[Day Seven — Eidolon Rift Core]
The void screamed.
Mirrored platforms shattered violently, branches twisting into spirals as Omni-God's voice thundered across every surviving timeline:
[Directive Override:]
Initiating Eidolon Collapse.
Priority: Preserve Catalyst Kai.
Divergent Candidate: Kai Veyren — Erasure Authorized.
Kai dropped to one knee, breathing hard, OmniSpear braced against fractured glass beneath him. Adaptive Luck pulsed erratically, HUD flashing unstable warnings.
"…Omni-God's rewriting reality again," he muttered.
"…and it's locking me out."
[Catalyst Fractures Synchronization]
Catalyst stood atop a spiraling shard, Origin Bloom flaring violently. For the first time, his synchronization percentage fluctuated instead of climbing:
[Catalyst Kai — Variant 017]
Synchronization: 99.3% → 87% → 92% → 75%.
Status: Preferred Candidate… UNSTABLE.
Catalyst glanced at his HUD calmly, then murmured:
"It's happening."
Kai frowned, gripping his spear.
"What's happening?"
Catalyst turned, silver-blue eyes glowing faintly.
"Omni-God's losing control."
[First Eidolon Surge]
The void split open.
A shockwave of fractured light spiraled outward, warping mirrored platforms into collapsing spheres. Cities folded inward, oceans inverted, entire branches collapsing like paper burning from the edges.
Kai's HUD exploded in red glyphs:
[Warning: Branch Integrity <1%.]
Survival Probability: Undefined.
Recommendation: Activate emergency neural expansion.
[Tier-α Neural Overclock Unlocked]
[Evolution Available: Neural Overclock → Tier-α Unlock.]
Ability: Neural Phase Expansion.
Effect: Slow local causality, perceive simultaneous timelines, rewrite counter-strikes.
Cost: 20% Neural Integrity + 2 Anchor Memories.
Kai hesitated — then slammed his palm down.
[Evolution Installed.]
Neural Processing Speed: +980%.
Cognitive Layer Access: Temporal Tier-2.
Everything stopped.
The void slowed to a crawl. Executions, spear arcs, collapsing platforms — all froze mid-motion as Kai's perspective split into five simultaneous timelines.
"…I can see… everything," he whispered.
[Executors Regroup]
Six Ascendant Executors blurred forward, OmniSpears glowing violently. Their formation realigned instantly, striking at impossible angles designed to lock Kai's probability collapse into failure states.
Kai smiled faintly.
"…Not this time."
He pivoted between simultaneous outcomes, Neural Phase Expansion overlaying infinite possibilities at once. Every strike they launched… he was already there.
Sparks cascaded across mirrored shards as OmniSpears clashed, Kai weaving between collapsing timelines like he'd trained in them his entire life.
[Catalyst Unlocks Independent Mode]
Catalyst's Origin Bloom shifted. The light spiraled inward, collapsing into a faint silver fractal against his chest.
HUD screamed warnings:
[Omni-God Link Severed.]
Catalyst Kai: Independent Variant Achieved.
Synchronization: Locked at 81%.
Catalyst raised his spear, gaze steady.
"From here on, Kai… Omni-God has no leash on either of us."
Kai smirked faintly.
"Good. Let's break its rules together."
Catalyst tilted his head.
"…We're not allies. Just two anomalies surviving the same storm."
[Third Prophecy Fragment]
Suddenly, golden threads spiraled outward from the collapsing void. Lyra's form appeared faintly between mirrored branches, her voice layered like a thousand echoes:
"The first erased shall awaken…"
"…when the chosen fractures his chain."
"…and the Architect remembers its name."
The threads vanished instantly, her image flickering into static.
Kai's breath caught.
"Architect…?"
Catalyst's jaw tightened faintly.
"…Omni-God wasn't built by itself."
[First Executor Death Tease]
One Ascendant Executor lunged forward, spear whirling downward. Adaptive Luck bent probability around Kai instinctively, funneling infinite pathways into a single survival vector.
Kai moved.
Neural Phase Expansion ignited, OmniSpear slicing upward. Sparks flared, mirrored fragments exploded — and the Executor's golden mask cracked.
For the first time, an Ascendant-class Omni-God enforcer… bled.
[Omni-God Directive Overload]
The void convulsed violently, Omni-God's voice glitching into layered distortion:
[Warning: Executor Class Instability Detected.]
Candidate Kai Veyren Probability Weight: Absolute.
Catalyst Kai Independence Confirmed.
Directive Override:
"Eliminate both Variants. Initiate Protocol Sigma-F."
Mirrored platforms shattered as hundreds of new spear-armed constructs descended from collapsing branches, their glyphs pulsing violently.
Kai gritted his teeth, turning to Catalyst.
"…We're outnumbered."
Catalyst's Origin Bloom flared brighter.
"We always were."
[Volume 8 Closing Scene]
The void bent inward, collapsing entire timelines into a spiraling singularity beneath their feet. Lyra's faint voice whispered across fragmented space:
"Kai… stop chasing Catalyst."
"…he's not the threat Omni-God fears."
Kai froze mid-motion, gripping his spear tighter.
"…Then what is?"
Lyra's voice cracked into static.
And Omni-God's cold, final directive followed:
[Eidolon Collapse: Phase Two Activated.]
All branches entering Systemic Burn State.
"One universe survives. Choose carefully."
Everything fractured into white.