The battlefield was fracturing. Not in land, not in stone—but in reality itself.
Alyen's attacks weren't just physical—they bent rules, reversed gravity, inverted causality. Every strike broke something deeper than flesh. Our weapons misfired. Magic loops backfired. Even thought warped the moment it formed.
"We can't win like this," Elira gasped, stabilizing a pocket of twisted wind that had become frozen lightning.
"We won't beat him out here," I agreed. "I have to go inside."
"Into his mind?" Vaerion hissed. "You'll be devoured."
"He's still in there. I know it."
"And what if he isn't?" Elira asked.
"Then I'll find whatever's left… and bury it with honor."
I activated the Mind-Splice Protocol—a forbidden system function that hadn't even been tested. A direct psychic link to a compromised host of a Precursor Entity was suicide.
But I had to try.
System Warning: Entering Host-Conduit Interface
Host: Alyen Zaehr (Ω-Class Infected)
Conscious Risk: Memory Corruption / Identity Loss / Non-return
Proceed?
[Yes] ✅
Darkness. Then... wind chimes.
I stood on a beach I knew wasn't real.
The sun hung still in the sky, and waves rolled in reverse.
There, a boy sat in the sand. Ten years old. Thin. Dirty. Eyes full of hope and fear.
"Jaden?" he said, voice small.
"Alyen."
He smiled—but something was wrong.
The sun blinked.
"You left me. When the door closed. You were supposed to pull me out."
"I tried. The portal collapsed."
"They showed me what you became. A prince. A god. A builder of empires."
He looked down.
"They showed me what I became too."
The child flickered—and in his place stood a shadow version of Alyen. His armor shimmered with embedded memories: his father's death, our first hunt, the academy trials… and his disappearance.
"They made me into a weapon."
The Mindscape trembled. Broken shards of memory swirled into walls, towers, inverted cities of regret and rage.
And deep beneath them, I felt it:
The Seed.
A fragment of Alyen's true self, buried, screaming for help.
"Alyen!" I roared. "Fight them! Remember who you are!"
"I remember," he said, raising a sword of frozen emotion.
"I remember you abandoned me."
He lunged.
Our blades clashed—not with sparks, but with moments. Every blow opened memories: the laughter of our youth, the blood spilled in trials, our shared oath to protect Kalenos.
Then I saw it—
A weakness in his defense.
Not a flaw in combat.
But a fracture in his soul.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I failed you."
I dropped my sword.
And offered my hand.
System Interface Override: Host Core Stabilization Attempt in Progress...
Injecting Anchor Memory… Success
"The Night We Shared the Bread of Promise"
Emotional Resonance Spiking… 89%... 96%...
WARNING: Conduit Retaliating—
Suddenly the sky shattered, and I was yanked backward—vomited out of the psychic world by a scream that tore across all channels.
Alyen had collapsed.
His armor cracked.
The Precursor's control was weakening.
"You reached him," Elira said, stunned.
"Not enough," I muttered. "He's still fighting it."
"But now he's not alone," said Vaerion quietly.
System Update:
Host Alyen Zaehr – Status: Unstable | Control: 67% Precursor / 33% Self
New Ability Unlocked: Soul-Anchor Link (Unique)
Trait Gained: Guardian's Grief – Your pain empowers your allies. Your regrets fuel your resolve.
Next Synchronization Opportunity in 12 Hours
I stood over him as the battlefield trembled from Precursor reinforcements piercing through the Tear.
"We're running out of time," I said.
"Then we buy more," Elira replied.
"With what?"
"With everything."