The chamber's lights flickered as Lumen guided Kael to the center, where the nexus currents spiraled in a slow, steady orbit. Despite the calm appearance, Kael could feel the trembling beneath it—the multiverse itself reacting to the Architect's distant movements.
Aria and Ryken stood back, monitoring the fluctuations. Veyra remained closer, shadows coiling protectively around her feet.
Lumen raised a hand. "Kael, the Architect chose you because you can hold paradoxical currents. What others call impossible… you can channel."
Kael swallowed. "And what exactly are paradoxical currents?"
Lumen extended his arm—and reality around his hand bent in impossible arcs. Light twisted backward, shadows bent forward, and time rippled like liquid.
Aria gasped. "That's… not even supposed to be visible."
Veyra's eyes narrowed. "The forbidden flow. Architect-level manipulation."
Ryken groaned. "You're telling me Kael has to learn that? He barely survived syncing five realities."
Kael stepped forward, pulse steady. "Show me."
Lumen nodded once. "Begin by feeling the flow that moves against itself."
Kael exhaled and extended his senses. At first there was nothing—just a faint hum. But then he felt something deeper, buried beneath the Nexus like a heartbeat hidden under storms.
A current that moved in two directions.A pulse that contradicted itself.A force that pulled and pushed at the same time.
It hit Kael like a shockwave.
He staggered, clutching his chest. Visions assaulted his mind—futures collapsing, timelines ripping, entire realities blinking out like dying stars.
"Kael!" Aria shouted.
But Veyra held her back. "Let him feel it."
Kael forced himself to stay conscious, sweat dripping down his brow. The paradoxical current twisted around him, threatening to tear him apart from the inside.
Lumen's voice echoed calmly."Do not resist. Let it flow through you, not into you."
Kael inhaled sharply and shifted his focus. Instead of fighting the current, he aligned with its contradiction—both forward and backward, both light and shadow.
Something clicked.
The pain lessened. His pulse steadied. The current flowed around him like a storm that finally recognized its captain.
Lumen's eyes glowed brighter."Good. Very good. You touched the Architect's domain."
Kael opened his eyes. The chamber had changed—the colors sharper, the shadows more defined, the air humming with layered frequencies.
Ryken stared, wide-eyed. "You… you actually did it."
Veyra smiled faintly. "The Revenant awakens."
But before Kael could respond—the Nexus screamed.
A violent ripple tore through the chamber, lights shattering, currents exploding outward in chaotic spirals. Aria stumbled as alarms blared across her interface.
"Kael! Multiple nodes collapsing across eight realities at once!"
Lumen's voice dropped to a grave whisper.
"The Architect has begun their first strike."