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Chapter 35 - Chapter 35: The Faultline Pact

Lucid Key Fragment Detected: "Core Split Request – Inactive"]

Status: Locked (1 Host Only)

Override Path: Tri-Anchor Configuration – Risk Level: CRITICAL

We found shelter in the ruins of the old system vault, deep beneath Sector 4B.

It was quiet here—too quiet.

The Graveyard didn't glitch, didn't whisper, didn't breathe. Just stone and silence and the faint hum of old world code. A forgotten safe zone before Trials were even called Trials.

But peace doesn't last long in a system held together by broken rules.

Orion knew that.

"I can fix the sync issue," he said, kneeling before one of the collapsed terminals. "But you have to let me break your Key."

I stiffened. "You want to shatter the only thing keeping me from unraveling?"

"I want to split it," he corrected. "Three ways. Tri-thread it—between you, Trinity, and me."

Trinity frowned. "Why include yourself?"

"Because you two are bonded," Orion said, meeting my gaze. "You'll burn together. That makes your system unstable. You need a third flame to balance it."

"Why you?" I asked.

He hesitated.

Then:

"Because I'm already breaking."

[PLAYER: ORION CAINE]

Thread Status: Compromised

Cause: Prolonged exposure to Nullspace residue

Expected Sync Failure: 2-5 days

Thread Splinter Risk: 76%

"You didn't tell us," Trinity muttered.

"It wouldn't have mattered," Orion said. "But if I sync with your Key, I can delay collapse. Maybe guide the next rewrite. And when I go, the system can't just erase me—I'll be part of the code."

He looked up at me.

"This isn't about saving me. It's about stabilizing you. The Graveyard's not going to hold much longer. If you lose control, the Lucid Key will fracture the whole damn world."

I stared at the broken console.

At the history etched into these walls.

At the threads I'd already rewritten.

And the ones I still hadn't.

[Command Available: /TRIKEY-SPLIT]

Effect: Splits Lucid Key into three partial anchors

Assigned to: Trey Laurent / Trinity Flame / Orion Caine

Stabilization Boost: 60%

System Resistance Boost: +12% per anchor

Drawback: All three must survive to maintain world integrity.

Trinity reached for my hand. "We do this together."

Orion stepped into the field.

I nodded.

And said the words that would change us—again.

"Run the split."

[System Rewrite – TRIKEY Configuration Initialized]

Primary Host: Trey Laurent – Lucid Core

Anchor One: Trinity Flame – Flamebound Echo

Anchor Two: Orion Caine – Null-Tether Proxy

New System Role Acquired: The Faultline Pact

Pain lanced through my spine as the Key divided.

Like tearing off a part of my soul and giving it away.

But when it settled, I felt lighter.

Like the world no longer rested on my back alone.

We stood in a triangle.

Three threads.

One system.

And beneath our feet, the Graveyard shifted.

Stabilized.

But only just.

The world wasn't saved yet.

We'd just stopped it from dying today.

[Thread Anchor Shared – New Synchronization Level: 3-Way Pact]

Unique Title Acquired: The Faultline Bearers

And far beneath the ruins, something ancient stirred—

Not mechanical.

Not divine.

Just waiting.

For us.

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