While diplomacy unfolded above ground, Voxen slithered through the deep codes below. He no longer needed vessels—he was infecting Sanctum Aqualis at the algorithmic level. Shadows in lights. Errors in memory. Murmurs inside sleep.
Corv sat in the Dream Engine, body still but mind aflame. He traced the pathways Voxen used—parasitic neural roots feeding on despair. "He's growing stronger," Corv said. "Feeding on every unspoken regret."
Lyra reconfigured the firewall lattice. "He's re-writing emotional logic. People forget birthdays. Names. Loves. And they don't notice."
Elarin's projection flickered. "He's no longer just a threat. He's becoming... a god of loss."
Jaden summoned a crisis council. With Corv, Lyra, Selas, Amah, and representatives from N'darun and Red Rift, they gathered in the Spire Core.
"He's not attacking," Jaden said. "He's unraveling. He doesn't want destruction—he wants deletion."
