Kaine carried the Absolute for six months before it broke her.
Not immediately. Not dramatically. Slowly. Incrementally. Like weight added grain by grain until suddenly structure collapsed.
She continued working. Transformed 347 more predators over those six months. Freed approximately 780 billion beings. Created 347 new guardians. Succeeded repeatedly. Celebrated appropriately. Continued effectively.
But she carried the Absolute. Carried 870 billion beings she couldn't free. Carried one predator she couldn't transform. Carried permanent failure that haunted every success. Carried knowledge that her mastery had limits. Carried burden that grew heavier daily.
She was in the middle of her 2,195th transformation when it happened.
Standard case. Medium-sized predator. 73 million years old. Dead zone containing 4 billion unconscious beings. Typical mission. Routine transformation. Nothing unusual. Nothing difficult. Nothing that should have caused problems.
Except Kaine froze.
