The descent to Titan was tense. Elara's shuttle led the battered Dawn's Edge through swirling methane storms. The Builder structure wasn't hidden; it was a colossal, jagged mountain range of black chitin and crystalline growths, partially exposed by shifting ice.
[ENERGY SIGNATURE: RISING]
[PSYCHIC EMANATIONS: LOW FREQUENCY - CAUSING ICEQUAKES]
"It dreams," Elara explained. "And its dreams are destabilizing the local reality. We need to wake it gently. Or it might shatter Titan… and its own mind."
Wu Gen eyed the structure. "Gently? With what? Lullabies?"
"With this," Elara said, revealing a palm-sized, multifaceted crystal. "A Keeper artifact recovered from Phobos. A 'Dream Resonator'. It might let Lin Mo interface with the Builder's mind… carefully."
[RISK: PSYCHIC OVERLOAD | VOID SEED INTERFERENCE]
Lin Mo looked at Yu. She nodded, placing a hand on the Resonator. "I'll help. Anchor you."
Inside a cavernous chamber deep within the structure, they found the Builder.
It wasn't a monster. It was… sublime. A towering being of iridescent crystal and light, slumbering within a cradle of solidified energy. Its form shifted subtly, echoing galaxies. The weight of its age pressed on their minds.
Lin Mo activated the Resonator. Yu held his other hand. He touched the Builder's crystalline 'skin'.
[PSYCHIC INTERFACE ESTABLISHED]
Visions exploded:
The War: Cosmic legions of Builders battling formless Consumers across nebulae.
The Sacrifice: Builders using their own essence to forge Tombs, becoming part of the cage.
The Failure: The Consumers weren't imprisoned. They were fragmented. Seeds scattered. Tombs were anchors, not locks.
The Hope: One Builder stayed behind, guarding the Sol anchor point… waiting for a Key worthy of control, not destruction.
The Builder's consciousness brushed Lin Mo's. Ancient. Sad. Hopeful. It sensed the Void Seed. Sensed Yu's purity. Sensed Lin Mo's choice to protect, not dominate.
[MESSAGE: "THE KEY IS WHOLE. THE CAGE HOLDS… FOR NOW. BUT THE HUNGER GROWS. YOU MUST CHOOSE: CONTROL THE FRAGMENTS… OR UNMAKE THEM."]
The Builder's form stabilized. The psychic pressure eased. Titan's tremors ceased. Its immense eye opened – a swirling nebula of light. It focused on Lin Mo. On the Seed.
["THE PATH IS DANGEROUS. THE FIRST STEP IS HERE."]
A section of the chamber floor irised open. Below lay not machinery, but a swirling pool of liquid light – a portal.
[DESTINATION UNKNOWN: ELDER SANCTUM? CONSUMER NEXUS?]