[Day Four — Branch-Zero, Quantum Fracture Zone]
Kai fell through infinity.
Every fragment of reality spun violently around him, mirrored shards twisting like glass suspended in a storm. Threads of light carved across his vision, splitting, weaving, and collapsing timelines faster than he could comprehend.
Neural Overclock struggled to keep up, his HUD glitching under the sheer flood of data.
[Quantum Phase Shift: ACTIVE]
Neural Integrity Remaining: 89%
Branch Overlap Density: 247%
Warning: You are existing across twelve simultaneous realities.
Kai gasped for breath, clutching at nothing, until the fragments stabilized — enough for him to land hard on a fractured platform of mirrored glass.
Beneath him, endless branches twisted like roots through an infinite void.
And then he saw her.
[Lyra Appears]
A shard floated nearby, glowing faint gold. Inside it, he saw a girl — black hair braided behind one shoulder, golden irises catching the fractured light.
Her gaze met his through the glass.
And she smiled faintly.
"…Lyra?" Kai whispered, chest tightening painfully.
He staggered toward the shard — but it pulsed violently, cracking under some unseen strain.
The HUD screamed across his vision:
[Anchor Memory Conflict Detected.]
Candidate Kai Veyren previously erased anchor: Lyra.Veyren.01
Outcome: Memory restoration blocked by Omni-God Lock Σ.
Kai slammed his fist into the mirrored platform, frustration boiling up.
"Why would Omni-God erase her from me?"
Behind him, a voice answered calmly:
"Because Lyra's existence breaks the Protocol."
[Catalyst Confrontation]
Catalyst Kai stood atop a fractured branch bridge, Origin Bloom glowing faintly around him, bending light like liquid. His synchronization percentage flickered across Kai's HUD:
[Catalyst Kai — Variant 017]
Synchronization: 83%
Status: Preferred Candidate.
Kai turned sharply, OmniSpear forming instinctively in his grip.
"Get out of my branch."
Catalyst tilted his head slightly, stepping forward without urgency.
"This isn't your branch anymore, Kai. It never was."
[Omni-God Directive Escalation]
The HUD exploded in new alerts:
[Candidate Kai Veyren Reclassified.]
Threat Level: Tier-Zero Divergent.
[Protocol Directive Override:]
Initiate elimination to stabilize Omni-God Network integrity.
[First Clash — Kai vs Catalyst]
Catalyst blurred forward. Neural Overclock accelerated Kai's reflexes instantly, Adaptive Luck bending physics around him like invisible hands. Their OmniSpears collided mid-swing, the impact sending mirrored shards spinning outward into collapsing branches.
Every strike rippled probability.
Every dodge rewrote cause and effect.
Kai gritted his teeth, panting hard.
"Why do you keep interfering?!"
Catalyst parried effortlessly, voice calm:
"Because you're not supposed to exist."
[Adaptive Luck Overload]
Kai's HUD burned crimson.
[Adaptive Luck Probability Override: 203%.]
Passive Safety Limit Shattered.
Outcome Chains Unstable. Multiple simultaneous victories detected.
Suddenly, Kai saw himself winning five different ways at once — Catalyst falling beneath his spear, Catalyst retreating, Catalyst fracturing into infinite mirrored variants.
But in all of them, one constant remained:
Lyra's shard shattered.
[Glassborn Apex Emergence]
From below, a deep vibration resonated, rattling fractured platforms apart.
Kai's HUD screamed new warnings:
[Glassborn Apex Protocol Active.]
Apex Entity Emergence: Confirmed.
Tier: Alpha-Psi Predator.
Survival Priority Updated: Catalyst Kai only.
Catalyst's Origin Bloom flared brighter. He glanced downward, frowning faintly.
"…It's awake already. That's… inconvenient."
Through the collapsing void, a massive crystalline limb tore upward, refracting light in violent rainbows. Its body was impossible geometry, an Apex Glassborn born from Omni-God's destabilized fragments.
[Lyra's First Prophecy]
Just before the Apex entity lunged, Lyra's shard pulsed violently — bright enough to override every Omni-God directive, forcing her voice directly into Kai's mind:
"Kai… if you fight Catalyst now, you both lose."
"The erased one writes the final page."
The shard cracked completely, splintering into light and vanishing.
Kai froze mid-motion, chest tight, words caught in his throat.
"…Erased one…?"
Catalyst's spear nearly pierced his ribs before Adaptive Luck twisted him aside reflexively.
[Forced Divergence Event]
[Omni-God Network Directive:]
Branch-Zero Instability Critical.
Initiate Forced Divergence to prevent total collapse.
Candidate Kai Veyren: Evacuate or Erase.
Catalyst backed off slightly, his eyes narrowing.
"Kai. Choose survival… or Omni-God chooses for you."
Three glyphs flared open across Kai's HUD, each vibrating violently:
[Available Divergence Paths:]
• Anchor Lyra's Branch (Cost: 15% Neural Integrity + 2 memories)
• Pursue Catalyst (Cost: Unknown)
• Blind Jump (Cost: Entire probability layer reset.)
Kai's knuckles whitened on the OmniSpear, his heart pounding.
"Lyra… I'm coming for you."
He slammed his palm down on Anchor Lyra's Branch.
[Volume 5 Closing Scene]
Light consumed everything.
The mirrored shards collapsed inward, swallowing Catalyst, the Apex entity, and the entire fractured platform into pure void.
Before everything vanished, Catalyst's voice echoed faintly:
"Kai… if you choose her, you'll lose everything else."
And Omni-God's cold whisper layered over his own:
[Anchor Override Accepted.]
Branch Priorities Updated: Lyra.Veyren.01 Restored.
Warning:
"Your existence is now incompatible with Omni-God."