Why the fuck was it asking him to sacrifice half his foundation just to receive basic doctrines, and was this mechanism truly part of the original inheritance design, or had something corrupted it during the entity's collapse?
Had THE Slumbering Genesis established this parasitic tribute deliberately, or was this remnant system operating according to desperate protocols established during final moments?
Achilles remained perfectly still and gave nothing…not permission, not compliance, not even acknowledgment that the command had been delivered.
Yet his refusal seemed to trigger a secondary mechanism, and the system apparently possessed contingencies for candidates who didn't immediately comply with demands.
In the next moment, blinding light crashed down from the temple ceiling and pressed all around him with suffocating force…authority seeking to reshape his consciousness, to alter his decision-making processes until compliance seemed like a natural choice.
