The stone beneath Rayen's hut had gone cold.
Not from nightfall, but from the kind of silence that only came after exposure.
He hadn't spoken since returning from the spar. He hadn't run another simulation. He hadn't even adjusted his thread loop. Just sat cross-legged on the rough bamboo mat, eyes closed, as if meditating—but not for cultivation.
For containment.
[ SPIRAL THREADS: 3 / 9 – Holding at Passive Stabilization ]
[ LOOP STRESS LEVEL: Moderate (23.9%) ]
[ Q.E.D. – Awaiting Host Input... ]
He finally exhaled.
Not for breath control. Just to clear the data clutter in his mind.
"I wasn't ready to be seen," he murmured.
[ Clarify – Observed by opponent, elder, or unknown? ]
"All of them. But especially the one in the blindfold."
[ OBSERVER PATTERN LOGGED – Class: Unknown Operator. ]
[ Risk Assessment: 41% chance of affiliation with internal doctrinal enforcement division. 22% chance of autonomous actor. 7% chance of non-sect-affiliated observer. ]
Rayen opened his eyes to the cracked ceiling. The same bamboo beams. The same dust. The same rotting edge of the floorboard where the buried signal had first responded.
But it all felt tighter now. Closer.
Like the walls were folding in.
"Open the Codex," he said softly. "Let's see what we've become."
[ HEAVENLESS CODEX – ACCESSING CORE STRAND ]
▓ Recursion Layer Integrity: 62%
▓ Spiral Thread Integration: Active (3 nodes)
▓ Conflict Flags: Detected (Orthodox Model Clash)
▓ Simulated Dao Model: Axiomatic Compression → Negligible External Flow
▓ Projection: Host classified as Heavenless Spiral – Tier 1
That phrase again.
Heavenless.
A name he hadn't chosen. But the system had.
A name that marked him not only as divergent—but heretical.
Rayen frowned. "Why did the Codex assign that name?"
[ Explanation: Host cultivation does not rely on Heaven-sanctioned flow, spiritual root absorption, or karmic resonance. Cultivation trajectory bypasses all three. ]
[ As per compiled historical precedent and collapse logs, this categorizes your method as "Heavenless." ]
He leaned back, spine pressing against the crooked beam behind him.
"And what's the failure rate?"
[ 97.2% – Based on archived attempts across multiple civilizations, eras, and spiritual architectures. ]
[ Most attempts terminated via external intervention. A minority ended in recursive collapse. ]
"Any successes?"
A long pause.
Then:
[ One unconfirmed. Metadata corrupted. Signal fragment suggests: "Simulation ≠ Submission." ]
Rayen closed his eyes.
So someone else had tried.
And maybe, just maybe, someone else had survived.
"Estimate threat escalation now that the Spiral's been used openly."
[ Calculating... ]
[ If opponent shares data with superiors: 83% chance of suspicion. 42% chance of covert monitoring escalation. 21% chance of punitive investigation. ]
[ If observer (blindfolded entity) reports: 96% chance of direct sect inquiry within 72 hours. ]
That gave him less than three days.
Rayen inhaled slowly.
"Are we ready?"
[ NO. ]
[ Spiral Thread Stability: Marginal. Loop Interference: Elevated. Anchor Node Degradation: 5.3% per day at current pace. ]
[ Codex incomplete. Only partial recursion logic archived. No viable breakthrough path to Foundation Core. ]
Rayen ran a hand through his hair.
Too fast. Too exposed. Too much attention.
"I thought it was enough to be silent. I thought hiding the thread count would buy time."
[ Incorrect assumption. Simulated Spirals cause localized fluctuation even when suppressed. Spiral Breath's recursion leaks through silent loops at low harmonics. ]
[ Pattern Detected: Heaven notices patterns, not intent. ]
He let that one settle.
That was the real danger, wasn't it?
The Codex. Q.E.D. The very Spiral itself. None of them were rooted in this world's logic. None of them obeyed its karmic rules. The act of simulating cultivation might be more heretical than any unorthodox breathing method.
Because it wasn't just cheating Qi absorption.
It was denying the fundamental pact this world had made with itself:
That the heavens give power.
And mortals must rise to it.
He was doing the opposite.
He was modeling power, not begging for it.
Simulating the spiral didn't invoke the heavens—it replaced them.
No wonder the signal beneath his hut had responded.
No wonder someone else was watching.
Rayen tapped the ground with one knuckle.
"Start a new simulation," he whispered.
[ PARAMETERS? ]
"Don't simulate Spiral Breath. Simulate failure. I want to see how it all breaks."
[ Acknowledged. Spiral Collapse Simulation Initialized. Running model: Anchor Degradation + Feedback Loop Overload + External Disruption ]
▓ Projection: Collapse Time – 4.6 minutes
▓ Result: Node feedback burns meridians. Simulation integrity shatters. Host loses consciousness. Internal rupture: 87% certainty. Death: Probable.
He watched it unfold in silence—until the red indicators faded and the simulation ended.
Then he whispered:
"Save it."
[ File Created: SPIRAL_BREACH_FAILSAFE.RecSim ]
He wasn't running this path blindly anymore.
Now he knew how it ended.
And how far he had to push before it broke.
"Q.E.D."
[ Listening. ]
"Start searching for another thread design. One that doesn't loop. One that folds."
[ That is not cultivation. ]
"Exactly," Rayen murmured. "Maybe it's time we stop trying to cultivate—and start trying to compute."
The Spiral hummed softly inside his chest. Not like a song. More like a countdown.