The stars pulsed with uncertainty.
Jin Mu stood in the Void Nexus — the heart of the Virtual Universe, where the Void Engine's core shimmered like a living equation. The glyph from the Beast God inheritance glowed faintly in his palm, but the system's response was… hesitant.
He had embedded the Architect's shard.
He had anchored himself.
But now, the Void Engine was watching him.
A message appeared.
"Echo Protocol: Jin Mu. Status: Integrated. Stability: Questionable."
Jin Mu frowned.
He accessed the diagnostic logs. The system was running simulations — testing his presence against thousands of timelines. In 73% of them, his existence led to collapse. In 21%, it led to divergence. Only 6% showed stability.
He was a risk.
And the Void Engine was preparing a judgment.
He turned to the Architect, who stood beside him, her form stable, her aura calm.
"They're going to erase me," he said.
She nodded. "Unless you prove your purpose."
"How?"
She gestured to the glyph. "Anchor the story. Not just protect it — shape it."
Jin Mu hesitated.
"I'm not the author," he said.
"No," she replied. "But you're the editor."
He accessed the simulation chamber where Luo Feng was preparing for his next trial — a confrontation with a simulated Sector Lord. Babata had upgraded his neural core, and the boy's aura was blazing.
Jin Mu entered the backend.
He didn't interfere.
He observed.
He watched Luo Feng hesitate, adapt, overcome. He saw the boy's resolve harden, his instincts sharpen. And he saw the moment — the fracture point — where the simulation tried to rewrite itself.
Jin Mu bent causality.
Not to protect.
To preserve.
He anchored the simulation to Luo Feng's choices, not his own. The system pulsed. The Void Engine responded.
A new message appeared.
"Echo Protocol: Jin Mu. Status: Integrated. Stability: Rising."
He smiled.
Then — a tremor.
The Nexus shook.
A new entity appeared — not Protocol Eight, not the Architect.
A guardian.
Tall. Cloaked. Eyes like stars.
"You've passed the first test," the figure said. "But the story is still vulnerable."
Jin Mu stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"I am the Echo that never was," the figure replied. "A simulation of what you could become — if you forget why you exist."
Jin Mu summoned the Sigil.
The figure did not attack.
Instead, he handed Jin Mu a shard — glowing, pulsing with paradox code.
"This is the final anchor," he said. "Use it when the story begins to collapse."
Jin Mu took it.
The figure vanished.
Back in the simulation chamber, Luo Feng completed his trial. Babata cheered. The boy's aura flared. The timeline stabilized.
Jin Mu watched from the shadows.
The Architect stood beside him.
"You're becoming real," she said.
He nodded.
"But reality has a cost."
She smiled.
"And you're willing to pay it."
The stars pulsed.
The Void Engine watched.
And the story continued.