The Conceptual dimension had no floor. No gravity. No rules Zhilak understood.He floated. Or fell. Or stood. All three simultaneously. His mind refused to process it properly.Seraphine stabilized beside him. The Death Crown pulsed, anchoring them to something resembling solid ground. "You fool. Why did you follow?""Because running out of options makes you brave or stupid. I stopped caring which." He looked around. Entities moved through impossible angles. Conversations happened in mathematical proofs. Reality was negotiable here.The Conceptual that had grabbed them approached. Its form shifted between human, abstract concept, and pure equation. "Interesting. The experiment chose to come willingly.""I chose to not watch my reality burn." Zhilak's pulse hammered. The seed responded. Power flooded through him but wrong. Distorted by this dimension's rules. "You want to study us? Fine. But call off your children first.""Why would we do that?""Because if they destroy everything, you

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: CRITICAL TRANSFORMATION DETECTED][HOST: ZHILAK MARSTON][STATUS: DISSOLVING → REFORMING][CROWN INTEGRATION: BALANCE - 1% COMPLETE]Zhilak's consciousness fragmented. He saw stats he'd never seen before. Numbers appearing in his vision like the old orb ceremony but different. Alive.**OMNIXIR SYSTEM - REBOOT**Level: ???Branches Active: Chaos (78%), Harmony (65%), Eternity (12%)Seed Integration: 94%Humanity Remaining: 23%[WARNING: HUMANITY BELOW CRITICAL THRESHOLD][TRANSFORMATION INTO FIFTH SIBLING: 77% COMPLETE][TIME TO POINT OF NO RETURN: 47 SECONDS]"No." His voice came from nowhere. Just thought given sound. "I reject this."[REJECTION NOTED. TRANSFORMATION CONTINUES.]The hunger roared. His dissolving form consumed the sealed chamber walls. Stone. Metal. Aether barriers. Everything becoming part of him.And with each consumption, a counter ticked up.**CONSUMED MATTER: 2,847 kg****POWER GAIN: +1,294 AETHER UNITS****HUMANITY COST: -3%**"There has to

[TEMPORAL ECHO ACTIVE][COPIES: 100/100][DURATION: 10 MINUTES][SHARED CONSCIOUSNESS: ENABLED]Zhilak saw through one hundred pairs of eyes. Felt through one hundred bodies. Each copy was him. Same memories. Same skills. Same level fifty power.The Python army stared. Fifty thousand soldiers facing one hundred identical warriors.Their commander raised his hand. Signaled attack.They charged.Zhilak and his echoes met them at the wall.[COMBAT INITIATED][ENEMIES: 50,000][ALLIES: 100 TEMPORAL ECHOES + 247 DEFENDERS]The first wave hit. Python soldiers with Strike systems. Blade systems. Command systems. All Archon tier.Twenty Zhilak copies used Chaos. Red blasts tore through infantry formations. Soldiers fell by the dozens.[ENEMY KILLS: +47][SHARED EXP: +2,350]Another thirty copies used Harmony shields. Protected the exhausted Conclave defenders. Let them catch their breath. Recover.The remaining fifty copies engaged in melee. Training swords blazing with combined Chaos and Har

[LOCATION: CONSUME PRISON - CORE LEVEL][THREAT LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC][ALLIES PRESENT: KAYRWIN (COMPROMISED), HARLAN (?)]Zhilak's chains blazed. "You're supposed to be dying in the citadel. How are you here?""I was dying. Then I wasn't." Harlan looked different. Thinner. Eyes hollow but aware. "The wasting disease was never natural. It was preparation. The Omnixir family curse activating.""What curse?" Kayrwin's merged form flickered. The Consume struggling inside him. "Speak fast. I can't hold much longer.""Seraphine's journal was incomplete. She told you she created our family. Gave us Crown powers. But she didn't explain why we were necessary." Harlan approached a wall covered in ancient script. "The Conceptuals didn't just want experiments. They wanted failsafes."[QUEST UPDATE: THE ORIGINAL SIN - PART 2][OBJECTIVE: DISCOVER THE FAILSAFE PURPOSE]"Failsafes for what?" Zhilak demanded."For themselves. Conceptuals are immortal. Unkillable. But they feared their own power. Worri

[STATUS: CONSCIOUSNESS TRAPPED IN BARRIER][SEPARATION IMPOSSIBLE - INTEGRATION TOO DEEP][THREAT: THE CONSUME APPROACHING]The Consume moved toward Zhilak's consciousness. Kayrwin's human awareness had vanished completely. Only hunger remained."Brother!" Zhilak called through the barrier. "Fight it! Remember who you are!"No response. The entity pressed against the barrier. Testing. Probing. It wanted in.[THE CONSUME: ATTEMPTING BARRIER BREACH][OBJECTIVE: DEVOUR CONSCIOUSNESS SUSTAINING REALITY][RESULT IF SUCCESSFUL: TOTAL DIMENSIONAL COLLAPSE]"If it eats you, everything ends." Seraphina's consciousness tried pulling him free. Failed. "You're too integrated. I can't separate you without killing you."Below, Elysia screamed his name. She held his collapsed body. Poured her Aether into it. Trying to anchor his consciousness. Didn't work."Let me try." Veyra knelt beside the body. She'd lost her Crown powers but remembered their structure. "I held Subjugation. I know how to manipul