It stood at the center of the sky.
Not descending, not floating—just being.
No wings. No voice. No face. And yet, it exuded authority beyond comprehension. Reality shivered around it, rippling like a broken reflection. The remnants of the battlefield below quaked beneath its presence. Portals that had begun to close flickered open again, not from their own will—but from its.
The Architect of Oblivion had awakened.
Alaric's voice was barely a whisper. "I've seen it once. Back in Cycle Zero. It didn't fight. It didn't need to. It just… erased."
Kael flared up instinctively, but his fire dimmed without his control. "Why can't I… light up?"
Selene trembled. Her glyphs flickered erratically. "It's a stabilizer. It enforces recursion through presence. The moment it enters a realm, deviation collapses. Systems overwrite reality."
Valerian's hands gripped his sword tighter. "So it's not a fighter."
