Ares remained utterly still. The host body, Kael, registered no fear, just the cold, analytical interest of his Supreme soul. Seraphina's smile, older than stars, did not fade.
"Explain," Ares commanded, his voice devoid of emotion, even as every internal sensor flared in response to her profound, ancient energy. "The source of your knowledge regarding the Principle of Universal Rejection."
Seraphina laughed softly, a sound like glass chimes in a vacuum. "Direct and without preamble. Predictable, Supreme Architect. Your soul has been stripped of everything but its ruthless efficiency."
She leaned back, the stellar light in her eyes flaring slightly. "I am not a magus, nor an inhabitant of this dimensional cluster. I am a Cartographer of Arcane Residue—a survivor who orbits the wreckage of fractured universes. I detected the Omega Break. The energy spike you created was catastrophic, a beautiful, agonizing tear in the fabric of 12 different dimensional planes."
Ares indexed the term: Arcane Residue Cartographer. An entity that studied the cosmic failures of others.
"My failure was calculated," Ares stated, dismissing the event.
"But not averted," Seraphina countered smoothly. "The PUR is not a shield, Architect. It is a cosmic custodian designed to enforce Existential Isolation. You tried to jump 12 tiers at once. The cosmos ejected the excess. It shattered your physical vessel and caged your soul, forcing you to begin the equation anew. I was simply observing the aftermath."
Ares processed the information. It confirmed Chronos's Phase 1 report: the PUR was not an accident but a natural law designed to prevent a single entity from rapidly achieving local omnipotence.
"What is your objective here?" Ares asked, cutting straight to the only variable that mattered. "You detected me, yet you allowed me to approach. Such inefficiency suggests a need."
Seraphina nodded, her smile growing colder, acknowledging the Supreme Magus's ability to instantly bypass pleasantries.
"Indeed. I am stranded here," she admitted. "My methodology requires vast, complex energy signatures—the kinds generated by unique, powerful souls. The Mana of Midgaard is too low-grade, too polluted for my anchor. But your soul..."
She paused, looking at Kael's weak frame with genuine admiration.
"...Your soul is a miniature, contained singularity. The source of the Code of the Omni-Architect is the purest, most refined source of data-rich energy I have ever encountered. I need access to it to repair my anchor and depart this stagnant world."
Ares instantly recognized the value of the exchange. He could not fight her, and he could not afford a lengthy, unpredictable war of attrition. His only currency was his knowledge.
"I require two things in exchange for your access," Ares laid out the terms. "First: The full schematics of the Principle of Universal Rejection. Its history, its maintenance, and its precise dimensional geometry. I require the key to unlock the tiered seal."
Seraphina inclined her head. "An expected demand. And the second?"
"Second: I require a High-Dimensional Resource sufficient to accelerate my Tier 2 and Tier 3 ascension. Something that bypasses the limitations of Midgaard's Mana, allowing me to fully leverage the Micro-Sense Augmentation fragment I have already unlocked."
Seraphina smiled, a flash of cosmic light in her eyes. "You have excellent taste, Supreme Architect. I accept your terms."
She reached into a pouch tucked into the folds of her silk and withdrew a small, perfect object: a shimmering, diamond-like crystal that pulsed with a rainbow of impossible colors. It felt heavier than lead and impossibly cold.
"This is a Fissure Heart," she explained. "A solidified fragment of the boundary between two adjacent dimensions. It contains pure, refined energy that has not interacted with any known cosmological law. One fragment is enough to propel you far past Tier 3, bypassing the required volume of local Mana by 9,000%. It is the perfect cheat for your acceleration."
Ares reached out and took the crystal. Chronos immediately began running diagnostics on the object.
CHRONOS SYSTEM: Object Analysis:Fissure Heart. Purity Rating: 10.0 (Absolute). Energy Volume: 9,200 units. Tier Advancement Probability: 100% guarantee of achieving Tier 3 (Adept Magus) instantly. Warning: Prolonged exposure may cause host vessel genetic mutation.
"Acceptable," Ares concluded, pocketing the crystal without a flicker of thanks. "Now, provide the schematics. And state your price for my knowledge."
"My price is simple," Seraphina stated, her voice returning to that resonant, low hum. "I do not require your knowledge in total. I require you to think."
Ares raised an eyebrow, the first visible sign of non-plussed surprise.
"The Code of the Omni-Architect allows you to calculate the collapse of singularities and the fate of galaxies," Seraphina elaborated. "I need you to calculate the precise, least-damaging path for my dimensional anchor to depart this reality. It is an equation that involves 1045 variables. I lack the processing power. But you—you will calculate it, and in exchange, I will feed you the necessary data to solve your PUR problem."
She extended a hand, the gesture a silent, unbreakable pact. "We are now bound in a temporary, absolute alliance, Architect. You require the key to your cage. I require the final calculation to leave my prison. Let us begin the work."
Ares looked at her hand, then back at the Fissure Heart in his pocket, then at the complex array of astronomical charts on the walls. He felt the cold, hard thrill of having successfully converted a near-fatal threat into an unparalleled resource.
"Accepted," Ares stated, his voice the sound of a contract being sealed across the dimensional divide. "Chronos, initiate Co-Process Protocol Gamma-1. Prepare to share low-level computational cycles with the new external variable."