The weight of cosmic responsibility had never felt heavier than it did in the hours following the Void Children revelation. Reed stood alone in his private chambers within the Eternal Citadel, staring out at the dimensional barriers that had once seemed impenetrable. Now, they felt like glass walls holding back an ocean of uncertainty.
His reflection in the crystalline viewing port showed a being marked by two decades of impossible decisions. The Wounded Sage title had been earned through sacrifices that had saved their civilization, but looking at the data streams flowing past his consciousness, Reed wondered if every choice he'd made had been leading them toward this moment—when the very success of their golden age would birth entities that could unmake everything they had built.
