Lina had barely spoken the sentence when the field vibrated—not like a shock, but like a breath held and not released for too long. Gold and blue trembled, stepped toward each other, screaming against each other without sound. Alaric felt the light in his sternum begin to tear, as if it wanted to go in two directions at once.
"Enough," he said. Very quietly. But the field heard him.
He raised his hand, placing it first on Lina's glow at the shoulder, then on Malrik's cool outline. "Neither of you is going to die on me here. Not today."
> Correction Algorithm paused.
Conflict: Will Field / Heart Code / Guardian Protocol.
Query: Third Paradigm?
Rhea gasped outside, fingers on the control. "The system is asking for a third option," she whispered. "Alaric, if you now..."
"I know," he said. And stepped between the two of them.
