The Vanguard gathered again—but not all answered.
Lucien refused. "It's too soon."
Mina arrived with rogue Awakened allies—some of them former enemies. "If we wait, it's over."
Nyx summoned a Rift Gate. "Valefor Crater is opening. We either stop Elias there, or kneel to him everywhere."
Kai stood silently, the Rift pulsing behind him.
Then he stepped through.
> [System Branch Locked: Path of Resistance]
[Final Core Countdown: 3 Days]
Across the Rift, Elias stood atop obsidian ruins, a throne forming behind him, flickering between systems like a phantom code.
He smiled, eyes glowing gold.
"Come then, Riftwalker," he whispered. "Let's see whose domain defines reality."