The pillar of unlicensed power bored straight through Vex's furnace, ripping fissures across its chest like a hostile audit tearing through forged books.
The golden wheel spun wildly, sparks cascading into the void as logos burned and slogans dissolved into incoherent static.
For the first time, the abomination faltered.
Its voice cracked, no longer the steady drone of eternal authority but a glitching press release:
"ERROR… ERROR… BRAND INTEGRITY COMPROMI—"
Fenric didn't wait.
He strode forward, silver eyes like twin lances, his voice dripping with command.
"Push harder. Don't let it reboot."
Aria screamed, ripping fresh glyphs into her grimoire. The parchment bled green fire as glyphs blossomed into a forest of impossible vines, spiraling into thorns that refused symmetry. They stabbed into Vex's wounds, prying open fractures in its chest.
