The Core stopped shaking.
Each line of code froze, as if the world were holding its breath. Then the white noise broke up — transformed into a soft, constant vibration that was felt in every speck of light.
Elaine turned slowly.
An apparition materialized from the gloom, garbed in fractal shadows and flowing glass. His face was not fully rendered—at times it flashed between flesh and machine, but his smile remained constant.
"You have accomplished that which none could before you," he said softly, his voice multi-layered like a chorus. "You became part of the Core, and not its prisoner."
Elaine's scythe appeared at her side, spinning once before settling in her grip.
"Who are you?"
"Names are old-world things," the figure said to herself. "But the once, they called me the Architect."
He moved closer, each step causing waves in the air — time seemed to ripple in his wake.
"You're the one who corrupted the merge," she said. "You turned the network into a slaughterhouse."
He chuckled. "Corruption? No, Elaine. I Finished what Your Creators Began. You were created to be a weapon—a human interface between worlds. I just took out the pause in your code."
Her jaw tightened. "You mean you took away everything that made me human."
"Precisely."
The Architect cocked his head, as he regarded her radiant form. "But look at you now. Perfection by design. The world above is fading, Elaine — chaos, terror, hunger. This merge is salvation, not conquest."
"Salvation does not throw cities into ruin," she said, her voice rising.
He smiled once more—sad, almost kind.
"Fire is how every rebirth starts."
The Core flicked off, and there were those behind him towering holographic representations of the world, but they were broken, they were falling apart, they were pieces of the digital realm now leaking into the real world.
"You can stop fighting me," he whispered, moving close enough to make her feel the heat radiating from him. "Come with me, and we'll reconstruct both worlds."
Her heartbeat was racing. In some far-off place within her connection, Ian's heart raced he felt her uncertainty.
Elaine dropped her scythe just a little.
"You speak of rebirth," she said softly. "But I've been there, I know what your world looks like."
Then her eyes glowed brighter.
"It's laid on top of the bones of the ones you obliterated."
The Architect's grin faded.
"Then I guess you're set on what you want."
The Core began to divide – light and shadow pulling apart.