The revelation of the Architects' true nature hung heavy in the air, a truth colder and sharper than any winter wind. Jaden stood atop the Conflux Tower, the golden aurora above Neo-Lagos now a mocking beacon, a reminder of the invisible chains that had bound them. The city hummed with the oblivious energy of its citizens, each life a thread in a tapestry woven by distant, calculating hands.
"Thirteen days," Jaden murmured, his voice barely audible above the construction hum. "Thirteen days until the next divergence collapse. Thirteen days to sever a control protocol that has been in place for millennia."
