The Heart of the Lotus
Author: F.J. Wilder
last update2026-05-25 16:49:16

Deep Space. The Perseus Arm. The Cradle.

Time: 4 Months, 1 Day Post-Architect Defeat.

The central spire of the Cradle was, without exaggeration, a First Epoch engineering marvel. A towering needle of woven bio-steel and glowing crystal that literally speared the sky and kept reaching toward the suspended blue-white dwarf star.

Now it was a slow, decaying staircase into hell.

Ethan sprinted up the massive spiraling crystalline steps. His lungs burned, drawing in that thinning ozone-heavy air, li
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