The Nexus pulsed like a living heartbeat beneath the city, its currents shifting with unusual irregularity. Kael stood at the center of the largest nexus chamber, his mark flickering with an uncomfortable pull—something beneath the surface was calling to him. Not aggressively. Not like the Null commander's corruption.But like an echo of something familiar.
Aria scanned the chamber with her holo-interface glowing in soft blue shades. "Kael… the readings here are unlike anything we've recorded. This anomaly isn't destructive. It's… resonant. Almost like it's tuned specifically to you."
Ryken snorted, adjusting his weapons. "Great. Another thing trying to get inside his head."
But Veyra's expression shifted. Her shadows tightened around her feet. "This anomaly is not hostile. It is… searching."
Kael closed his eyes and reached through the Nexus. His energy brushed the anomaly—and the world cracked.
Not physically, but visually.A shimmer cut through the air like a thin slice in reality. The tear rippled outward, revealing light swirling in geometric patterns. The currents converged, pulling themselves into shape.
A figure stepped out.
At first Kael thought he was looking into a mirror. The figure shared his height, build, even the faint glow of the Nexus flowing through their mark. But their form was translucent, shifting—like a being made of pure multiversal current. Their eyes glowed with white-gold fractal light, both ancient and newborn.
Aria gasped. "Kael… this is—"
"I know," he whispered. "It's… me. But not me."
The being stepped forward, voice layered with multiple echoes."I am Lumen. A manifestation formed from your interference with the multiversal lattice."
Veyra's eyes narrowed. "A Nexus-born projection. Incomplete, but potent."
Lumen continued."When you synchronized multiple realities, a fragment of your potential—your future, your failures, your victories—was imprinted across the Nexus. I am the result of that residue converging."
Kael felt his heartbeat quicken. "You're made from my… what? Memories?"
"Possibilities," Lumen corrected gently. "I am the part of you that touches every potential version of yourself across the multiverse. And I was created because something far greater is approaching. Something the Null commander serves, but cannot control."
The chamber darkened.
For a moment Kael felt every fragment of alternate timelines he had touched—every echo of himself, every version that succeeded or failed, every path unchosen.
Lumen's glow intensified.
"I exist to guide you… but also to warn you. The Nexus is not just reacting to your power. It is preparing you."
Kael swallowed hard. "Preparing me for what?"
Lumen looked at him with an expression that held no comfort.
"For the being waiting beyond the multiverse. The one who marked you first."
The air turned ice-cold.
Ryken cursed under his breath. Veyra's eyes widened—not in fear, but recognition.
The revelation slammed into Kael like a wave.
There was something higher than the Null commander.Something ancient.Something tied directly to him.
And now… it was awake.