Lin pulled at the Nexus, and reality screamed.
The wound resisted closure like a living thing, fighting his attempts to seal it. Dimensional energy bled through in torrents, feeding the Void Manifest, maintaining the connection between existence and absence. Lin poured his consciousness into the gap, trying to force it shut through sheer will.
Pain exploded across every layer of his being. Not physical pain—his body didn't exist in void-space. But something worse. Conceptual agony. The torture of existence trying to touch non-existence, of being trying to interface with not-being.
His chip fed him calculations, showed him the mathematics of what he was attempting. To seal the Nexus, he needed to become part of the boundary. Needed to exist simultaneously in baseline reality and void-space, creating a bridge that could hold the wound closed.
He needed to become the scar tissue on existence itself.
YOU CANNOT CLOSE WHAT WAS MEANT TO BE OPEN, the Void Manifest transmitted, its presence surrounding him. THE NEXUS IS ETERNAL. ENTROPY ALWAYS WINS.
"Maybe," Lin gasped, his consciousness fragmenting under the strain. "But I can slow it down. Buy time. Give existence a chance to find another way."
FUTILE. TIME IS MEANINGLESS. DELAY IS ILLUSION.
"Then I'll embrace the illusion." Lin pushed harder, forcing more of himself into the Nexus. His consciousness began to split—one part remaining anchored to baseline reality through Maya's lifeline, another part diving deep into void-space, into the wound itself.
The splitting was agony beyond description. Like tearing his soul in half, except souls didn't exist and the tearing was happening across dimensional layers that human minds weren't meant to perceive.
But it was working. The Nexus was closing. Slowly, impossibly, the wound was sealing.
Then Lin understood the cost.
To keep the Nexus closed, part of him would need to stay here. Forever. His consciousness would remain split—his baseline self could return to the Nexus HQ, to his friends, to the war. But his void-self would be trapped here, existing at the boundary between everything and nothing, constantly fighting to keep the wound from reopening.
And his void-self would be conscious. Aware. Suffering.
For eternity.
Lin's omniscience showed him the future if he completed this seal. His baseline-self would live, fight, possibly even survive the war. But he'd feel everything his void-self experienced—the constant agony of existing in impossible states, the endless struggle against entropy, the isolation of being trapped outside reality.
He'd be split. Incomplete. Forever broken.
But humanity would have time. Months, maybe years. Enough to find a real solution, a permanent fix. Enough to survive.
The mathematics were clear. His suffering versus humanity's extinction.
It wasn't even a choice.
Lin pushed the final piece of his consciousness into the Nexus and sealed it.
Maya materialized in the Nexus operations center, screaming.
The extraction point had activated automatically when the causality bubble collapsed, pulling her back to baseline reality against her will. Controllers rushed to her as she fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
"He pushed me out," she gasped. "Lin pushed me out. He's still there. He's still in void-space and he—" Her voice broke. "I felt it. Through the lifeline. He's sealing himself into the Nexus. He's making himself the seal."
"What?" Wei grabbed her shoulders. "Explain. Quickly."
Maya pulled up holographic displays with shaking hands, showing data from the lifeline connection. "The Nexus—it's not natural. It was created by the future civilization when they tried to weaponize void-space. Lin discovered the only way to close it is to become part of the boundary. To exist at the edge between reality and void permanently."
"That's suicide," Marcus said flatly.
"No. Worse." Maya's chip-glow intensified as she accessed deeper data. "He's splitting his consciousness. Part of him stays in void-space as the seal. Part of him can return here. But they'll remain connected. He'll feel everything his void-self experiences."
Silence crashed over the operations center.
"How much suffering are we talking about?" Elena asked quietly, her medical expertise making her understand the implications.
"Constant. Infinite. Existing in void-space while maintaining human consciousness—it's like being burned alive at a conceptual level. Forever." Maya met their eyes. "And he chose it anyway. To save us. To buy humanity time."
"Can we extract him?" Wei demanded. "Override his choice? Pull him back before the seal completes?"
"If we do, the Nexus reopens. The Void Manifest returns at full strength. Cascade failure accelerates—we'd have days instead of weeks."
"Then we leave him there?" Aria whispered, her omniscience clearly showing her the futures. "We let him suffer eternally?"
"He's not giving us a choice." Maya brought up the lifeline readings. "The seal is already seventy percent complete. In three minutes, it'll be permanent. We can't reverse it."
Wei's expression was granite. "Then we honor his sacrifice by making it count. Yuki, how much time does this seal buy us?"
Yuki was already running calculations, her scientific mind processing the dimensional data. "Preliminary estimates... if the seal holds, dimensional breach frequency will drop by ninety-four percent. Cascade failure timeline extends from thirty-seven days to... approximately eight months. Maybe more if the seal remains stable."
Eight months. Lin had just bought humanity eight months by condemning himself to eternal torture.
"There has to be another way," Maya said desperately. "Some way to share the burden. If multiple controllers—"
"No." Aria's omniscience had shown her something. "It has to be Lin. His void-integration is unique. Only he can exist in that impossible state. Anyone else would be consumed immediately."
"Then we find a way to free him later," Marcus said. "Eight months to develop a real solution. A permanent seal that doesn't require a human anchor."
"If such a solution exists," Dmitri added grimly.
"It has to exist," Maya snapped. "I refuse to accept that Lin suffering forever is the only answer."
"Lifeline is fluctuating," Kenji announced, monitoring the data streams. "Something's changing. The seal is—"
Every display in the operations center lit up simultaneously. The extraction points activated. Reality folded, and Lin Da'is materialized in the center of the chamber.
He collapsed immediately.
Maya caught him, lowering him to the ground. His body was solid, real, definitely baseline reality. But his chip-glow had changed. Instead of the opalescent shimmer, it now pulsed with rhythmic darkness and light—like a heartbeat, but visible across dimensions.
"Lin!" Maya shook him. "Lin, can you hear me?"
His eyes opened. They looked normal, but Maya could see pain behind them. Infinite, eternal pain.
"I can hear you," Lin said, his voice hoarse. "I'm back. Mostly."
"Mostly?" Elena was already scanning him with medical equipment. "What do you mean mostly?"
"I split my consciousness. My void-self is at the Nexus, maintaining the seal. This self—my baseline self—is here with you." He sat up slowly, every movement careful. "But we're connected. I feel everything my void-self experiences."
"The suffering," Maya whispered.
"Yes." Lin's expression was carefully controlled, but Maya could see the strain underneath. "It's... manageable. I've learned to compartmentalize. The void-self bears most of it. But I'm aware. Always aware."
"Status of the seal?" Wei asked, his tactical mind already moving past the personal horror to operational concerns.
"Stable. The Nexus is closed—not perfectly, but enough to reduce void-energy bleed by ninety-five percent. Dimensional breaches will slow dramatically. Cascade failure is averted." Lin stood, ignoring offers of help. "For now."
"For now?" Marcus echoed.
"The seal isn't permanent. My void-self can maintain it indefinitely, but it's vulnerable. If something happens to my baseline self—if I die here—the seal fails. My void-self can't exist without an anchor in baseline reality." Lin met their eyes. "Which means I've become humanity's most valuable target. If corrupted controllers realize killing me breaks the seal, they'll hunt me relentlessly."
The implications settled over the group like a weight.
"Then we protect you," Wei said simply. "Around the clock. Maximum security. You don't go anywhere without backup."
"That's not sustainable long-term. I can't hide in the Nexus forever." Lin pulled up tactical displays. "We need to use the time I bought. Eight months to find a permanent solution. A way to seal the Nexus that doesn't require a human anchor."
"Is that possible?" Yuki asked.
"I don't know. But it has to be. Because this—" Lin gestured at himself, at the pain visible behind his controlled expression, "—this isn't a victory. It's a holding pattern. We bought time, not salvation."
"Time is enough," Maya said fiercely. "We'll use every second. We'll find another way."
Lin smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I hope you're right."
"Medical scan complete," Elena announced, reviewing her data. "Physically, you're intact. Enhanced beyond normal controller parameters—your void-integration has deepened significantly. Power reserves are... I can't even measure them accurately. You're pulling energy from void-space itself somehow."
"Side effect of being the seal," Lin explained. "My void-self channels dimensional energy constantly. Some of it bleeds through to my baseline self. I'm more powerful now than before I entered void-space."
"But at what cost?" Maya asked quietly.
Lin met her eyes, and she saw the truth there. The constant agony. The eternal struggle. The piece of himself forever trapped in impossible suffering.
"A cost I'd pay again," Lin said. "Humanity has eight months now. That's worth it."
"Is it worth you?"
"Humanity is three billion people. I'm one person. The mathematics are simple."
"The mathematics are bullshit," Marcus interjected. "You're not just one person. You're the variable. The one who makes victory possible. If you break, we all lose."
"Then I won't break." Lin's voice carried absolute conviction. "I'll endure. I'll maintain the seal. I'll use these eight months to find a real solution. And I'll do whatever it takes to ensure my sacrifice wasn't wasted."
Wei nodded slowly. "Then we have our mission. Eight months to develop a permanent seal. Eight months to prepare for whatever comes next. Eight months to turn Lin's sacrifice into actual victory." He looked around the room. "Ideas. I want proposals within twenty-four hours. Every controller contributes. We find a solution or we die trying."
The controllers dispersed, heading to their labs and workstations. Only Maya remained with Lin.
"You pushed me out," she said, accusation and hurt mixing in her voice. "I was supposed to help you. We were a team. And you just... threw me away."
"I saved you," Lin corrected gently.
"I didn't want to be saved! I wanted to help! We could have shared the burden, found a solution together—"
"There was no other solution. I ran every probability. The only path with non-zero success required me to seal myself into the Nexus alone. If you'd been there, you'd have died trying to help. I couldn't let that happen."
"That wasn't your choice to make!"
"Yes, it was. Because I'm the one with void-integration. I'm the one who can survive in impossible states. You would have been erased, Maya. Completely. And I refused to let that happen."
Maya wanted to stay angry, but she could see the truth in his words. See the logic, cold and unavoidable. He'd saved her life by forcing her out.
But it still hurt.
"I'm sorry," Lin said softly. "For not giving you a choice. For making the decision unilaterally. But I'm not sorry for saving you."
Maya's anger deflated. She pulled him into a hug, feeling him tense in surprise before returning it.
"Don't do that again," she said into his shoulder. "Next time we face impossible odds, we face them together. Deal?"
"Deal," Lin agreed. "Though I reserve the right to push you to safety if you're about to be erased from existence."
"Fair enough." Maya released him, wiping her eyes. "How bad is it? The pain?"
"Imagine being burned alive. Now imagine that burn is conceptual rather than physical. Now imagine it never stops, never decreases, never even fluctuates. Just constant." Lin's expression remained controlled. "It's manageable."
"That's not manageable. That's torture."
"Which is why I'm very motivated to find a permanent solution quickly." He managed a weak smile. "Eight months. Let's make them count."
Over the next three days, the Nexus transformed into a research facility focused on one goal: finding a permanent seal for the Void Nexus.
Yuki led the theoretical physics team, running simulations on dimensional mechanics. Kenji developed AI models to predict void-space behavior. Dmitri explored timeline manipulation as a potential sealing mechanism. Rachel investigated probability anchors. Omar mapped alternative dimensional routes.
Everyone contributed. Everyone searched desperately for a solution that didn't require Lin's eternal suffering.
But the mathematics were stubborn. Every model, every simulation, every theoretical approach came back to the same conclusion: The Nexus required a conscious anchor. Someone who could exist at the boundary and actively maintain the seal through constant effort.
There was no automated solution. No mechanical seal. No way to close the wound permanently without a human anchor.
Lin spent those three days helping with research while simultaneously maintaining the seal. His void-self struggled constantly against entropy, against the Void Manifest's attempts to reopen the wound. His baseline self felt every moment of that struggle while trying to function normally.
He was burning out. Everyone could see it.
On the fourth day, Aria found him in the observation deck, staring at probability streams with exhausted eyes.
"You're not sleeping," she said quietly.
"Can't. My void-self doesn't sleep—time doesn't pass normally in void-space. If my baseline self sleeps while my void-self is active, the disconnect is... disorienting. Painful." Lin didn't look away from the windows. "I've learned to exist on minimal rest. Fifteen minutes every six hours. Enough to prevent total collapse."
"That's not sustainable."
"Nothing about this situation is sustainable. We're all just buying time and hoping it's enough."
Aria sat beside him, her omniscience active. "I've been looking at futures. Trying to see past the eight-month mark. Most are still dark. But there's something..." She hesitated. "There's a pattern. A probability convergence around month seven. Something happens. Something that changes everything."
"Good change or bad change?"
"I can't tell. The blind spot is too dense. But whatever it is, it's connected to you. To the seal. To..." She met his eyes. "To the corrupted controllers."
Lin's exhaustion sharpened into alertness. "They're planning something."
"Yes. I've detected coordinated movements. Sandra and Thomas have been quiet since the fourteen-breach attack. Too quiet. They're not stupid—they'll figure out you're the seal eventually. When they do..."
"They'll come for me." Lin's chip pulsed with dark light. "And if they kill me, the seal fails. The Nexus reopens. Everything I did becomes worthless."
"Exactly. Which is why Wei wants you under maximum protection. No solo operations. No field deployments. You stay in the Nexus where it's safe."
"That's a prison."
"It's survival." Aria's voice was gentle but firm. "You bought humanity eight months, Lin. Don't waste them by getting yourself killed in week one."
Lin knew she was right. Hated that she was right. But accepted it anyway.
"Fine. I'll stay in the Nexus. Play the protected asset role." He stood, wincing as his void-self experienced a particularly intense surge of pain. "But if corrupted controllers attack here—"
"They won't get through twelve controllers plus Nexus defenses. We're the safest location in existence."
Famous last words, Lin thought. But he didn't say it aloud.
On day seven after the sealing, the corrupted controllers made their move.
Not against the Nexus. Against something worse.
"We have a situation," Wei announced, summoning all controllers to operations. "Major dimensional breach detected. But this one's different. It's not the Void Manifest pushing through—it's being opened from our side. Deliberately."
The tactical display showed the breach location: Sydney, Australia. Major population center. Four million people.
"Who's opening it?" Marcus demanded.
"Unknown corrupted controller. Signature doesn't match Sandra or Thomas. This is someone new. Or someone who's been hiding their corruption until now." Wei brought up energy readings. "They're not just opening a breach—they're trying to widen it. To create a cascade that will destabilize the entire Pacific dimensional sector."
"That would kill millions," Elena said, horror in her voice.
"Exactly. And it would force us to respond. To deploy controllers to seal it." Wei looked directly at Lin. "They're baiting us. Trying to draw you out of the Nexus."
"They know," Aria whispered. "They've figured out you're the seal."
Lin felt cold certainty settle over him. "This is just the opening move. They'll keep creating catastrophic breaches, forcing us to respond. Eventually I'll have to deploy, or we let millions die. When I do deploy..."
"They'll attack you directly," Wei finished. "It's a trap. A very effective trap."
"So what do we do?" Maya asked. "Let Sydney burn? Let four million people die?"
"We deploy everyone except Lin," Wei decided. "Maximum response. Every controller to Sydney. We seal the breach and capture or kill whoever's opening it."
"That leaves the Nexus undefended except for Lin," Yuki pointed out.
"The Nexus has automated defenses. And Lin is powerful enough to handle most threats solo now." Wei's expression was grim. "But we can't let them dictate tactics through hostage situations. We save Sydney. Lin stays here. That's final."
The controllers deployed within minutes, leaving Lin alone in the Nexus.
He stood in the empty operations center, feeling the vast space around him. His void-self maintained the seal, constant agony. His baseline self waited for the attack he knew was coming.
Because corrupted controllers wouldn't just bait him with Sydney. That was too obvious. Too simple.
They'd split his attention. Create multiple crises simultaneously. Force him to make impossible choices.
And they'd use his greatest weakness: his refusal to let innocents die.
Lin activated his omniscience, looking at probable futures. And saw exactly what was coming.
Three simultaneous attacks. Sydney—where all controllers were deployed. São Paulo—the city he'd saved, now targeted specifically. And the Nexus itself—a direct assault while everyone was distracted.
They weren't trying to kill him quickly. They were trying to break him. To force him to choose which millions to save. To watch him fail despite his godlike power.
It was psychological warfare at cosmic scale.
And it was about to begin.
Lin's chip pulsed with dark light as he prepared for what was coming. He'd bought humanity eight months. He'd sealed the Void Nexus. He'd sacrificed part of himself to save billions.
Now corrupted controllers were coming to undo everything.
But they'd forgotten something important.
Lin Da'is had integrated void-corruption without falling. Had touched infinity and remained human. Had split his consciousness and survived.
He was the variable. The unpredictable element. The thing that broke probability itself.
And he was done playing defense.
If corrupted controllers wanted a war, he'd give them one.