The Viceroy saw Elara aim her glowing, unstable arm at the ground and sneered. "A predictable burst of chaos. My field will absorb it."
"He thinks I'm attacking him," Elara murmured. "He's calculating a direct energy absorption proof."
Elara didn't unleash a blast. She executed a controlled, surgical injection from the CEB, forcing a concentrated stream of pure, unquantifiable entropy into the magnetic conduit 15 meters below.
The result was not an explosion, but a localized Data Crisis.
The energy flowing through the transfer node instantly hit an unquantifiable variable. It was chaos in transit. The Viceroy's armor, linked directly to this power flow, immediately registered the incoming data as an Imminent Core Failure event originating from the Leviathan Nexus.
The Viceroy's massive golden armor violently short-circuited.
"ERROR! CORE COMPROMISE! LEVIATHAN FAILURE IMMINENT!" his internal system shrieked, deafening even to Elara.
The Viceroy, driven by the absolute necessity of maintaining his power, didn't hesitate. His attack on Elara immediately dissolved as his entire system, dictated by its programmed Self-Preservation Protocol, diverted 95% of his energy into stabilizing the perceived Leviathan crisis.
The magnetic pressure on Elara and her team vanished. The Viceroy dropped to his knees, his armor sparking violently as his combat systems shut down, pouring all their resources into stabilizing the archaic power flow.
"He's predictable," Elara stated, walking past the convulsing Viceroy. "His data authority is a cage. He can't compute a threat to his source of power because he never accounted for a variable (the Dragon-God Essence) that can precisely mimic a core collapse."
Lira rushed to the exposed power node. "The temporary stabilization is working. His system is in full defense mode. The vault should be accessible—he's shut down the Magnetic Field Recursion to conserve energy."
Thorne and Sira took up position, their raw Foundation Qi creating a perimeter against any recovering Enforcers.
"We move now," Elara ordered. "The Viceroy's crisis mode will only last for eight minutes before his system auto-reboots to a lower-power combat setting. Lira, open the Nexus."
Lira placed her hand on the node and channeled a single, sharp Unmaker Proof. The ground beneath the data tower dissolved, revealing a seamless, circular shaft descending into the earth. The air that rushed up was cool, sterile, and faintly smelled of ozone and deep history.
"The Ouroboros Nexus," Lira whispered. "The Helix's unauthorized basement."
Elara secured the Blade of Temporal Integrity to her hip, the Ledger ready for the next test. "The cure, Orrin's true body, and the truth about the Leviathan. Let's descend.