That mattered more.
He activated Protocol and Reflection simultaneously.
The world fell away.
The fight replayed in his mind with brutal clarity. Not as memory, but as data. Every frame
slowed, isolated, dissected. Every Aether Step, every Nova Spark, every micro-adjustment of
space. He saw the moments where his reactions had been optimal—and the moments where
they hadn't.
He analyzed angles.
Timing.
Mana expenditure.
The point where he'd assumed the core was singular. The moment that assumption had cost
him time. The hesitation—brief, but present—when the aura had surged instead of dissipating.
He rewound again.
The cave.
The way the monster had manipulated its body.
Mass. Structure. Conversion.
He focused on the conversion again. The realization that the core hadn't been a command
center but a function. A processor. A node in a larger system. He'd adapted fast, but not fast
enough to prevent the escalation that followed.
He noted it.
Filed it.
Corrected it.
