The transition wasn't pain. It was dissolution.
Lin Mo felt his body unravel, then reform. Not physically, but conceptually. He was light. He was thought. He was the Void Seed's purpose, laid bare.
The 'Sanctum' wasn't a place. It was a conversation.
Vast, incorporeal presences surrounded him – not Builders, but echoes of their collective consciousness, preserved in the stabilized Void energy.
["THE KEY IS ASSESSED."]
["INTENT: PRESERVATION OVER DOMINION."]
["WEAKNESS: THE ANCHOR (YU)."]
["STRENGTH: THE SACRIFICE (WU GEN)."]
["TOOL: THE MIND (LI NA/BAYLOR)."]
Scenes flashed:
Yu's Catalyst power evolving to synthesize Void energy – the true counter to the Consumer.
Wu Gen's Void-cutting ability, derived from Elder Tech, being the only way to safely sever Seed connections.
The necessity of unity – Seed, Catalyst, Keeper, Mind – to forge a new solution.
The Echoes presented the Crucible:
A swirling vortex of pure, neutralized Consumer energy, held stable by the Sanctum's power.
["THE VOID SEED IS A WEAPON FORGED IN FEAR. RECAST IT HERE, WITH INTENT, AND IT BECOMES A TOOL OF BALANCE."]
["RISK: FAILURE UNMAKES YOU. SUCCESS CHANGES EVERYTHING."]
Lin Mo looked at his companions, their essences shimmering beside him. Wu Gen's resolve. Baylor's loyalty. Li Na's intellect. Yu's unwavering light.
He didn't hesitate. He stepped into the Crucible, the Void Seed blazing on his hand. Not to unleash its power. To offer it up. To be reforged.
[INITIATING SEED RECONFIGURATION]
[PARAMETERS: PRESERVATION | BALANCE | SACRIFICE]
[CATALYST (YU) SYNCHRONIZATION: ENGAGED]
[KEEPER TECH (WU GEN) INTEGRATION: ENGAGED]
The light consumed him. The Seed screamed. Not in agony. In transformation.
Outside the Sanctum, on Titan, Elara watched the portal pulse with blinding light. On the Dawn's Edge's ruined sensors, Tomb-01 stirred. Across the galaxy, dormant Tombs flickered awake.
The Key was changing. The Cage felt it.
The final evolution had begun.