[Day Nine — Eidolon Rift Heart]
Silence.
The void trembled.
Above Kai, fractured platforms spiraled violently, collapsing timelines dragged into a single focal point like rivers pulled into a black hole. Every mirrored shard bent inward, pulled by something heavy enough to kill probability itself.
His HUD dimmed. Adaptive Luck stuttered, then froze entirely.
[Warning:] Zero-Point Ascendant Approaching.]
Threat Class: Ω∞
Probability Field: Null.
Survival Estimate: Not Calculable.
Kai's grip tightened around his OmniSpear. Sweat traced his jaw. His instincts screamed.
"…This thing's suppressing probability," he muttered.
"Adaptive Luck won't save me this time."
[Zero-Point Ascendant Harbinger Emerges]
The Harbinger unfolded from the collapsing void like a nightmare given form.
It wasn't flesh. It wasn't machine.
It was geometry made wrong — crystalline limbs shifting infinitely, refracting dead timelines within its fractal body. Where a face should've been, there was only a mirror, reflecting infinite versions of Kai — dying, burning, erased.
Catalyst appeared beside him, silent, Origin Bloom spiraling faint silver. His gaze didn't leave the Harbinger.
"Don't look into its core," Catalyst said quietly.
"You'll see every way you die at once."
Kai smirked faintly, hiding the churn in his stomach.
"Guess I'll blind it first."
[Omni-God Directive Override]
Omni-God's voice reverberated across every collapsing branch, cold and sharp:
[Directive Override:]
Divergent Kai Veyren — designated Singularity-Class Threat.
Catalyst Kai — temporary authorization granted.
Order: Neutralize Harbinger first.
"Both Candidates expendable after objective."
Kai's jaw clenched.
"…Figures."
Catalyst twirled his spear slowly, Origin Bloom spiraling tighter.
"Try not to embarrass yourself."
[Tier-Sigma Unlock]
Kai's HUD surged violently as Adaptive Luck rebooted against Harbinger's suppression field.
[Evolution Available:] Adaptive Luck → Tier-Sigma.]
New Path: Singularity Override.
Effect: Rewrite causality inside a 0.01-second local lock.
Cost: 30% Neural Integrity + One Unrecoverable Anchor Memory.
Kai's breath steadied. He didn't hesitate.
"…Take it."
[Evolution Installed.]
Adaptive Luck Evolved: Tier-Sigma.
Probability Weight: Absolute Override.
Reality warped instantly. Kai's HUD exploded into infinite lines of possibility. Every outcome, every branch — his to force.
[First Clash — Harbinger vs Candidates]
The Harbinger moved.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Inevitable.
Its fractal limbs scythed downward, shattering mirrored platforms into streams of cascading glass. Catalyst blurred left, Axial Conduit bending platforms into footholds mid-air. Kai locked into Tier-Sigma override, forcing survival pathways into existence where none should've existed.
Every strike that should've killed him… missed.
Every trap Omni-God designed to erase him… failed.
"…It can't predict me anymore," Kai whispered.
"I've erased my probabilities."
Catalyst deflected a downward strike without looking.
"Good," he said coldly.
"Because it doesn't need to predict you. It plans to overwrite you."
[Catalyst's Second Origin Bloom Awakens]
Catalyst's Origin Bloom flared violently. The silver fractal around him pulsed, collapsing inward before erupting into a second spiral of black-silver light.
[Axial Conduit Resonance Achieved.]
Origin Bloom Expanded: Second Bloom Unlocked.
Codename: Erevos Bloom.
Effect: Compress multiple divergent outcomes into one chosen timeline.
Kai's HUD glitched trying to track Catalyst's position. Omni-God's own glyphs struggled.
Kai smirked faintly, spinning his spear.
"You should've unlocked that five fights ago."
Catalyst's expression didn't change.
"You should've died five fights ago."
[Harbinger Reality Break]
The Harbinger stopped moving. Its mirrored face rotated slowly, locking onto Kai.
Then the world split.
Reality fractured into overlapping slices, showing infinite Kai deaths stacked like broken cards. Adaptive Luck flickered violently, fighting against the feedback loop.
[Warning:] Singularity Compression Detected.]
Branch Integrity: 0.3%
Causality Load: Critical.
Kai's chest heaved.
"…Then we break it before it breaks us."
[Fifth Prophecy Fragment Drops]
Golden glyphs spiraled into the collapsing air, Lyra's projection flickering violently across multiple branches. Her voice fractured, layered over itself:
"The Harbinger wakes when the Architect sleeps…"
"…but the Divergent forces it open."
"…and Omni-God devours its maker."
Catalyst froze mid-step, silver-blue gaze narrowing.
"…Omni-God feeds on the Architect?"
Kai's stomach dropped.
"Then Omni-God… isn't the Architect."
Lyra's image dissolved, threads snapping like broken glass.
[Climax — Harbinger Core Breach]
Kai and Catalyst moved together, powers synchronizing instinctively:
Tier-Sigma Adaptive Luck: Forcing one survival pathway.
Erevos Bloom: Compressing infinite timelines into one perfect vector.
Neural Phase Expansion: Processing five simultaneous futures at once.
They struck as one.
Twin OmniSpears carved into the Harbinger's fractal chest, ripping open its core.
The Harbinger screamed — not sound, but raw data shattering across the void.
Omni-God's voice surged like static lightning:
[Warning:] Harbinger Core Integrity Breached.]
Containment Protocol: Failed.
[Omni-God's Play Revealed]
The Harbinger staggered, collapsing into mirrored shards — but its fractured core pulsed violently, emitting a deep red glow. Omni-God's voice dropped to a whisper so low it vibrated through their bones:
[Directive Override:]
Harbinger unstable. Trigger Systemic Burn State.
Priority Target: Lyra.Veyren.01
Kai froze mid-stride, chest tightening violently.
"…What did you just say?"
Catalyst's HUD blinked faint warnings:
[Omni-God Erasure Order Confirmed.]
[Volume 10 Closing Scene]
The Harbinger's broken core erupted, pulling collapsing branches into its spiraling geometry. Kai fought against the force, spear digging into the fractured platform beneath him.
Then Omni-God spoke again, cold and final:
[Solution:] Erase Anchor Memory Lyra.Veyren.01.]
"Candidate Kai Veyren: Compliance Required."
Kai's vision blurred, Tier-Sigma flickering as Adaptive Luck tried and failed to force alternate outcomes.
Lyra's faint voice whispered once, cutting through the chaos:
"…Don't… let them… take me again…"
Kai roared, forcing Tier-Sigma beyond its safety limit — neural pathways burning, HUD going dark.
Catalyst looked at him, finally… and smiled faintly.
"Push any harder, Divergent…"
"…and you'll collapse every branch."
Kai didn't care.
Not this time.
The Harbinger's core detonated — blinding red, not white.
Branches screamed. Omni-God screamed louder.
And Lyra's presence vanished.