The descent ended in silence.
Ashen's boots met no ground—only a surface of refracted light that pulsed beneath him like liquid code. Above stretched the inverted tower's hollow spine, spiraling forever upward. Below, the Nexus Heart floated—an immense crystalline sphere, beating like a living sun.
[System Notification – Core Access Granted]
Initiating Final Protocol: The Heart's Test.
Warning: Cognitive Synchronization at 96%. Identity drift possible.
A chill brushed through him. His Force aura flickered, reacting to something deeper than magic—something watching from within the data.
Then the world fractured.
A ripple spread outward, splitting the light into mirrored shards. In the reflection, another figure stood: the same height, the same silver hair, the same eyes that burned with Force.
But where Ashen's aura pulsed with creation, this one radiated perfection—sterile, mathematical, absolute.
[Manifestation Detected: Ω-Forcebearer (Ashen Prototype)]
