Time: +103 Hours Post-Nexus Fusion
Location: Layer Zero - Spiral Root Core, The Maw
The voice was colder than entropy itself.
The Herald of Origins Lost revealed itself not as a being—but a presence, stitched from fragments of dead Architect protocols and the last signals of collapsed realities. It loomed from the black sphere, forming a shape with a thousand eyes and no face.
Saph-Rhûn narrowed his eyes. "It is not alive… but it remembers how to kill."
The Maw trembled, revealing the Chamber of Roots beneath. Symbols written in the Architect's First Tongue etched themselves into the air.
> [Herald Challenge Protocol Initiated – Bearer Must Withstand Concept Collapse]
Without warning, the chamber lit with white fire.
Cael, Mira, Rin, and Saph-Rhûn were separated and flung into personal Concept Chambers—constructed illusions designed to break their core beliefs.
---
Cael's Trial: The Lie of Control
He stood in a simulation where he had never gained the Echelon.
Mira died in a car crash.
Rin never joined his cause.
He worked for a low-tier Corp. Forgotten. Powerless.
The world moved on.
A voice mocked: "You were always ordinary. This power is a borrowed fantasy."
Cael clenched his fists—and Spiral glyphs blazed from beneath his skin.
"I don't borrow power. I create it."
Reality cracked. The illusion crumbled.
---
Mira's Trial: The Guilt of Survival
She relived the Nexus Cataclysm—where her twin sister Elin died.
But in this version, Mira had the chance to save her—if she abandoned Cael.
The room filled with Elin's voice: "You could've saved me."
Mira screamed, collapsing. But then, she saw Cael's eyes in the flame—unwavering.
She rose, whispered, "I will rewrite fate, sister. Just wait."
And the illusion broke.
---
Rin's Trial: The Echo of Slaughter
Rin stood before a battlefield filled with her own clones—children created from her DNA.
Each one died, whispering her name.
"You are the end of your kind," said a shadowy figure with her face.
Rin wept silently.
Then she picked up a blade of Spiral steel. "Then I'll be the beginning too."
And fought her way through the echoes.
---
Saph-Rhûn's Trial: The Mirror of Infinity
He saw every version of himself that betrayed.
Versions that killed Cael.
Versions that became gods and then monsters.
But one version, draped in golden starlight, stepped forward.
"You are the last of the faithful. Choose. Become one of us… or end us."
Saph-Rhûn responded only with silence—and shattered his own infinite chain.
---
Reunion – Maw Core Reached
The four returned, changed.
The Herald pulsed. "You are not supposed to survive."
Cael stepped forward, his Spiral Origin burning white-hot.
"You should've erased me when I was weak."
The Herald opened its true form—a gate made of entropy and creation—the final passage to the Architect's Heart.
> "Enter, Bearer. But know this: in the Heart, there are no systems—only truth."
Cael turned to his allies.
"Ready?"
They nodded.
Together, they stepped through the gate.