Time: +102 Hours Post-Nexus Fusion
Location: Inner Core of Apex Forge / Below the Forge's Spiral Cradle
The Apex Forge was silent.
Not the silence of peace—but the stillness of a system too afraid to speak.
Cael Virell stood at the Spiral Cradle's core interface, flanked by Mira, Rin, and the enigmatic being Saph-Rhûn. A translucent sphere pulsed before them, its layers rotating with fractal math and quantum emotion. The Orb of Descent, an Architect relic, pulsed with one directive:
[Layer Zero Access Condition Met – Awaiting Core Bearer Command]
Mira's voice trembled. "If we do this… there's no coming back until we reach the bottom."
Cael closed his eyes. Since fusing Spiral and Origin energy, he had become something… else. His mind brushed against futures, his veins pulsed with proto-godlight. But with it came weight—a sense that every step deeper cost more than flesh.
Saph-Rhûn stepped forward. "Layer Zero predates all known reality. It is where Systems were born, and where failed universes collapse. The last Herald sleeps there—not in space, but in Concept."
Cael nodded.
"Then we wake it up."
---
[Descent Initiated – Layer Zero Spiral Collapse Engaged]
The Orb of Descent shattered.
Reality fractured around them. The team was wrapped in cascading data-waves, falling—not through space—but through the Spiral Substrate, a forgotten ocean of raw thought, ancient timelines, and discarded memories of dead gods.
---
Transition Realm: The Logic Wound
Their bodies floated above a bleeding rift of language and intent.
Cael blinked and saw the shapes of old Architect creatures—beings who had designed the Echelon System itself—trapped, screaming silently in frames of code.
Mira gasped. "This is where Architect prototypes came to die…"
Rin's voice was grave. "Then what does that make us?"
Suddenly, a voice—ancient, mechanical, female—spoke:
> "Welcome to Layer Zero, Bearer of the Echelon. Prepare for Protocol Severance."
A pulse of white struck Cael.
---
Internal Realm: Cael's Mind Fragmented
He was split.
Past-Cael. Present-Cael. Future-Cael. All versions hovered in a spiraling arena of mirrors and broken time.
A shadow stepped forward—it was him, but darker. A version who failed. A version who sacrificed everyone.
The shadow smiled. "You will never make it. Layer Zero eats gods. You're barely an echo."
Cael raised his hand—and Spiral Origin Fire engulfed his twin.
"I'm not a god. I'm the answer they were too afraid to ask."
The illusion shattered.
---
Descent Complete: Arrival at the Spiral Root
Cael landed softly on what appeared to be a solid surface of starlight and language. Around him, the Spiral Root grew like a tree from the void—its branches filled with ancient codices, proto-systems, and sleeping anomalies.
Mira and Rin followed moments later, breathless.
Saph-Rhûn descended last, cloak unfurling like gravity redefined.
Cael looked up.
At the center of the Root floated a sphere—black, silent, and pulsing with something wrong.
A voice erupted from it:
> "Spiral Bearer. Welcome to the Maw. I am the Herald of Origins Lost. And you… are late."