The world was dying again.
Only this time, it wasn't human error — it was him.
The Root Network screamed as its foundations unraveled. Strings of light — pure command code — tore from the ceiling like veins being ripped from the body of a god. Every fragment of data, every thread of logic, every echo of creation, began to melt into the crimson void.
Aiden stood in the center of it all, his figure outlined in fractal lightning. The battlefield around him was frozen mid-collapse — collapsing castles of data, suspended memory shards, and broken interface panels still blinking desperate warnings.
> [SYSTEM CRITICAL ERROR]
Descent Protocol Engaged. Containment Collapse in Progress.
The First Architect's voice still lingered in his auditory system like a curse.
> "Continue, and reality will fracture."
He had heard warnings before.
From gods. From men. From ghosts in broken code.
They all said the same thing — stop.
But stopping had always been the language of the weak.
