The realm did not stabilize after the failure.
It waited.
Cracks in the sky hung motionless, frozen like glass mid-shatter. Gravity lines visible through Rourke's Sight vibrated with uneasy tension, as if the universe itself were holding its breath.
Seren felt it too.
"This place knows," she whispered.
"It knows we almost broke it."
Rourke nodded slowly.
"And it remembers."
The Memory Core hovered between them, dim and unusually still.
"The Null event registered beyond this realm."
Seren's blood ran cold.
"You mean… Prime knows."
The relic did not answer immediately.
Which was answer enough.
Arrival Without Resistance
The pressure came gently this time.
Not crushing.
Not measuring.
Observing.
Rourke straightened instinctively.
Seren took a step closer to him.
The air folded inward.
Hunter Prime appeared.
No distortion.
No sound.
He stood a short distance away, posture relaxed, hands folded behind his back as if this were a casual meeting.
Seren whispered,
"He looks… calm."
The Memory Core dimmed.
"…That is worse."
Prime spoke first.
"You attempted Null Gravity."
It wasn't a question.
Rourke met his gaze.
"Yes."
Prime tilted his head.
"Your survival probability should have dropped to zero."
Seren snapped,
"Yeah, well—
we're full of surprises."
Prime glanced at her briefly.
"Confirmed."
Then back to Rourke.
"Your deviation is increasing."
Why Prime Is Concerned
Rourke clenched his fists.
"You came to stop me?"
Prime shook his head.
"No."
Seren blinked.
"…Then why are you here?"
Prime answered without hesitation.
"To warn you."
The words landed heavily.
Rourke frowned.
"Warn me about what?"
Prime looked upward, toward the fractured sky.
"The Obsidian Engine has adjusted."
The Memory Core flared sharply.
"Adjusted how?"
Prime turned slowly toward it.
"Your Null event created instability in the Collapse Array.
Omega protocols are being reconsidered."
Seren's stomach dropped.
"Omega is already active."
Prime's tone was neutral.
"Omega was mercy."
Silence.
Rourke felt cold spread through his chest.
"What comes after mercy?"
Prime's gaze returned to him.
"Correction."
Seren whispered,
"That's not an answer I like."
The Two-Anchor Revelation
The Memory Core pulsed cautiously.
"Null Gravity requires dual anchoring."
Prime nodded.
"Correct."
Rourke stiffened.
"You knew."
"Yes."
Seren snapped,
"You let him almost die!"
Prime replied evenly:
"Survival was not impossible.
Improbable is not unacceptable."
Rourke stepped forward, anger flaring.
"You're using us as variables."
Prime met his gaze.
"You are variables."
The bluntness hit harder than cruelty.
Prime continued:
"Null Gravity destabilizes singular authority.
This makes you… useful."
Seren glared.
"We're not tools."
Prime tilted his head.
"Disagreement noted."
The Warning Proper
Prime took one step closer.
The realm did not resist him.
"You will fail again," Prime said calmly.
"Your second anchor is insufficient."
Rourke frowned.
"Seren saved me."
Prime acknowledged this.
"She is effective.
She is not compatible."
Seren bristled.
"Excuse me?"
Prime continued:
"Her unpredictability stabilizes expansion,
but introduces emotional interference."
Rourke clenched his jaw.
"That interference keeps me human."
Prime regarded him.
"Humanity is not a survival metric."
The Memory Core interjected:
"Then what is?"
Prime answered immediately.
"Synchronization."
The Countdown Tightens
Prime projected an image—
the Obsidian Engine's Collapse Array pulsing faster than before.
"Your actions have accelerated the timeline."
Seren's breath caught.
"How much time do we have now?"
Prime's answer was precise.
"Seven days."
Rourke felt the weight of it.
Three days lost.
Just by trying.
Prime continued:
"Further Null attempts will reduce this window."
Seren whispered,
"So we're punished for learning."
Prime corrected her:
"You are punished for destabilizing inevitability."
A Moment of Choice
Prime turned to leave.
Rourke called after him.
"Why tell us any of this?"
Prime stopped.
For the first time, there was a pause—
not hesitation,
but calculation.
"Because there exists a non-zero probability
that you succeed."
Rourke swallowed.
"And if we do?"
Prime looked back at him.
"Then the Engine must adapt."
Seren stared.
"And that scares you."
Prime did not deny it.
"…Concern acknowledged."
He stepped backward.
The air folded.
Before he vanished, Prime spoke one final sentence:
"If you attempt Null Gravity again without a compatible second anchor…
you will not fail."
Rourke frowned.
"That doesn't sound right."
Prime's voice echoed faintly as he disappeared.
"You will become."
Aftermath
The pressure vanished.
Seren exhaled shakily.
"That thing just threatened you without raising a hand."
Rourke stared at the empty space.
"He wasn't threatening."
The Memory Core dimmed.
"He was advising."
Seren rubbed her arms.
"I hate when the enemy is helpful."
Rourke closed his eyes.
Seven days.
Two anchors.
One incompatible.
He opened his eyes.
"So who—or what—can anchor Null Gravity…
without losing me?"
The Memory Core did not answer immediately.
When it did, its voice was barely audible.
"Someone who does not exist under gravitational law."
Seren and Rourke exchanged a look.
Rourke whispered:
"That's impossible."
The realm trembled softly.
The Forge flickered.
And somewhere beyond reality,
something heard its name spoken again.