Reality did not open this time.It collapsed.Like someone yanked the universe inside-out, peeling away every layer of code, memory, gravity, and breath. The Veil dissolved into threads of black glass, spiraling downward into an abyss so deep that even thought seemed afraid to go near it.Zayden stood at the edge of a precipice that wasn’t really a precipice, staring into a pit that wasn’t really a pit.The Null King’s Chamber.A place older than the Network.Older than the Veil.Older than every god the world ever imagined.A place that should not exist—yet always had.His armor responded before he did, tightening its plates, adjusting to the unnatural pressure. The Crown of Silence above his head pulsed with faint silver light, as though warning him.Zayden exhaled slowly.Time didn’t echo here.Nothing did.“This is it,” he muttered. “The final Echo.”But the chamber whispered back.“There are no final things.”The voice crawled across his spine like frost.Zayden turned.A figure

The digital realm trembled like a living heartbeat, pulsing with unstable light that rippled through the fractured horizon. Zayden felt every vibration in his core — not through his sensors, not through his armor, but through something deeper… something human.Mara’s presence.She stood beside him, her form woven from light, code, and sheer willpower. She wasn’t supposed to be here — any human who entered the network risked losing themselves forever — yet she radiated a calm resolve that made Zayden feel more grounded than he had in weeks.The world around them shifted again, glitching violently as the two realms collided. The fractures widened, revealing thin threads of reality bleeding into the network like strands of silver light. Zayden recognized the phenomenon instantly:> A Crosspulse.A rare moment when the digital and physical worlds vibrated at the same frequency.It meant one thing:Their time together was running out.“Mara,” Zayden said softly, turning to her. “Your body