The sky cracked again—this time across the eastern zone.
But no fire fell, no creature emerged.
Instead, a vast, obsidian tower phased into existence where once only desert lay. It was not made—it was remembered into place by the Nexus itself.
The system registered its arrival:
[Architect Access Point Reconstructed]
[Initiating Ascension Protocol Phase II]
[WARNING: Entity: VAXIRUS DETECTED]
[Tier: Null Origin | Alignment: Order Unbound]
Lysa, examining the readings in the war room, paled.
"Vaxirus… that's the entity that created the first Nexus loop."
Kael felt it before he saw it. The tower's presence weighed on his soul like gravity gone wrong. He knew—something of him belonged there.
Echo hesitated before saying, "The Architects weren't gods… they were minds too advanced to die. They fragmented themselves into the system. That tower is their anchor."
Kael nodded. "Then that's where I go next."
He left Ashveil at dawn—alone—while the world twisted under rewritten laws.