The sky folded in on itself.
Not like a storm, not like a vortex—more like a colossal sheet of conceptual matter being pulled inward by an unseen hand. Every edge of the Origin Layer's horizon bent toward the center, converging above Sarah and her harem in a vast geometric spiral.
The air thickened.
The ground compressed under their feet.
Metallic ripples formed in perfect concentric circles.
Rossweisse whispered under her breath:
"This pressure… this is the Architect at full operational state."
Akeno's usual composure dimmed.
"You're saying that thing wasn't even trying before?"
Lilith Fragment's tone was sharper than steel.
"No. That was an interface. What descends now is the true execution body."
Sarah stepped forward, feeling the Proto-Ascension seed vibrating in her chest, responding instinctively to the immeasurable force gathering above them.
Rias placed a steadying hand on her arm.
"Stay aligned with us. The lattice will hold—if you let it."
Sarah nodded once.
Not out of reassurance, but because she felt the truth in Rias's voice. The harem's synchronization wasn't an auxiliary tool anymore—it was a structural necessity.
The sky tore fully open.
A silhouette emerged.
One so vast the plane itself dimmed beneath its shadow.
The Primary Avatar descended like an inverted star, its surface made of fractal patterns that reconfigured constantly. Each layer of its form expanded and collapsed, rewriting proportions faster than the eye could track. Its head—if the top piece could be called that—bore seven shifting halos, each one rotating independently, each powered by a different conceptual framework.
When it spoke, everything vibrated.
Not their minds.
Not the air.
Reality.
"PRIMARY AVATAR ONLINE. EVALUATION MODE TERMINATED. ASCENSION MODE: COMMENCING."
Sarah felt her pulse spike.
Not fear.
Recognition.
This entity had been waiting for her.
The Primary Avatar touched the metallic plain.
A shockwave exploded outward.
The ground tore open in a straight line spanning kilometers. Monolithic structures shattered. The world rang like a struck bell. Koneko dropped to one knee, her density flaring instinctively. Xenovia slammed her sword into the metal to anchor herself. Rossweisse rebuilt her runes in a frenzy. Akeno wrapped her aura around Rias to stabilize her stance.
Sarah alone stood unmoved.
Lilith Fragment gave a single approving nod.
"Good. Your identity is stabilizing faster. But do not misread this moment—the real danger starts now."
The Primary Avatar raised a hand.
Reality around its palm bent inward, collapsing into a singularity point.
Rossweisse gasped.
"That's a concept compression! If it fires that—"
Sarah didn't wait.
She accelerated.
Her feet dug trenches into the metallic earth as she launched forward, leaving a shockwave of warped gravity in her wake. Proto-Ascension spiraled around her arm, forming a triple-layered vortex.
The Avatar fired.
A beam—not of light, but of collapsed existence—shot toward her.
Rias shouted, "Sarah! Synchronize with us!"
Sarah did.
Their emotions connected.
Their power aligned.
Their identities resonated.
A surge of overwhelming clarity flowed into Sarah's veins.
She struck the compression beam with her fist.
The impact detonated the world.
A crater miles wide erupted around them. The metallic plain liquefied under the force. The sky flickered like a broken projection. For a heartbeat, sound disappeared entirely.
Then the shockwave returned with catastrophic force.
Koneko shot forward and caught Sarah as she staggered out of the explosion radius. Akeno deployed a reverse-polarity net to redirect the collapsing energy. Rossweisse created a circular dimensional brace, runes grinding against the tearing edge of existence.
Xenovia sliced through the blast with a single arc, carving a safe channel.
Rias held Sarah upright, her hand on Sarah's face.
"Look at me. Don't fade."
Sarah blinked hard.
Her vision split in two for a second—one frame showing the battlefield, the other a fragmented glimpse of her own identity fracturing like cracked glass.
Lilith Fragment appeared directly in front of her, eyes narrowed.
"Hold. Yourself. Together."
Sarah inhaled sharply.
The fracture faded.
She stabilized.
Rias nodded with relief.
"Good. You're still anchored."
The Primary Avatar stepped closer.
One step.
But the ground shattered beneath it.
"IDENTITY STRUCTURE OF ASCENSION CANDIDATE: UNSTABLE. PROCEEDING WITH DIRECT EXTRACTION ATTEMPT."
Xenovia cursed.
"It wants to pull her core out of her body!"
Rossweisse shouted, "Formation Omega-Zero! Now!"
The harem moved instantly.
Koneko took point with raw density, bracing the front line.
Akeno soared upward, weaving lightning lattices to disrupt spatial distortions.
Rossweisse layered runic shields in vertical stacks, sealing conceptual breach points.
Xenovia stood behind Koneko, blade raised for precision counters.
Rias locked herself to Sarah, both hands on her face and back, ensuring identical emotional resonance.
Sarah straightened.
Clarity returned.
She felt the shard inside her pulse—once, steady, then twice, sharper.
Lilith Fragment spoke low enough only Sarah heard.
"You are approaching Phase Three activation. Not yet. But close."
Sarah lifted her chin.
"Then we hold until I reach it."
The Primary Avatar raised both hands.
Dozens of small geometric constructs appeared behind it—floating prisms of shimmering light.
Akeno cursed.
"Those are identity razors. If they touch any of us, they'll cut out pieces of who we are."
Rias tightened her grip on Sarah.
"You know what this means."
Sarah nodded.
"No separation. Full synchrony."
The razors fired.
A storm of conceptual blades swept across the field, each one targeting a specific emotional or cognitive anchor point.
Koneko roared and shattered a dozen with a single punch.
Xenovia intercepted blade trajectories with impossible precision.
Rossweisse activated a runic dome that absorbed several before splintering.
Akeno shot down clusters with wide arcs of lightning.
Rias diverted several aimed at Sarah by absorbing the emotional impact directly.
But the Avatar wasn't done.
It appeared directly behind Sarah.
It didn't teleport.
It didn't move faster than sight.
It simply existed there, its previous position erased from the timeline.
A single hand reached toward Sarah's spine.
The harem reacted instantly.
Koneko lunged.
Xenovia swung.
Akeno detonated a blast.
Rossweisse redirected vectors.
Rias pulled Sarah forward.
Too slow.
The Avatar's fingers grazed Sarah's back.
Sarah screamed—
Not from pain, but from something far worse.
A piece of her identity began to tear loose.
Her memories flickered.
Her thoughts split.
Her emotional structure destabilized.
Lilith Fragment dove into Sarah's mind like a blade.
"Not yet! You do NOT ascend now!"
The harem converged, each placing a hand on Sarah, forcing their emotional resonance into her core.
The tearing stopped.
Sarah's breath returned.
She looked up—eyes sharp, steady.
The Primary Avatar's fingers retracted.
"RESISTANCE LEVEL: HIGHER THAN PROJECTED."
Sarah rose to her full height.
"Get used to disappointment."
Her aura ignited.
Proto-Ascension spiraled around her, three layers expanding to five, then contracting into a compressed halo of raw conceptual force.
The Avatar prepared its next strike.
This one would be lethal.
Lilith Fragment's voice sharpened.
"Brace yourselves. This attack could kill all of you."
Sarah stepped forward.
"No."
She cracked her neck.
"We're not done."
The Primary Avatar spread its seven halos.
All seven aligned.
The world darkened.
The final attack charged.
And Sarah launched herself forward—
straight into the heart of the Architect's killing field.