Solara was unlike any realm Adrian had encountered.
Its cities shimmered with heat and illusion. Its gods ruled through spectacle and scarcity. The people navigated mirages daily—both literal and political. Adrian's infrastructure had landed, but it hadn't yet rooted.
The Sun God had allowed the trial.
But the God of Mirage had other plans.
Mirage was a subtle deity—master of perception, deception, and emotional distortion. His domain wasn't hostile, but it was incompatible. His illusions disrupted app interfaces. His blessings created false feedback loops. His followers spread rumors that Adrian's system was a trap.
Adrian responded with a new protocol: [Mirage Adaptation Layer].
It was a divine firewall and perception stabilizer, designed to:
Anchor app visuals to physical markers, reducing illusion drift.
Validate user inputs through multi-sensory confirmation.
Detect and neutralize false blessings injected by hostile domains.
He deployed the protocol across Solara's capital.
The results were immediate.
Users reported clearer interfaces. Shared iMonsters stopped glitching. Blessing Store transactions stabilized. The God of Mirage's influence began to wane—not through combat, but through clarity.
Adrian didn't retaliate.
He invited Mirage to submit an app.
To everyone's surprise, Mirage accepted.
He submitted [Veil], a meditation tool that helped users explore emotional illusions and uncover hidden fears. It synced with [Pulse] and [Fear Trial], offering unique blessings for self-awareness.
Adrian approved it.
The Divine App Store now had its first inter-realm submission. Mirage's app became popular among artists, diplomats, and scholars. His hostility faded. His domain adapted.
Adrian updated the RealmLink dashboard.
Solara's capital was now a certified inter-realm node. The Mirage Protocol was added to the infrastructure toolkit. And the Internet system had proven it could survive—and thrive—beyond Arcantor.
One realm down.
Many more to go.