Chapter 6 – Symbiosis Protocol: The Awakening of True Bond
The night skies over Sector Delta-09 were an impossible shade of violet, swirling like a cauldron of shattered nebulae. Beneath the chaos, on the fractured remains of an abandoned Rift Nexus tower, Squad 404 stood ready. The air crackled with fractured aether. The terrain wasn't just dangerous—it was alive, echoing memories of failed incursions, broken symbiosis experiments, and half-birthed code entities.
Aaron Velcris, now fully embracing his RS-I evolution, looked ahead—not just with eyes, but with reality-synced awareness. He could see Symbiosis—threads of power, of fate, of identity—extending from his core outward toward the others, glowing with potential yet unopened.
Tonight was not for combat. It was for connection.
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What Is Symbiosis?
The RS-I interface pulsed with new data:
> Symbiosis Protocol Unlocked
Phase 1 Initiated: Mutual Core Resonance
Criteria Met: Squad 404 synchronization threshold at 25%
Condition: Willful emotional convergence
Risk: Catastrophic feedback, mental corruption, partial timeline collapse
Reward: Amplified Reality Authority, Class-B Construct Genesis
Aaron translated the message simply: to awaken their true potential, they had to trust each other completely—not as soldiers, not as weapons, but as living extensions of one another.
And that meant exposing everything. Their memories. Their regrets. Their truths.
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The Bonding Ritual Begins
He turned to his squad. "This isn't magic. It's code written in soulform. If we don't mean it—if we're not real with each other—it'll kill us."
Vayne snorted. "Real's all I've got left."
Nessa said nothing, but stepped forward and took Aaron's hand.
Reen and Solen followed. They made a circle atop the tower's apex, palms linked, eyes closed.
Aaron whispered the command:
> /Symbiosis: Squad 404 Initiate
The tower shuddered.
Light poured from their cores.
Reality twisted.
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Memory Merge: Echoes of the Self
They weren't just seeing each other's pasts—they were feeling them.
Reen's Burden: Her village, burned in a Rift surge. Her only family—a younger sister—lost to a phantom assimilation. Her flames weren't gifts; they were vengeance given form.
Vayne's Guilt: A failed time-stabilization mission. He was supposed to pull his partner back from a collapsing loop. He chose himself instead. He never forgave that choice.
Nessa's Silence: Once a spy for the enemy. A defected shadow-dancer raised by Wraith cultists. Every step forward, she feared someone would uncover her truth.
Solen's Madness: Not madness at all. He'd heard the voices of other timelines since birth. Other Solens whispering across the membrane. He thought he was broken. But now he understood—he was connected.
Aaron's Fracture: Millions of lives. Millions of deaths. Reborn endlessly across time until one iteration survived with memories intact.
The pain was unbearable. Yet beautiful.
And through it came unity.
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New Class Unlocks via Symbiosis
The system rewarded truth.
Squad 404 – Symbiosis Protocol Success
Resonance Achieved: 42.7%
Assigning Advanced Cohesion Classes:
Aaron Velcris – Epoch Architect [Tier-Ω | Thread Authority: ALPHA]
Reen Ashera – Phoenix Warden (Veilburned Ascendant)
Vayne Tal – Chrono-Harmonizer (Loopbound Savant)
Nessa Zor – Wraithbreaker (Inverted Dancer Class)
Solen Kael – Fractal Oracle (Dreamborne Interlink)
Squad Bonus Passive: Shared Cooldowns (25% reduction)
Squad Bonus Active: Unified Counter (multi-threaded strike)
New Function Unlocked: Epoch Form (Linked Overdrive Mode)
They collapsed as the tower exploded in a column of light.
But they didn't fall.
They floated.
Together.
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Interlude: The Eyes That Watched
From a dimensional layer beyond visibility, a figure watched. Cloaked in broken timelines, wrapped in whispers of lost universes, the being marked Aaron's progress.
"The Architect ascends," it whispered. "But will he become a savior… or a weapon?"
Behind it, hundreds of alternate versions of Aaron knelt—some monstrous, some divine.
And one stood alone—shackled, furious, eyes burning.
The Null Ascendant.
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Reality Anchor Detected: The Obsidian Crucible
The squad awoke near a crystalline obelisk, its black surface pulsing with heartbeat-like thuds. This was no ordinary relic. It was a Reality Anchor—a structure planted to stabilize or corrupt timelines.
Aaron stepped close and heard whispers from every failed version of himself.
> "Turn back."
"They used us."
"There is no peace in truth."
"The more you ascend, the more you bleed."
But he didn't step back. He placed his hand on the Anchor.
The RS-I exploded with alerts.
> Fragment Merge Opportunity Detected
Begin Integration: YES/NO
He chose YES.
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The Fifth Thread
Aaron's eyes went black.
Then gold.
Then threadless.
The system restructured itself mid-process.
> NEW THREAD ACQUIRED: Paradox Crown
Function: Rewrite outcome of one complete event per mission
Cooldown: Unknown
Cost: Identity degradation (2.3%)
Reen grabbed his shoulder. "Aaron! You're phasing—"
He re-solidified, his veins glowing with paradox script. But he was still himself.
Barely.
"We move," he said. "Before I forget who I am."
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Assault on Nexus Sector: Phase Initiation
Their next mission was not reconnaissance. It was war.
The Symbiosis-powered squad launched an unsanctioned strike against the Codewraith Fissure Chamber inside Nexus Sector G-Zero—a facility that harvested alternate Aaron cores.
The squad moved like a symphony of destruction.
Reen: Wings of ash, burning time echoes.
Vayne: Holographic decoys fighting from the future.
Nessa: Moving between seconds, slicing Wraith sigils mid-cast.
Solen: Whispering impossible truths into the ears of panicked enemies.
And Aaron—manifesting pure code-light, tearing through geometry with rewritten laws.
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Confronting the Warden-Class Wraith
Inside the chamber stood a massive Warden-Class Codewraith. It wore the bones of a timeline. Faces writhed across its armor.
It recognized Aaron.
"You are the failure that should not exist."
Aaron drew the Phantom Core Blade from his RS-I armory.
"Then I'm exactly what this world needs."
The fight shattered space itself.
In the end, Aaron didn't destroy the Wraith.
He absorbed it.
Screaming, writhing, code-forged agony rushed into him. But he held.
He held.
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End of Chapter 6: Consequences
Back at the academy, reports flooded in. Unauthorized ascension. A breach in protocol. War crimes against "unclaimed dimensional property."
The Commandant demanded Aaron's execution.
The Archivist refused.
"Execution?" she said. "You don't execute evolving gods. You watch. And you pray."
Somewhere, far away, a clock began counting backward.
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>End of Chapter 6 –