The Astro-Mathematician Elder, her gaze fixed on a distant, invisible point in space, did not wait for Kai's confirmation. She simply pointed toward the shimmering tear in the station wall, where the visible dimensions ended and the abstract began.
ASTRO-MATHEMATICIAN ELDER: "The Zero-Point Sink is trying to pull our reality into the Sixth Dimension. It is not an attack of force, but of subtraction. We require a field of pure cohesion to resist it. You must generate that field at the Sink's entry point."
Kai looked at the flaw. It wasn't a hole; it was an area of visual uncertainty, where the coordinates of the wall flickered randomly.
Roric: "If I put my hand in that, will I lose an arm, or just forget I ever had one?"
ASTRO-MATHEMATICIAN ELDER: "You will lose the concept of the arm, Commander. In the Sixth Dimension, the geometric shape of your existence is irrelevant. Only your position in the Flow matters."
Kai realized his physical methods—the hard push of Industrial Flow, the rhythmic pulse of Vital Flow—were useless here. The only thing that mattered was his ability to define himself in the face of infinity.
He approached the Sink, gripping his golden shard. The shard now resonated with the Temporal Flow; it anchored his when. To face the Sixth Dimension, he needed to define his where.
He closed his eyes, ignoring the floating equations and the constant, subtle gravitational shifts of the station. He reached out with his mind, no longer seeking code or energy, but geometric definition.
He found the Spatial Flow—it was a shimmering, three-dimensional web of possibility and structure. The Scourge had infected it by making the core dimensions believe they were optional.
The Scourge's voice entered his mind, cold and mathematical. Why are you here? Why not there? Why exist in three planes when none are required? The ultimate probability is zero.
Kai's consciousness recoiled. The thought was seductive. Why fight? Why not simply cease to occupy space?
He had to find the Primal Cohesion—the fundamental law that stated: Location is absolute.
He channeled his Prismatic Flow, combining his four fused flows. He used the Synthetic Logic of Neo-Veridia to define his mathematical coordinates. He used the Industrial Power of the Dominion to give those coordinates weight. He used the Vital Force of the Mystica to root himself in the present moment, and the Temporal Clarity of the Spire to lock that moment in time.
He forced the probability of Dimensional Integrity to its absolute max.
KAI: "I am here. My location is defined. My existence is absolute."
He plunged his golden shard directly into the shimmering Zero-Point Sink.
The resulting reaction was silent, but catastrophic. The tear in space did not heal; it organized. The fractal chaos instantly snapped into a perfect, geometric shape, turning the Sink into a glowing, six-sided prism. The Sixth Dimension was not destroyed, but it was contained, its infinite volume held fast by the perfect, cohesive boundaries Kai had imposed.
The entire station groaned, then settled into a profound stillness. The random shifts in gravity ceased.
Kai pulled the shard back. It was now silver-blue, the color of compressed space, pulsing with the silent, immense weight of perfect coordinates. He had successfully fused the Spatial Flow.
Roric: "The gravity is stable! That's the most stable this station has been in a cycle. What did you do, Analyst?"
KAI: "I defined the walls. The Scourge was running an equation for Division by Zero. I provided the denominator."
The Astro-Mathematician Elder glided to the prism, running her hand along its structured surface.
ASTRO-MATHEMATICIAN ELDER: "Exceptional. You are the denominator we required. The Spatial Anchor is stabilized. You now carry five of the eight Flows. Only the Astral Flow remains."
She looked toward the void, pointing to a region of space that was utterly empty.
ASTRO-MATHEMATICIAN ELDER: "The final nation, Astral Echoes, is a misnomer. They are not in space; they are in the void between realities. The Astral Flow is the energy of pure potential—the sum of all that could be outside of Aethel. They guard the Echo Anchor, the core mechanism that holds the entire Prismatic Array together."
Roric: "Potential? How do you fight pure potential?"
ASTRO-MATHEMATICIAN ELDER: "The Scourge is trying to poison the potential, to make the Array believe that the only possibility is total, chaotic breakdown. To reach the Echo Anchor, you must first survive the Echoes themselves. The projections of all that could have been, and all that could be."
She produced a small, silver device—a single, perfect metallic cube.
ASTRO-MATHEMATICIAN ELDER: "This is the Echo Key. It is tuned to the coordinates of the void. But before you enter, the Astral Echoes must test your intent. They do not trust a man with five different versions of reality in his hand. You must face the Judgment of Potential."
She opened a portal—a shimmering window that led not to space, but to a swirling, luminous cloud of pure, unformed possibility.
ASTRO-MATHEMATICIAN ELDER: "If you are worthy, the Astral Flow will grant you passage. If you are not, you will be erased by the infinite volume of your own failure."
Kai looked at the swirling void of possibility. He held his silver-blue shard, heavy with the reality he had created. He had navigated code, strength, prayer, time, and space. Now, he faced potential.
KAI: "We're going to the void, Roric. Hold tight to your industrial pragmatism."
Roric: "I'll try, Analyst. But if I see a version of myself that quit the army to run a flower shop, I'm punching him."
Kai nodded, and with a deep breath of the spatial air, stepped toward the final rift.