The ruins were silent after the surge. What once blazed with light now lay in dim stillness, the last traces of starlight fading across fractured glass. Rian stood at the center, his breathing slow but steady, as if the energy had drained something far deeper than strength.Lyra watched from a few steps away. Her visor flickered, static dancing across its surface before fading entirely. The entire network was down, communications, scans, even time-synchronization. The chamber had become a blind spot in the world.“You really broke it,” she murmured.Rian glanced at his palm. Faint golden patterns still pulsed beneath his skin, fading slower than before. “No,” he said quietly. “I woke it up.”Above them, fragments of the shattered crystal drifted like dust in a beam of light. They shimmered briefly before dissolving, leaving only darkness and the faint hum of the old world beneath their feet.Lyra stepped closer. “You just triggered a protocol that predates the Nexus itself. Do you eve

The air was different here, thin, electric, and strangely alive. I’m starting to think I can feel the past.Ren stood motionless at the center of the ruin, his breath shallow as faint streams of light flowed beneath the cracked marble floor. The ruins whispered, carrying echoes of a forgotten age that tugged faintly at the edge of his thoughts. Above, the sky stretched like an endless sea of constellations, but these stars moved, sliding across the heavens to form fleeting runes that burned and vanished in the same heartbeat. I’m starting to think this place is rewriting itself.Lyra walked a few steps ahead, her boots echoing softly against the marble. Her resonance shimmered faintly along her shoulders, silver light trailing behind her like mist. “It’s really here,” she breathed. “The Star Citadel, the heart of the ancient Sovereigns.” Her eyes reflected the shifting stars, wide and awed. I’m starting to think we’ve found something sacred.Ren’s gaze swept across the courtyard, wher

The world broke apart in silence.When the light finally receded, Ren and Lyra stood on a plain of silver dust beneath a fractured sky. The air shimmered faintly with the aftertaste of battle, starlight and ash mingling as if even creation itself was catching its breath.Ren’s steps left faint trails of gold across the ground. Each pulse from his chest echoed with fragments of the Citadel’s fading resonance. He could still feel the weight of what had been lost. I’m starting to think we’ve crossed a boundary we can’t return from.Lyra turned slowly, her eyes wide as the horizon shifted. Towering shards of crystal hung in the sky, suspended by unseen gravity. Fragments of entire worlds reflected within them, cities, oceans, and constellations that no longer existed. “It’s like… memory turned inside out,” she whispered.Ren nodded faintly. “The Astral Verge connects everything that’s ever existed… but it’s broken. Just like us.”He touched the edge of a floating shard, and images rippled

The forest was alive with whispers. I'm starting to think it's watching us.The silver mist coiled through the twisted roots like living veins, curling and thickening with every step they took. Moonlight filtered through the canopy in broken shards, casting moving patterns that seemed almost alive. Every rustle of leaves, every snapping twig felt deliberate, as though the trees themselves were conspiring to reveal them. Lyra shivered, not just from the cold, but from the sense that something unseen was moving with them. I'm starting to think the forest remembers more than it should.Ren moved ahead, his golden aura a faint shimmer against the darkness, illuminating the edges of the path through the spectral woods. His hand brushed Lyra’s wrist, guiding her around roots that threatened to trip them. She followed silently, trusting him even as every instinct screamed to run faster. I'm starting to think I can't imagine moving without him.Behind them, the faint clatter of armor carried

The forest stretched endlessly around them, shadows twisting beneath the pale glow of the rising moon. Every rustle of leaves, every sigh of wind sounded sharper after their narrow escape. The night felt alive, almost sentient, pressing against them with unseen eyes. I'm starting to think the night is a character of its own, watching their every step.By the time they found the cave, darkness had claimed the sky entirely. The air was thick with the scent of wet moss and earth, the quiet refuge hidden among twisted roots of ancient trees. A fragile sense of safety settled over them. I'm starting to think we've found a sanctuary, though the shadows still whispered warnings.Ren ducked inside first, scanning the darkness with sharp, practiced eyes before motioning Lyra in."It's deep enough. We can rest here," he said, voice low, steady, betraying none of the exhaustion that weighed on him.Lyra stepped cautiously, boots squelching against the wet ground. The cave was small, just enough