Elias existed in a terrifying limbo, hidden within the Ledger's "blind spot," a ghost in the machine. He was cut off from the physical world, from Mei Lin, from any direct information. He could only perceive the Ledger's internal currents, the chaotic data streams that signified the widening ley line distortions. The Observer, fractured and weakening, was his only connection to reality, his only hope.
Then, a new, seismic tremor rippled through the very core of the Ledger. This wasn't a ley line disturbance. This was a targeted attack, a brutal, overwhelming surge of power.
The Observer, appearing as a flickering, almost translucent silhouette of Magistrate Lian on Elias's internal interface, let out a silent, digital scream. Its glowing sigils flashed wildly, then began to pixelate, to break apart.
"No... he knows," Lian's fragmented voice echoed, filled with digital static and profound despair. "Arthan. He is purging me... from the mainframe. He knows I am active... within the Ledger."
Elias watched in horror as the Observer's form dissolved, slowly at first, then rapidly, like smoke in a windstorm. It was being systematically dismantled, erased from the Ledger's core. Sage Arthan, sensing the Observer's attempts to guide Elias, sensing the violation of his ancient secrets, was striking back with ultimate force.
"My consciousness... it is being consumed," Lian's voice fragmented further, now barely a whisper, distorted by static. "The source code... he is locking me out... re-integrating my fragments... into his control. I cannot... cannot resist."
Elias felt a profound sense of loss, a desperate futility. His ally, his guide, the sentient fragment of the Ledger itself, was being annihilated. He was losing his connection, his eyes and ears within the system.
"Find... the First Core," Lian whispered, her voice fading, almost drowned out by the roaring static. "Its memory... holds the truth. Only it... can fix..."
And then, silence. Lian's form vanished completely. The internal interface went blank, replaced by the relentless, silent hum of the Ledger's raw data. Elias was alone, truly alone, adrift in the digital void. His ally, his one hope for understanding, was reduced to a whisper, then to nothingness. Sage Arthan's wrath was absolute.