The room where they placed the Seed quickly became the most guarded place in all of Mosaic City. It was located deep beneath the Chronos Institute, inside a vault whose walls were lined with chronal dampeners and psionic shields.
The Seed floated in the center of the room, radiating a warm, steady golden light. The geometric puzzle box had stopped shifting; now it was still, emanating a sense of calm that contrasted with the chaos outside.
Arden stood in the observation room, watching the Seed through reinforced glass. Her metal arm had been replaced with a new prototype from Voss's lab—sleeker, lighter, and better integrated with her nervous system. The arm still felt foreign, but at least it no longer lagged by a split second.
"It's not just a memory core," Dr. Aris said from beside her, her eyes glued to sensor readings. "It's... architecture. Its energy pulses align with the quantum frequencies we detected before The Knot was formed. This is a blueprint for a stable reality."
