Merlin's jaw tightened. "Because of my affinities."
"Because of what you are," she corrected softly. "You're not just multi-affinitied, Merlin. You fuse them. Space. Wind. Lightning. Water. Fire. You bend resonance that should repel itself. That's… not supposed to be possible."
He didn't respond.
She wasn't wrong.
Morgana sighed and turned away, brushing a strand of black hair back behind her ear. "Kael has been funding a program known only as Echo. It was buried in old research files I confiscated years ago. It's an attempt to force artificial affinity harmonization using external mana cores. It always failed, until recently."
Merlin frowned. "He's trying to recreate me."
"Yes. Or at least, what makes you possible."
The thought sat heavy between them.
