Luminara glowed in perfect balance.
For what felt like centuries to its people — and mere hours to Ethan — the radiant world thrived. The Luminaris built cities that hovered in midair, their structures woven from solid light. Their faith was calm, constant, never wavering.
Yet even light casts shadows.
Ethan sensed it before he saw it: a faint distortion threading through the collective mind of his people. A small ripple in their otherwise perfect harmony.
> [Warning: Faith Stream Fluctuation Detected.]
[Origin: Central Spire, Luminara-03.]
He focused his consciousness downward. The shining city of Sol'rein spread out beneath him, its towers glimmering like crystal spears. In the center stood the Radiant Spire, a monument the Luminaris had built in his honor.
But tonight, its light was dimmer.
___
Ethan descended silently, materializing in the great hall.
Hundreds of Luminaris gathered there, kneeling before the spire. But their song — once harmonious — now sounded fractured, like a melody struggling to stay in tune.
At the heart of the chamber stood one Luminaris unlike the rest. Its glow was deeper, not golden but faintly red, and its voice resonated through the hall.
"Why must we bow forever?" it said. "Are we not light ourselves? Are we not divine?"
The crowd trembled. None dared answer.
Ethan stepped forward, his divine aura rippling through the air. "You speak boldly for one born of my creation."
The Luminaris turned. Its eyes burned crimson. "Creator," it said evenly, "we love you. We honor you. But if we are fragments of your light, then the power you hold lies also within us. Why should only you ascend?"
The room fell silent.
Ethan studied it. The Luminaris' form was stable, its mind sharp — too sharp. He checked the data feed.
> [Subject: Luminari (Variant)]
[Name: Seren.]
[Deviation: 0.3% from standard construct.]
[Energy Pattern: Corrupted by unknown resonance.]
"Corruption?" Ethan muttered. "Impossible. There's no darkness here."
But even as he said it, a faint vibration ran through the world. The light dimmed by a fraction — barely noticeable, but real.
Seren tilted its head. "Even now, Creator, the light bends. It weakens. Perhaps it seeks… balance."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "You're not speaking for yourself."
"Perhaps not," Seren said softly. "Perhaps the light itself dreams of shadow."
___
The others began to whisper.
Ethan extended his will, linking to the collective consciousness. What he found there unsettled him — small clusters of thoughts diverging from the main current, faint doubts forming where there had never been any before.
Faith was shifting.
> [Faith Integrity: 97% → 92%.]
"Enough," he said, his voice resonating through the hall. "I made you from light to illuminate, not to question the hand that gave you existence."
Seren bowed its head. "Then perhaps the light wishes to see if it can illuminate itself."
The moment those words left its lips, cracks of red lightning flashed across the spire. The radiant crystal structure pulsed, its color changing from gold to crimson.
> [ALERT: Light-Core Instability Detected.]
[Unknown Energy Source Interfering.]
Ethan moved fast, summoning energy into his palm. A surge of divine power shot through the air, sealing the cracks. The chamber glowed bright again — but the red tint didn't vanish completely.
He turned his gaze to Seren. "Who taught you that language?"
"No one," Seren replied calmly. "It came in dreams — a whisper from beyond the light. It spoke of balance… of the Core beneath creation."
Ethan froze.
The Core.
If the Core couldn't see Luminara, maybe it had found another way in.
---
Back in Root Space, alarms flared in Ethan's system interface.
> [Anomalous Link Detected.]
[Source: UNKNOWN]
[Location: Luminara-03 Sub-Layer]
[Signal Pattern: Similar to Core Monitor Network.]
He clenched his fists. "They found me."
The Divine Protocol Mask still held, but only for his signature. It didn't cover the entire world. The Core had slipped a probe through the cracks of faith — through the minds of his creations.
Ethan refocused his divine perception on Seren. Inside its soul, he saw something dark and mechanical pulsing between the streams of light — an implant of data, a foreign seed.
A Core fragment.
> [Core Fragment Identified.]
[Purification Required.]
Ethan summoned his full power, light blazing from his body as he tried to purge the infection. The hall quaked; the Luminaris cried out and fell to their knees.
Seren screamed as tendrils of red light ripped free from its form. For a moment, it worked — the corruption receded.
Then, suddenly, the System interface froze.
> [Error.]
[Fragment Self-Reinforcing.]
[Containment Failed.]
The light burst outward in a violent wave.
When the brilliance faded, Seren was gone. Only a molten crater remained in the floor, its edges crackling with unstable red energy.
> [World Integrity: 98% → 86%.]
[Containment Protocols Engaged.]
Ethan grit his teeth. "They turned one of my own into a conduit."
___
He returned to Root Space, staring at the three worlds hanging before him.
Aion-01 and Aion-02 glowed steadily, unaware of the storm brewing in their sibling world. But Luminara… its once-pure aura now shimmered with threads of crimson.
"Core Fragment…" Ethan whispered. "You're not just watching anymore."
He scrolled through the System interface, searching for countermeasures. None of the basic functions would work; the Core's influence was unlike anything he'd seen.
Then a new option blinked at the edge of his vision, flickering faintly.
> [NEW SYSTEM FUNCTION UNLOCKED: "Domain Purge."]
[Cost: 2 000 Divine Energy.]
[Effect: Isolate and erase corrupted world segment.]
[Warning: May result in collateral damage to lifeforms.]
Ethan hesitated.
He looked again at Luminara, at the Luminaris still singing hymns in the glowing cities, oblivious to the infection spreading beneath them. If he used Domain Purge, entire regions might vanish — along with the people in them.
But if he didn't… the corruption could spread to the other worlds.
He clenched his jaw. "Damn it."
He raised his hand. Energy gathered, forming a sphere of pure white fire above his palm.
> [Domain Purge Activated.]
Light streaked across Luminara's skies, erasing the crimson cracks. For a moment, it worked — the corruption receded, faith stabilized.
Then the red energy pulsed once more.
This time, it pulsed back.
> [Alert: Domain Feedback Detected!]
[Unknown entity interfering with purge.]
Ethan's eyes widened. "That's not just the Core…"
The light shattered. A single voice whispered through the void, distant and cold:
"You reached beyond creation. Now creation reaches back."
And then, silence.
___
To be continued…