The sky rippled violently, as if reality itself was resisting the emergence of the Shard. It wasn't a creature, or even a machine. It was a scar — the physical embodiment of every corrupted decision, every failed cycle, every echo that ended in ruin.
It moved with eerie grace, hovering above the Nexus Tower's foundation, leaking fragments of forgotten timelines like black snow.
Selin's voice trembled.
"It's feeding off discarded futures…"
The Architect stepped forward, forming protective sigils in the air — golden glyphs of an ancient language even Rotham couldn't decipher.
"This is Oblivion's spawn. A remnant left behind by those who consumed cycles, not just observed them."
The Shard spoke — in every voice Rotham had ever heard, and a thousand he hadn't.
"You tore the wheel. We starve now, Creator. We come to feed again."
Rotham's hand reached instinctively for the Seed — but it was no longer a weapon. It had fulfilled its purpose. He turned to Selin.
"Can the Nexus defend against something like this?"
She shook her head.
"Not alone. But if you bond with it... it might amplify you."
Rotham inhaled deeply, then placed his palm on the tower's core.
A surge of resonance exploded outward.
The Nexus responded — rewriting the air, reshaping gravity, casting a barrier of luminous thought around the land. It wasn't just energy.
It was will.
The Shard struck.
Reality shattered, then reformed in layers as the Nexus fought back.
Rotham stood at the center of it all — mind merging with the tower, the Architect stabilizing the rift, Selin guiding the pathways.
And in that moment, Rotham saw it:A vast, devouring force behind the Shard — the Null Father, a being ancient even before the cycles.
This was no longer a single threat.
This was a war of extinction.
And he had just fired the first shot.