Without further preamble, Kythara's primary hand sank into Rose's chest.
It was not violently, not with any tearing of flesh or breaking of bone. Instead, her hand phased through the physical to grasp something deeper, something more fundamental.
Rose gasped from the sensation of someone holding the very core of her existence, cradling it with infinite care while preparing to reshape it entirely.
"I'm grasping your essential pattern," Kythara explained, her voice maintaining its professorial tone despite the significance of what she was doing. "Think of it as the blueprint that defines not just what you are, but what you can be. Every being has one…a core template that remains constant through all transformations. I'm going to... edit it."
…!
The waters of Thalassara began to rise around them as an embrace.
Streams of liquid light flowed upward, defying gravity to spiral around Rose's form.
