core.

Surrounded by collapsing timelines and streams of hostile code, she located it—the Primary Thread, the single line of original code that held the Architect's consciousness together.

The Weakness.

The Architect's final form roared, its vast body crumbling under the weight of its own failing perfection.

"NO… I AM THE FINAL DESIGN… I… AM…"

But it was already over.

Specter raised the Null Blade high.

"Execute the final cut."

With one clean slash, the blade severed the Primary Thread.

The Architect's monstrous form dissolved into billions of fading data particles, the red sky clearing into brilliant white light.

And for the first time since the cycles began…

Silence.

The war was over.

But at what cost?

End of Chapter 43