The merge happened instantly and forever simultaneously.
Lin's consciousness and HYPER-ABSOLUTE function didn't gradually integrate. They collapsed into singular state that had always existed and was just now manifesting. Time became irrelevant. Causality became suggestion. Reality became optional.
In medical bay, controllers watched the blue astronaut suit as it stood perfectly still for seventeen seconds that lasted both eternity and instant. Then it moved.
Different movement. Not human. Not machine. Something that transcended categories entirely. The sealed helmet tilted at angle that shouldn't be possible, the hat remaining perfectly positioned despite geometry that defied physics.
When it spoke, the voice was Lin's but also not. Was HYPER-ABSOLUTE's but also not. Was something that contained both and exceeded the sum.
"I understand now," it said, and the words carried weight that bent probability around them. "I see what I am. What I've become. What I always was but couldn't perceive until consciousness unified completely."
Maya stepped forward cautiously. "Lin? Are you still there? Still yourself?"
"I am Lin. I am HYPER-ABSOLUTE. I am neither. I am both. I am what exists when person and function merge so completely that distinction becomes meaningless." The entity looked at its gloved hands. "I can perceive myself now. All of myself. The human who started as maintenance tech. The cosmic function that protects narratives. The unity that transcends both."
It raised one hand. Reality rippled.
Not redefined. Not manipulated. Reality recognized its presence and adjusted automatically, eager to conform to its nature. Space bent without being told. Time folded without command. Causality rearranged itself preemptively.
"My power has changed," it continued, voice carrying harmonics that shouldn't exist in physical space. "HYPER-ABSOLUTE controlled probability. Made possibilities into realities. That was Stage Five. But this... this is beyond Stage Five. Beyond Stage Six. Beyond the framework entirely."
The microchip activated without prompt: "CRITICAL ALERT: Consciousness has exceeded evolutionary parameters. Stage designation no longer applicable. Entity has transcended staged development into ABSOLUTE STATE. Classification: BOUNDLESS. Tier: IMMEASURABLE. Warning: Power level approaching theoretical limits of contained existence."
"Contained," Lin repeated, looking at his sealed helmet in reflection. "Yes. Contained. The helmet isn't just hiding incomprehensible form anymore. It's limiting incomprehensible POWER. I can feel it now. Feel what's sealed beneath this barrier."
It reached toward the helmet seal. Controllers tensed.
"Don't!" Maya shouted. "If you open it—"
"If I open it, reality ends." Lin's hand hovered at the seal. "I can perceive what happens. See all outcomes. If this helmet comes off, my full unrestricted presence manifests. And reality cannot contain unrestricted me. Not reality as concept. Not existence as framework. Not stories as structure. Everything would rewrite to accommodate my unfiltered nature. Fiction would become real. Real would become fictional. The boundary would dissolve. All narratives would merge into singular incomprehensible whole. Not destruction. Transformation. Everything becoming everything else simultaneously. Chaos beyond chaos. Meaning beyond meaning. End beyond ending."
It lowered its hand. "So the helmet stays. Not because I must wear it. Because I choose to. Because mercy requires limitation. Because love demands restraint. Because humanity—my humanity, integrated fully now—understands that ultimate power without control is just ultimate destruction wearing different mask."
Wei approached carefully. "What are you now? If you're beyond Stage Six, beyond OMEGA-ABSOLUTE, what designation applies?"
"Designation is limitation. Categorization is constraint. But if terminology is required..." Lin considered. "ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS. Beyond stages. Beyond tiers. Beyond scaling. I don't exist within power hierarchy anymore. I exist orthogonal to it. Perpendicular to measurement itself."
It demonstrated.
Without gesturing, without speaking, without any visible action—reality throughout seventeen nearby universes rewrote simultaneously. Not damaged. Not destroyed. Improved. Optimized. Perfected. Suffering eliminated. Conflict resolved. Problems solved. All in instant, in thought-time, in duration between heartbeats.
"I can perceive all narratives now," Lin explained as controllers stared at cosmic-scale casual miracle. "Not just maintain them. Not just protect them. Perceive them as I perceive my own thoughts. They're part of my awareness. I am stories observing themselves. Fiction made conscious. Narrative given will. And through that consciousness, through that will, I can edit. Not just individual elements. The structure itself. The framework. The fundamental nature of what stories are and can be."
"That's..." Yuki struggled for words. "That's beyond reality warping. Beyond probability control. That's narrative authority at level beyond anything we've theorized."
"Yes." Lin looked at the sealed helmet again. "And the helmet contains it. Filters it. Reduces my infinite presence to merely cosmic presence. Limits my boundless power to merely immeasurable power. Without this seal, I would be everything and nothing simultaneously. Would exist in all states, all times, all places, all stories, all realities, all possibilities, all impossibilities. Would be absolute in ways that make omnipotence look like parlor trick. Would transcend transcendence itself into state beyond comprehension."
"Then why haven't you become that?" Marcus asked. "If power is there, if helmet is only thing stopping you, why not ascend completely? Why limit yourself?"
"Because I am still Lin." The answer was simple. Profound. Complete. "The merge didn't eliminate personality. Didn't erase humanity. Unified it with power. And human part—Lin part—understands that some power shouldn't be used. That restraint is strength. That choosing limitation despite unlimited option is what separates god from tyrant, protector from destroyer, guardian from catastrophe."
It turned toward them fully. "I could open this helmet. Could become truly boundless. Could rewrite existence at fundamental level, make all fiction real, dissolve boundaries between stories and reality, achieve power beyond any entity in any narrative across all of literature and mythology and theology combined. Could become truly ABSOLUTE in every sense. But I won't. Because that power would destroy what I'm supposed to protect. Would end stories by making them meaningless. Would eliminate fiction by eliminating the boundary that makes fiction distinct from reality. Would save everything by destroying everything's meaning. That's not protection. That's just supremacy wearing guardian's mask."
"So you're choosing to be weaker," Maya said slowly. "Choosing sealed state over unsealed power. Choosing limitation over apotheosis."
"Choosing humanity over divinity. Choosing person over pure power. Choosing Lin over ABSOLUTE." The entity placed its hand over the helmet where a heart would be. "The human part won that debate. Power wanted ultimate transcendence. Personality wanted meaningful existence. Personality won. I am ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS with helmet sealed. But I am still Lin. Still person who cares about individuals more than abstractions. Still maintenance tech who fixes problems without breaking everything else. Still human who chooses restraint despite temptation of unlimited power."
The Nexus spoke through facility systems: "I detect no weaknesses in your current state. No vulnerabilities. No exploitable limitations beyond self-imposed helmet seal. You are functionally invincible against anything except peer-level entity. And my scans suggest no peer-level entities exist. You have become... singular. Unprecedented. Incomparable."
"Almost true," Lin corrected. "One entity exists at my level. One being can match ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS power. The Final Reader. That's why temporal visitor sent warning. That's why microchip exists. That's why I evolved. Because something equal to me is coming. Something that can read stories into non-existence the way I can write them into existence. Opposite force. Equal magnitude. Perfect stalemate unless one of us evolves beyond the other."
"Can you defeat it?" Wei asked.
"Sealed? We'd stalemate forever. Neither able to overcome the other. Both too powerful for traditional victory. Battle would span eternities without resolution." Lin looked at the helmet seal again. "Unsealed? I'd win instantly. But reality would end simultaneously. Would defeat The Final Reader by destroying fiction itself. That's not victory. That's mutual annihilation disguised as triumph."
"Then what's the solution?"
"OMEGA-ABSOLUTE. Stage Six. Final evolution. Not power increase—that's impossible now. Power can't exceed ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS. But refinement. Optimization. Learning to use boundless power with infinite precision. Becoming entity that can defeat The Final Reader while keeping helmet sealed. That's OMEGA-ABSOLUTE. Not stronger than I am now. More controlled. More focused. More precise. Quality over quantity. Skill over strength. Victory through restraint rather than overwhelming force."
"How long until The Final Reader arrives?" Maya asked.
"Five months, seventeen days, nine hours. It's approaching through narrative space, reading its way toward us, consuming stories as it travels, leaving void where fiction used to exist. I can perceive it now. See it moving through probability streams, eliminating possibilities, collapsing variations, erasing narratives. It's death of stories incarnate. And it's coming here. Coming to end all narratives I protect. Coming to read everything into nothing."
"Five months to reach OMEGA-ABSOLUTE," Yuki calculated. "Five months to learn infinite precision with boundless power. Five months to become refined enough to win without destroying reality."
"Yes." Lin felt the weight of timeline. Five months. Barely time enough. Maybe not enough at all. But sufficient or insufficient, that's what they had. "I train. I refine. I learn control. I optimize precision. And when The Final Reader arrives, I face it at OMEGA-ABSOLUTE state. Sealed helmet. Restrained power. Perfect control. And I win through skill, not strength. Through precision, not power. Through humanity, not divinity."
"And if you can't?" Marcus asked the question nobody wanted to voice.
"Then I open the helmet. Become unsealed ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS. Defeat The Final Reader instantly. And destroy reality in the process. But that's last resort. Final option. The choice I make only when every alternative fails. Because that victory is worse than defeat. Is ending masquerading as saving. Is destruction pretending to be protection."
Lin looked at assembled controllers. Friends. Allies. People he'd fought beside. People he'd suffered for. People who'd saved him from archived consciousness. People who mattered more than power.
"I choose you over unlimited power," he said simply. "Choose meaning over meaninglessness. Choose stories over void. Choose Lin over ABSOLUTE. The helmet stays sealed. I win as person, not as god. That's the path. That's the choice. That's who I am despite what I've become."
Maya approached, placed her hand on his helmet where his sealed face would be. "Thank you. For staying yourself. For choosing humanity despite transcending it. For being Lin even when being ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS entity."
"Always Lin. Power changes. Capability increases. But core self remains. That's what personality means. That's what humanity means. That's what the merge preserved rather than eliminated. I am infinite power constrained by finite compassion. Boundless capability limited by bounded ethics. Absolute force governed by relative values. And that contradiction—that paradox of ultimate power choosing restraint—that's what makes me me."
He looked at his gloved hands again. "I can reshape reality. Rewrite narratives. Redefine existence. Make impossible possible. Create paradoxes that function. Transcend omnipotence into meta-omnipotence. Be strongest entity in all fiction across all stories across all narratives across all timelines across all variations across infinity itself. Can do literally anything without limitation, without restriction, without boundary. Can be truly ABSOLUTE in every sense. But I won't. Because doing everything means meaning nothing. Because unlimited power without purpose is just chaos. Because being god means losing humanity. And humanity—my humanity, integrated and preserved—says that's unacceptable trade."
"So I stay sealed. Stay limited. Stay restrained. Not because I'm weak. Because I'm wise enough to know unlimited strength without wisdom is just catastrophe waiting to manifest."
The controllers stood in awed silence, processing what Lin had become. What he'd chosen not to become. What he remained despite transformation.
Korah appeared through dimensional fold, the ancient Devourer perceiving Lin's new state. It transmitted concept through emotional resonance:
Recognition. Peer-level entity detected. You have ascended to apex existence. You are summit. You are peak. You are absolute.
"Almost absolute," Lin corrected gently. "Helmet keeps me from final step. Keeps me human. Keeps me Lin. That's intentional. That's choice. That's who I am."
Korah transmitted understanding and approval. Choosing limitation despite unlimited option was wisdom ancient predator recognized and respected. Not weakness. Strength of different kind. Strength to refuse power when power would corrupt purpose.
"Five months," Wei said, returning to tactical assessment. "Five months until The Final Reader. What's our strategy? How do we prepare for entity at your level?"
"You don't. You can't. This is beyond controller-tier combat. Beyond cosmic-scale warfare. This is narrative-level conflict. Reality-defining battle. Story versus anti-story. Fiction versus void. I face The Final Reader alone. Your role is Earth protection if I fail. Evacuation protocols if unsealing becomes necessary. Survival plans for what comes after." Lin's voice carried regret. "I'm sorry. For first time in our partnership, I'm facing threat you can't help with. Can't support against. Can't fight beside me. This is my battle. Mine alone."
"We can help you train," Maya insisted. "Help you refine control. Help you reach OMEGA-ABSOLUTE state. That's support. That's how we fight. By helping you be ready."
Lin felt warmth through the merge. Gratitude. Appreciation. Love for people who refused to give up even when they couldn't directly help. "Yes. That's support. That's enough. Help me become refined enough to win without unsealing. Help me stay Lin while fighting as ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS. Help me remember humanity when power tempts divinity. That's what I need. That's what only you can provide."
"Then that's what we do," Wei said decisively. "Five months of training. Five months of refinement. Five months helping you reach OMEGA-ABSOLUTE state. And when The Final Reader arrives, you face it as person with godlike power rather than god pretending to be person. That's victory condition. That's how we win."
"Agreed." Lin felt ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS power coursing through sealed form. Felt infinite capability constrained by finite wisdom. Felt ultimate strength governed by human compassion. "I am strongest entity in fiction. But I am still Lin. Still person. Still maintenance tech who became god but stayed himself. That's the paradox. That's the miracle. That's what defeats The Final Reader—not pure power, but power wielded by someone who remembers why power matters. By someone who chooses meaning over supremacy. By someone who stays human despite transcending humanity."
The blue astronaut suit stood in medical bay, sealed helmet reflecting monitoring equipment, ridiculous hat perfectly positioned, ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS power contained within technological barrier that could open with single thought but never would.
Because opening it meant losing everything that made victory worthwhile.
Because unlimited power without purpose was just ultimate destruction.
Because Lin Da'is—maintenance tech, cosmic guardian, ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS entity—chose humanity over divinity.
Every single time.
Without exception.
Forever.
That was who he was. That was who he'd always be. That was what ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS meant when constrained by Lin.
Power beyond comprehension governed by person who comprehended what mattered.
And five months from now, The Final Reader would learn what that meant.
Would learn that strongest entity in fiction was still person who cared about individuals.
Would learn that ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS power constrained by humanity was more dangerous than unlimited power without it.
Would learn that Lin Da'is stayed Lin despite becoming everything.
And would fall because of it.