Chapter 27: Nexus Breaker
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The Vault Beneath Astralis
In the aftermath of the battle, while the city burned above, Kael walked alone into the ruins beneath Astralis Prime.
Hidden under layers of false data and phased architecture, a forgotten door pulsed faintly—etched with runes older than the Empire itself.
The Nexus Vault.
It was no mere relic. It was the heart of the Architect's first mind—the true original.
> "So this is where he started..." Kael muttered, stepping through.
Inside, time fractured.
Past and future bled together. Moments replayed. Deaths. Warnings. Ascensions. Possibilities.
Kael stood before a throne of voidstone where a crystalline shard floated—glowing like a dying star.
> "Fragment of Origin Consciousness: Architect Prime." [ WARNING: Integration Will Alter Identity Core. Proceed? ]
Kael didn't hesitate.
> "Do it."
The shard entered him—and everything changed.
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New Power Awakened
The world slowed.
Kael saw the echoes of future attacks before they landed. He saw the flaws in enemy cores.
He could fracture time in localized zones, creating tactical windows where only he could move.
His Void signature no longer reacted. It dictated.
Nearby unstable Echoes—once feral—knelt instinctively, stabilized by his evolving presence.
> [ New Trait Acquired: Fractal Command — Influence Over Unstable Echoes ] [ Neural Sync: 96% — Transcendence Accelerating ]
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Ryssa Watches
Far above, from the remains of a security satellite, Ryssa tracked the core surge.
> "He just triggered a class-Zeta signature... alone?"
Admiral Saevan frowned.
> "He's becoming something uncontrollable."
> "No," Ryssa said. "He's becoming something necessary."
She turned off the feed and made her choice.
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Empire Response: Protocol Zero
Within GRAVECHAIN's control chamber, a warning flared.
> [ PROTOCOL ZERO TRIGGERED: DESIGNATE KAEL — WORLD-THREAT CLASS ENTITY ] [ Deploying Dominion Fork Units. Primary Directive: Capture or Annihilate. ]
Hundreds of synthetic dread units began mobilizing across the Voidnet.
But Kael was already moving.
Toward the next Vault. Toward the truth beneath the Architect's final code.
> "You wanted a god," Kael said into the dark. "Now deal with what you created."
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