The Sun Core's guardian was the physical embodiment of the Aetherforge's foundational axiom: physics made manifest. Its colossal form, woven from plasma and equation-etched light, radiated a gravitational field that threatened to pull the draconic craft into immediate singularity.
Elara's newly attained Prime Harmony Realm was immediately challenged. The guardian projected its ultimatum: a massive Equation Array that blended the highest realms of physics and cultivation. Derive the Prime's capstone, its voice boomed, Integrate relativity's curve with quantum entanglement, infuse with draconic coil and shadow veil.
This was the ultimate test of System-Scale Weaves. Elara's mind ignited, running a parallel deduction to Sherlock's most complex cases. The core challenge was integrating General Relativity's metric tensor (g_{\mu\nu})—the law of large-scale structure—with the Schrödinger wave function (\psi)—the law of subatomic chaos. The draconic coil (Kairo's influence) served as the crucial chaotic variable, a Lorentz Attractor to prevent the equation from collapsing into a simplistic, linear solution.
Elara projected sub-equations onto the shimmering walls: ds^2 = g_{\mu\nu} dx^\mu dx^\nu, adjusting the stress-energy tensor (T_{\mu\nu}) term by incorporating the localized, channeled Qi flux. Pain tore through her meridians, forcing her to execute the math under crushing physical and entropic pressure.
Kairo provided the perfect chaotic anchor, launching Solar Sovereign Avatars that strategically absorbed and redirected the guardian's plasma extensions. His combat was a real-time Game Theory Matrix, sacrificing minor positions to secure Elara's stability.
Lira's corrupted hologram flickered into the chamber, her eyes voids of entropy, but her voice layered with genuine pain: "The Prime isn't salvation, Elara—it's a Causal Cage. Join me; the Syndicates offer freedom from the Lords' cycle."
Elara's Betrayal Weave spun furiously. The probability of deception remained high, but the 38% genuine plea was consistent with Lira's self-destructive tendencies. Her corruption is a strategic vulnerability, Elara deduced, but her desperation is real.
The trial escalated: holographic visions of the Eternal Coils betraying the Helix, of alliances fracturing—a psychological warfare designed to destabilize Elara's Nash Equilibrium. Elara countered the vision by entangling her weave with Kairo's solar coil, merging their Qi streams in a moment of intimate, absolute trust. Their unified Quantum Entanglement stabilized the simulation's probabilistic chaos.
Breakthrough: Guided by Orrin's final veiled fragment, Elara solved the capstone:
Prime = ∫ (g_μν * 1/(ψ* * ψ) + 1/ħ^2 * ∂ψ/∂t * ψ) dV
(The capstone harmonized the core relativistic, quantum, and chaotic variables.)
The array glowed, the guardian's form solidified in approval, and essence flooded Elara. She ascended to Prime Ascendant Stage, unlocking Ultimatum Veil: the ability to force the true, calculated intention from any veil or entity, revealing the precise strategic reason for their actions.
But Lira's hologram solidified, extending a hand: "The Prime is not whole. It requires the final, corrupted key—my chaotic bloodline. Integrate me, and complete the Equation."
As Elara reached out, the Core quaked. This was the ultimate challenge: integrate Lira's chaos, or adhere to clean logic and leave the Prime permanently fractured.