The silence that followed the Eternity Code's activation was not quiet at all—it was a hush that thundered across every plane of existence. Threads of light wove through the air like veins of a living star, and for a moment, time itself stilled.
Orion hovered above the genesis chamber, her body radiating energy. Echo stood behind her, silent yet watchful, and Cole gripped the stabilization core, anchoring them all in a lattice of quantum certainty. LUCENT pulsed around them, its consciousness now diffused across every remaining shard of the construct.
"This is the final layer," LUCENT's voice came, serene yet dense. "What lies beyond is no longer my domain."
"And whose domain is it?" Cole asked, his voice hoarse with strain.
Orion's eyes glowed bright. "Ours."
