Pain.Not physical. Dimensional. The kind of agony that existed across seventeen realities simultaneously.Marcus felt the river anchor tear away from his existence. Felt the connection that had saved his life dissolve. Felt power drain from him like water through broken fingers.And felt the resonance stop.The amplification that had threatened three billion lives collapsed. The feedback loop severed. The new barrier stabilized.Marcus fell to his knees. Single-anchored now. Only Helena remained. One connection instead of two. Half the strength. Half the stability.Through the resonance bond, he felt Lydia scream. Not audibly. Dimensionally. The bond was fracturing. Breaking. The connection between them unraveling as one of his two anchors disappeared."Marcus!" Lydia dropped beside him. Grabbed his shoulders. "Can you hear me?"He could. But her voice sounded distant. Muffled. Like she was speaking from the other side of a barrier.The resonance bond was still there. But barely. Wea

The crisis came during activation of section theta.Nine sections complete. Thirty-three remaining. Progress steady. Casualties within acceptable parameters. Everything proceeding according to plan.Then the dimensional rift opened in the middle of the activation chamber.Not Zara's controlled rift. Not a planned arrival. Something violent. Forced. Twelve figures stepped through.Divine beings. But not from Carven's faction or the Concordat. These wore different symbols. Different colors. Dimensional signatures Marcus did not recognize."Stop the activation," the lead figure commanded. Female. Middle-aged. Radiating authority. "By order of the Divine Council, this unauthorized dimensional modification is prohibited."Zara stepped forward. "The Council approved this transition. We have documentation.""You have approval from a corrupt minority. The legitimate Council has voted to revoke authorization. This transition violates convergence preservation protocols."Marcus extended his lim

Section alpha-omega activation was scheduled for three days later.The second-to-last section. Between the ninth and tenth realms. One of the most critical barriers in the convergence structure. If this succeeded, only section omega remained.Marcus reviewed preparations obsessively. Checked calculations. Verified procedures. Looked for any variable he might have missed.He found nothing. Everything was perfect. Which made him more nervous, not less."You are worrying," Lydia observed. She had taken to sitting with him during preparation reviews. Not helping directly. Just present."Perfect preparation makes me suspicious. In my experience, perfection usually means I am missing something.""Or it means preparation is actually sufficient.""That would be a first."Through the weakened bond, Marcus felt her amusement. Faint but there. Three months of rebuilding had strengthened the connection incrementally. Still nothing like what they had lost. But better than silence.The morning of a

Marcus woke to sunlight streaming through the window.For a moment, he felt disoriented. No emergency. No crisis. No dimensional instability requiring immediate response. Just morning. Normal, peaceful morning.It felt wrong.He rose. Dressed. Went to his study. Found correspondence waiting. Routine administrative matters. Trade agreements. Diplomatic requests. The mundane business of governance.Nothing urgent. Nothing requiring his unique capabilities. Just normal work that any competent administrator could handle.Marcus stared at the documents. Felt the emptiness return. The hollowness that had started at the omega celebration.Lydia entered. "You did not come to breakfast.""I was not hungry.""You need to eat. Maintaining dimensional resonance requires energy.""I am single-anchored. My resonance requirements are minimal."Lydia sat across from him. "What is wrong?""Nothing. Everything is fine. The convergence is stable. The crisis is over. I should be relieved.""But you are n

The first convergence-wide integration summit was scheduled for three months after Marcus accepted Carven's partnership.Representatives from all seventeen realms. Neutral location in the fifth realm.Marcus spent weeks preparing. Understanding each realm's interests. Identifying common ground.Lydia helped. Her observatory experience gave insights into dimensional stability concerns. Her political instincts identified which representatives would support integration."The ninth realm will oppose anything resembling unified governance," Lydia said. "They will see integration as betrayal of their independence struggle.""Then we propose trade facilitation. Cultural exchange. Things that benefit them without threatening sovereignty.""That is manipulation.""That is diplomacy. Meeting people where they are."Diana entered. "The first realm delegation is prepared. I will lead it since you are attending as convergence coordinator, not realm representative.""Any concerns?" Marcus asked."S