Kaelen's hands hovered above the plaza, the air shimmering with faint blue threads of Aetron Energy. Every movement, every twitch of a finger, reshaped the space around him. Light bent unnaturally. Shadows fractured into multiple paths, each echoing a possibility he had yet to step into.
He flexed his legs, feeling the ground beneath him resist then yield. With a subtle push, he lifted, not just off the stone, but slightly above the plane of reality itself. His body moved in ways impossible to measure, partially slipping between the known dimensions.
Seris blinked. "Kaelen… how are you doing that?"
He didn't answer. He couldn't explain it yet. He was discovering it himself. Each movement sent tiny ripples across the Aetronic lattice, invisible lines connecting him to fragments of the plaza, the debris, even the distant clouds. His body and mind were beginning to operate in sync with the Fourth Layer.
The Forge pulsed inside his mind.
"Observation: Cortex adapting faster than predicted. Partial 4D integration detected. Suggest experimental expansion in controlled vector."
Kaelen nodded. He extended both hands, and a series of shattered concrete slabs rose around him. With a thought, he twisted their paths, weaving them together into a lattice of intersecting planes. The fragments moved independently yet harmonized perfectly, creating a floating structure that defied any conventional law of physics.
Lyra stepped closer, her voice low. "You're… building something… alive?"
Kaelen shook his head. "Not alive. Responsive. The Fourth Layer recognizes patterns, responses. That's all this is. But… it listens."
The Titans above shifted slightly, a harmonic pulse running through the atmosphere. Kaelen felt it as a pressure against the lattice he was creating. They weren't intervening, but their awareness pressed against him, curious, cautious, almost like… mentorship.
He took a deep breath and experimented further. He willed a small boulder to move along multiple intersecting vectors simultaneously. Its path curved, folded, then flicked sideways in a motion that shouldn't exist in 3D. His body followed instinctively, his muscles moving with predictive precision.
For the first time, he realized: he didn't need the distortion tools anymore. The Cortex, his body, and the Forge combined to bend reality. Not fully, not yet, but enough to begin understanding the lattice of possibility itself.
The Forge whispered once more:
"Full integration of partial 4D awareness will require recalibration of physical cortex interface. Risk: dimensional recoil or neurological feedback."
Kaelen's lips pressed into a thin line. "Then we do it slowly. One step at a time."
Far above, the Fractal Armada's arcs shifted again, spiraling subtly toward an invisible axis. Kaelen felt the pull, not force, not gravity, but significance. They recognized the change. Something in his presence resonated across layers.
He flexed his fingers, and the lattice above the plaza shimmered. Shadows fractured into even more threads, light splitting into impossible angles. The city itself seemed to hesitate, aware that something new had awakened.
Lyra's voice broke the silence: "Kaelen… if you keep going… what happens next?"
He didn't answer immediately. His eyes tracked the floating lattice, then flicked toward the sky. The Titans, still unmoving, their massive forms cutting across Neptune's clouds, were measuring him. Observing. Learning.
And the Forge inside him pulsed with quiet excitement.
"Warning: external entities monitoring. Alignment with Fulcrum signature continues. Recalibration recommended to maintain stability."
Kaelen exhaled slowly. "I'm ready. Whatever comes next, I need to be able to control it myself."
The blue light beneath his skin intensified, spreading like veins across his body. His hands glowed as he made a subtle adjustment, and the lattice responded instantly, folding, spinning, stretching across dimensions he could almost perceive.
Aetron Energy pulsed.
And the Fulcrum's influence was growing.
Kaelen exhaled, letting the lattice of Aetronic threads settle. The plaza was quiet for a heartbeat, but it wasn't calm. Energy hung in the air, shimmering faintly, bending light and shadow along invisible lines.
"They're coming," the Forge whispered, its voice calm but layered with calculation.
Kaelen didn't move yet. He let his senses stretch outward, feeling the patterns of the incoming units like a subtle vibration beneath his skin. Small silver arcs appeared beyond the horizon, Fractal Armada scouts, glinting as they sliced through Neptune's cloud cover.
Lyra's hand found his arm. "Kaelen… are you ready for this?"
He looked at her, eyes sharp, the blue veins along his skin pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. "I've been waiting," he said, almost quietly, but every word carried weight.
The first wave dropped into the plaza. Metallic bodies moving faster than any human eye could track. They struck simultaneously, but Kaelen's muscles and mind reacted in unison.
"Cortex fully responsive," the Forge said. "Engage. Physical + Aetronic coordination optimized."
Kaelen moved as one, hands weaving arcs of energy that bent the first attackers out of position, legs striking in unpredictable patterns, body phasing just slightly to avoid solid impact. Each contact siphoned energy from the units, feeding his own aura.
A scout lunged at him, claws reaching to tear him apart. Kaelen twisted mid-air, spinning along a path that seemed impossible, and slammed a palm into its chest. The unit shattered along multiple vectors, energy snapping back into him like a storm feeding a river.
"Optimal absorption achieved. Aura amplification confirmed," the Forge noted.
Kaelen didn't pause to celebrate. Another wave came, faster, heavier, more precise. He dodged, blocked, and struck, the battlefield bending under his presence. Pieces of debris lifted, twisting along impossible angles as he used them to counterattack.
A sudden shimmer at the edge of the plaza caught his attention. A semi-transparent form, one of the Fourth-Dimensional beings he had sensed before, intertwined with the battlefield. Its movements weren't random; they flowed along vectors Kaelen could barely perceive.
"Partial 4D interference detected," the Forge said. "Adjust phase trajectory."
Kaelen's body responded instinctively. His legs pivoted mid-air, phasing along higher-dimensional threads. He struck the being with a precision strike, feeling the resistance of a plane that didn't exist in 3D. The energy released pulsed back into him, and he felt his aura thrum stronger than ever.
Lyra shouted from the sidelines, "Kaelen! It's… it's not even touching you!"
He barely glanced at her. "Let it try," he muttered. His focus was absolute, his mind and body working with the Forge as a single entity. Every movement harvested energy, every strike calculated, every dodge predicted.
Above, the Titans shifted in unison, their massive forms casting shadows over the plaza. Kaelen felt their awareness brush against him like a weight, judging, measuring, noting his growing presence in the system.
"They're watching more closely now," the Forge said. "Continue. Engagement efficiency critical for progression."
Kaelen's hands glowed brighter. Energy arcs folded along themselves as he moved, striking multiple units simultaneously, phasing through attacks and retaliating with surgical precision. He didn't hesitate, didn't falter, didn't look away.
By the time the last unit fell, the plaza was a lattice of debris, energy trails, and scorched marks. Kaelen stood in the center, chest rising and falling, aura shimmering coldly, ruthlessly. He didn't smile nor did he speak. He simply exhaled.
And the Fourth-Dimensional being… paused, watching him, silent but unmistakably aware.